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French Expression
| Meaning | right away, at once, 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 vais l’appeler tout de suite. | I’m going to call him right away. | |
| Il a tout de suite compris. | He understood immediately. | |
| On arrive tout de suite. | We’ll be there in a moment. |
Texting abbreviation: tds
Tout de suite in action
Examples of tout de suit in real-life videos from Lawless French Immersion:
| … friands de polĂ©mique comme Thierry Mariani ou Florian Philippot qui ont tout de suite tweetĂ© leur opposition Ă ce geste.v | … [who are] fond of controversy, such as Thierry Mariani or Florian Philippot, who immediately tweeted their opposition to this gesture. | |
| Video: Kneeling gesture at Euro 2021 sparks controversy | ||
| Tout de suite, une très grande amitié est née entre nous | Immediately, a very great friendship was born between us | |
| Video: AimĂ© CĂ©saire, thinker of “blackness” | ||
| Le menu sur l’ardoise, avec sa terrine et son onglet de boeuf : tout de suite, ça sent le bistrot. | A menu on a slate, with its terrine and its prime cut of beef: it immediately smells like a bistro. | |
| Video: Paris bistros seek UNESCO ‘world heritage’ status | ||
| Mais pas tout de suite, je prĂ©fère pas | But not right now, I’d rather not | |
| Video: Angèle – Je veux tes yeux | ||
Expressions with tout de suite
| Ă tout de suite abbreviation: Ă tout texting: a tt | I’ll see / talk to you in a minute | |
| bientĂ´t 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
- aussitĂ´t – right away, immediately
- aussitĂ´t que possible – as soon as possible
- bientĂ´t – soon
- dès que possible – as soon as possible
- immĂ©diatement – immediately
- prochainement – soon, shortly
- sans dĂ©lai – right away, in short order
- sur-le-champ – on the spot, immediately
- tout Ă 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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