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| Nombre de bise(s) en France* Créée par Morgan MAURICE Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 Internationa license |
How many bises?
The number of kisses varies by region and by other factors that are more difficult to pin down. Based on my own experiences,
- Two bises (one on each cheek) is the most common.
- Three bises is typical in Provence.
- A friend I visited in Rouen gave me three bises the day I arrived and the day I left, but only two during the week in between.
The map here shows two regions that do a single bise and a few that do four.*
This may sound confusing – it is! Especially when a 2-kisser meets a 3-kisser – the former finishes and starts pulling away while the latter is turning their head again, ready for a third bise.
As with figuring out which cheek to start on, often the best thing to do is just hold still and let the French person do the bises.
* The image featured here is a simplification of the much more detailed interactive map on Combien de bises fait-on chez les Français ? There, you can hover over any region to see the percentage of residents who do anywhere from zero to five (5!) bises and click through to a region to discover which side they start on and whether they do bises with men and/or women.
Bises à gogo
Listening exercises
- Bises à la française (audio)
- La bise en France (video)
- « La fête de la bise » (video)
Related lessons
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