# I need the loo



## LouisQuatorze

Je veux aller aux toilettes.
Mais je veux savoir des autres moyens d'exprimer ce... er... volonté.

des mots soignés et familiers, s'il vous plait

merci


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## david314

On Canadian T.V., I often hear:  _*J'ai envie.*_


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## SwissPete

J'ai besoin d'aller aux toilettes.


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## courtney w

here is a way to say, "where is the bathroom?", a very useful phrase I would think 
-Où est la salle de bain?

There are not many other ways of saying "Je veux aller aux toilettes"... that is basically it!


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## miljeanvert

Où est le petit endroit?


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## Tayllc

What about using *faire pipi*?

Could you say : Il faut que je fasse pipi 

ou

J'ai besoin de faire pipi?


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## LARSAY

Well, sometimes, you have to go for something else than _pipi, _don't you ?
You would never use the word _salle de bains _for "Toilets" and, please, don't use "Restrooms", a ridiculous US word; as far as I'm concerned, this is the last place where I would like to have a rest!
_Je dois aller aux toilettes_
_Il faut que j'aille aux toilettes_
You want to be really proper? _Je vous prie de m'excuser quelques instants _(That's for the Queen of France)
Now, if you want to be really familiar, _Faut qu'j'aille aux chiottes _will do perfectly!


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## marcolo

That's really too bad, because in US, I say :

where is the restroom ?

I don't think that it is ridiculous, this is the used expression.


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## Tayllc

marcolo you are completely correct. Restroom and bathroom are both perfect to use in the USA. Nothing is strange sounding


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## LARSAY

Never said it was not correct, what I said is that it was ridiculous name for a place where rest is out of the question (since we are on the subject, "bathroom" is not correct English either, a *bath*room being quite not the same as "Toilets"). 
As a matter of fact, many tourists find the same "restroom" as funny as I do !


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## victoria1

Je dirais moi: Où est *le petit coin*?


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## Micia93

LouisQuatorze said:


> Je veux aller aux toilettes.





LouisQuatorze said:


> Mais je veux savoir des autres moyens d'exprimer ce... er... volonté.
> 
> des mots soignés et familiers, s'il vous plait
> 
> merci




"soignés et familiers" est un peu antinomique non ?


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## Floor

Micia93 said:


> "soignés et familiers" est un peu antinomique non ?


 
Je pense que LouisQuatorze veut connaître les différentes façons d'exprimer cette idée, celles familières d'une part et celles plus formelles d'autre part.


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## Micia93

tu as raison Floor, j'ai trop raisonné en Français :=)


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## LouisQuatorze

merci beaucoup à tous, vous avez été très utiles.

.. j'étais simplement curieux à savoir des phrases différentes - merci LARSAY particulièrement mdr - et aussi si c'était possible à dire "j'ai besoin de.." ouais merci bcp


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## LouisQuatorze

Floor said:


> Je pense que LouisQuatorze veut connaître les différentes façons d'exprimer cette idée, celles familières d'une part et celles plus formelles d'autre part.


 
je trouve-t-il difficile d'exprimer des choses comme celle-ci parce qu'en anglais on peut dire "both... and" mais en français je ne sais point comment on dit quelquechose comme ça... mais... ça c'est un autre question, je sais


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## wildan1

Tayllc said:


> marcolo you are completely correct. Restroom and bathroom are both perfect to use in the USA. Nothing is strange sounding


 
Agreed--_restroom_ for a public building and _bathroom_ at home. Anything else would not sound natural.

In Canada one often hears _washroom_ for _restroom_.

_Loo and toilet _are strictly BE--in North America toilet is only what you call the plumbing fixture.


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## LouisQuatorze

But bathroom is silly because there aren't any baths in there...?


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## wildan1

LouisQuatorze said:


> But bathroom is silly because there aren't any baths in there...?


 
The way our homes are constructed here, a single room normally includes both a bathtub and toilet bowl. Those who have "silly" reactions may be used to two separate rooms.

So there's nothing silly about describing the room with a bath (and a toilet) in it as a bathroom. 

As we often say on this forum, context is everything...


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## candypole

Òu sont les toilettes s’il vous plaît?   OR  Les toilettes s’il vous plaît ? OR Les WCs s’il vous plaît?


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## schoolhouse

I used to hear it called "le VC."


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## david314

If I am not mistaken, *W.C.* is a British abbreviation for _water closet_. This term is currently used in many countries that experienced British rule, but not the U.S. *The loo* is strictly British. As an American, I, too, say: _Where are/is the* restroom*(s)? _I always learned in French class: *Où est la salle de bains?*

My initial post of_ j'ai envie_ were the words (register) of a child. Like: _I've got 'to go' (pipi)._


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## hoshiko

"La salle de bains" applies only to the bathroom (litteral translation). It can be Ok if you ask to someone in their (small) home as sometimes (often?) the bathroom contains physically the thing you sit on to pee (yes, I'm a girl).

