Essential French Expression
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| Meaning | right away, on one’s way, immediately, straightaway | |
| Literally | all in a row | |
| Register | normal | |
| Pronunciation |  |
[too d(eu) sweet] |
| IPA | [tu d(ə) swit] | |
Usage notes: Tout de suite is one of the most common expressions in the French language, and is just one of several ways to say “right away, immediately.” *
Because the e in de is instable and therefore often silent, tout de suite is sometimes misspelled “toute suite” or even, in English, “toot sweet.” **
Par exemple…
| Je pars tout de suite. | I’m leaving right away; I’m on my way. | |
| Il a tout de suite compris. | He understood immediately. | |
| On arrive tout de suite. | We’ll be there in a moment. |
Texting abbreviation: tds
Expressions with tout de suite
| à tout de suite abbreviation: à tout texting: a tt |
I’ll see / talk to you in a minute | |
| bientôt mais pas tout de suite | soon but not too soon, “soonish” | |
| Ce n’est pas pour tout de suite. | It won’t happen overnight / right away. | |
| Je m’occupe de vous tout de suite. | I’ll be right with you, I’ll be with you in a moment. | |
| Mettons cela au clair tout de suite. | Let’s get that straight right now. | |
| mettre tout de suite (qqun) dans le bain | to throw (someone) in the deep end | |
| pas tout de suite | there’s no rush, not just yet | |
| prendre tout de suite (qqun/qqch) en grippe | to take an instant dislike to (someone/something) |
* Synonyms for tout de suite
- aussitôt – right away, immediately
- aussitôt que possible – as soon as possible
- bientôt – soon
- dès que possible – as soon as possible
- immédiatement – immediately
- prochainement – soon, shortly
- sans délai – right away, in short order
- sur-le-champ – on the spot, immediately
- tout à l’heure – in a moment (as well as "a moment ago")
** Another expression that was deformed when imported into English is "san fairy ann," from ça ne fait rien.
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