Le plus courant est "les toilettes", éventuellemnt "les WC" (prononcé comme VC) qui est un peu plus familier.

"Le petit coin" est légèrement humoristique ou pour les enfants.

"Où puis-je faire pipi?" est plutôt une phrase d'enfant ou si vous connaissez vraiment bien votre interlocuteur (ami, famille etc: on ne parle pas de fluides corporels devant des gens qu'on ne connait pas, à part peut-être les larmes et encore...).

Si vous êtes dans un endroit ou chez des gens très chics, vous pouvez dire "Où puis-je me rafraîchir?" (ça s'appelle un euphémisme ), et si vous êtes une femme "Où puis-je me repoudrer?" ou (un peu plus humoristique) "Où puis-je me refaire une beauté?".

Sinon, la version argotique des toilettes est "les chiottes" (but that's very colloquial).

Hope it all helps


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## david314

hoshiko said:


> "La salle de bains" applies only to the bathroom (litteral translation). It can be Ok if you ask to someone in their (small) home as sometimes (often?) the bathroom contains physically the thing you sit on to pee (yes, I'm a girl).
> 
> Le plus courant est "les toilettes", éventuellemnt "les WC" (prononcé comme VC) qui est un peu plus familier.
> 
> "Le petit coin" est légèrement humoristique ou pour les enfants.
> 
> "Où puis-je faire pipi?" est plutôt une phrase d'enfant ou si vous connaissez vraiment bien votre interlocuteur (ami, famille etc: on ne parle pas de fluides corporels devant des gens qu'on ne connait pas, à part peut-être les larmes et encore...).
> 
> Si vous êtes dans un endroit ou chez des gens très chics, vous pouvez dire
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> "Où puis-je me rafraîchir?" Where can I freshen up?  It's a higher register, and I am *wont to use it.
> 
> 
> 
> (ça s'appelle un euphémisme ), et si vous êtes une femme
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> "Où puis-je me repoudrer?" Where can I powder my nose?  As a man, I will sometimes even say this, in humor & perhaps a little Merlot. Also: _Where is the little boys room? _I bet that you witty French have an expression dealing with _the petits gars room_.
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> ou (un peu plus humoristique) "Où puis-je me refaire une beauté?".
> 
> Sinon, la version argotique des toilettes est "les chiottes" (but that's very colloquial).
> 
> Hope it all helps
Click to expand...

 D. 

* http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wont


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## hoshiko

David,

Well, we are not as witty as you think, as we do not have 





david314 said:


> _the petits gars room_.



IMHO what would be, in terms of language register, the closest translation of _"the little boys' room"_ would be _"le petit coin".

_hoshiko


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## Sisal

Pouvez-vous m'indiquer les toilettes, s'il vous plaît ?


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## campbellk2

I read in a book that you can say: Il faut que j'aille.

Although I think this also indicates a sense of urgency?


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## hoshiko

campbellk2 said:


> I read in a book that you can say: Il faut que j'aille.
> 
> Although I think this also indicates a sense of urgency?



Ouch!
That's an old-fashioned way for ... (coughs) more than pee...

Reading it, I was shocked! And I'm not too sensitive.
No, don't use it! Although it is an euphemism, it implies excrements and you don't want people to have that in mind, do you?
the only excpetion to not using, is if it is Louis XIV speaking (it was then  considered an honor to see the king wake up and "poo").

That's why we say "comment allez-vous?": People thought the way you - well, you know - reflected your health, which is partly true.

Another saying is "Il faut que j'y aille." which means "I'm late, I really gotta leave now!" (or a polite way to say "I don't wanna talk anymore with you."). You may have mistaken the sense of urgency in this with "Il faut que j'aille."


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## campbellk2

Wow, it didn't say anything about that in my book, which is for teaching people the subjunctive in French. It just says that:

If a two year old needs to go urgently they shout ..."I won't repeat it!"...so if a two year old can use the subjunctive, so can you!

So I guess the people who wrote my book aren't native speakers of French! Who'd of thought - I think this book is very popular as an educational resource (and it's aimed at teenagers), so I guess that the authors could have at least warned us, if they knew that is!!!


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## hoshiko

A two year old shouting that??!
It'll sound more natural to hear that two year old shout "pipi!" or at best "les toilettes!".
And I guess not all two year olds use the subjunctive... I was learning "conjugaisons" at school until 13!! And I think I wasn't stupid!!

I don't think they were French natives either! LOL

Ps: I love your Hello Kitty icon!


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## campbellk2

Thanks! Somebody should warn the people who read the book! Or, like me they'll go shouting that phrase around to people on the internet! !

You should type in hello kitty to photobucket - it'll make your day!


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## wildan1

> I bet that you witty French have an expression dealing with _the petits gars room_


 
_Le pipi-room_


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