Emily in Paris Quotes by Character: 35 Real Lines With Transcriptions, Phonetics and Show Insights
Yurii Rebryk · Updated · 13 min read
The best-known Emily in Paris quotes are Luc’s “You live to work. We work to live.”, Camille’s “Paris seems like a big city, but it’s really just a small town” and Emily’s “I need the whole crepe.” Below are 35 lines checked word for word against the subtitles of all 40 episodes of seasons 1–4, grouped by character, each with the episode, the scene, the English explained and IPA for hard words.
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In this article
- How these Emily in Paris quotes were checked
- Emily Cooper quotes (Lily Collins)
- Sylvie Grateau quotes (Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu)
- Mindy Chen quotes (Ashley Park)
- Gabriel quotes (Lucas Bravo)
- Luc, Julien, Camille and Madeline quotes
- Emily in Paris quotes about work: marketing English
- Funny Emily in Paris quotes, love quotes and culture clash
- Emily in Paris quotes in French: what the French words mean
- Emily in Paris captions for Instagram: short, real lines
- Emily in Paris quotes that are misquoted online
- Emily in Paris facts: creator, seasons, cast and awards
- Short Emily in Paris quotes to shadow
Jump to Emily, Sylvie, Mindy, Gabriel, Luc and Camille, work English, French words, captions, misquotes, facts or shadowing.
How these Emily in Paris quotes were checked
Every quote was found word for word in subtitle transcripts of all 40 episodes of seasons 1–4. Subtitles rarely name speakers, so speakers were matched from the scene and, where possible, against ScreenRant, Ranker, Sweety High and Promova. Season 5 (December 2025) is not covered: no subtitle transcript was available. IPA is US, from the Cambridge Dictionary.
Emily Cooper (Lily Collins) is a Chicago marketing executive sent to give the Paris agency Savoir an American point of view (Wikipedia). When characters speak French, the English here is a subtitle translation.
Emily Cooper quotes (Lily Collins)
Emily speaks fast, cheerful American English and very little French, and that gap drives most Season 1 jokes.
| Quote | Episode | Scene | Learner notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| “You lost me at bonjour.” | S1, Ep. 1 | Sylvie greets her in French on her first day at Savoir. | To lose someone = to confuse them. A twist on “You had me at ‘hello’”, No. 52 on the AFI quotes list. |
| “I did Rosetta Stone on the plane, but it hasn’t kicked in yet.” | S1, Ep. 1 | Her first meeting with the Savoir team, apologizing for speaking English. | Kick in = start to have an effect. |
| “I’m not somebody who can share a crepe. I need the whole crepe.” | S1, Ep. 7 | Gabriel, still with Camille, offers to take her to watch the sunrise in Montmartre. | The crepe is the whole relationship. crepe /krep/. |
| “You may mock us… but the truth is… you need us. Without basic b*tches like me, you wouldn’t be fashionable.” | S1, Ep. 6 | At the Paris Opera, to designer Pierre Cadault, who called her “ringarde”. | basic (slang) = boring and not unusual. Rude word trimmed. |
| “We never really had a chance. But at least, now, we have this one perfect thing.” | S1, Ep. 10 | Gabriel is leaving for Normandy, and she says they should not see each other again. | Have a chance = have a real possibility. |
Sylvie Grateau quotes (Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu)
Sylvie runs the Savoir office and later her own agency, Agence Grateau. Her English is polite on the surface and sharp underneath.
| Quote | Episode | Scene | Learner notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Emily: “And I am so excited to be here.” Sylvie: “Well, that’s very unfortunate.” Emily: “Excuse me?” Sylvie: “That you don’t speak French.” | S1, Ep. 1 | Their first meeting. | A polite frame (“Well, that’s…”) with a rude message. |
| “And if you keep smiling like that, people will think you’re stupid.” | S1, Ep. 3 | Emily walks in smiling; Sylvie asks, “Why are you smiling like that?” | Keep + -ing = continue doing. |
| Sylvie: “But I need you to be… less.” Emily: “How about you do you, and I’ll do me?” Sylvie: “And how about a one-way ticket back to Chicago?” | S1, Ep. 6 | Pierre Cadault insists that “Gossip Girl” come to a meeting: Emily. | You do you = do what suits you. Sylvie turns How about…? into a threat. |
| “Or were you just trying to have it all? That is so American.” | S3, Ep. 1 | Emily has been working for Savoir and for Sylvie’s new agency at once. | Have it all = career, love and everything else together. |
| “Emily, the only baguettes I’m interested in are diamonds.” | S3, Ep. 1 | Emily suggests pitching McDonald’s “McBaguette”. | A baguette is also a gem cut as a narrow rectangle. |
| “Well, that’s the thing about your generation, Emily, not a shred of mystery. The whole world knows where you are, all the time.” | S3, Ep. 4 | She finds Emily at a funfair. Emily: “Fair, but you never watch my stories.” | Not a shred of = not even a little. mystery /ˈmɪs.tɚ.i/. |
| Emily: “Is, ‘I am sad that I am naughty’ grammatically correct?” Sylvie: “It’s definitely in your voice.” | S2, Ep. 4 | Emily writes an apology letter in French to Camille, word by word. | naughty /ˈnɑː.t̬i/ is mostly for children, so it sounds funny here. |
Mindy Chen quotes (Ashley Park)
Mindy, a nanny and singer, is Emily’s first friend in Paris and often explains the city to her.
| Quote | Episode | Scene | Learner notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| “I mean, the French are romantics, but they’re also realists.” | S1, Ep. 2 | Emily is shocked that a married client’s affair seems to be tolerated. | realist /ˈriː.ə.lɪst/. |
| Emily: “I can’t believe I’m drinking before noon.” Mindy: “It’s okay. This is Sancerre. It’s a breakfast wine.” | S1, Ep. 3 | Emily says the French disagree with everything she says. | No such thing as breakfast wine: that is the joke. Also on IMDb. |
| “It’s a common mistake. They’re called faux amis. So, ‘un crayon’ isn’t ‘crayon.’ It’s ‘pencil.’” | S1, Ep. 5 | Emily orders breakfast in French with the wrong word. | False friends; see how to say faux. |
| “Yeah, duh. Beyoncé’s worth far more than the Mona Lisa.” | S1, Ep. 5 | A client wants its bed in the Louvre for an ad; only Beyoncé has managed that. | Duh = that is obvious (very informal). |
| “Look, I think most girls would forgive you, but a French girl, nuh-uh.” | S2, Ep. 4 | Emily wants to explain herself to Camille. | nuh-uh = a sound people make to say no or disagree. |
Gabriel quotes (Lucas Bravo)
Gabriel, a chef, is Emily’s downstairs neighbor and her main love interest. He talks a lot about food.
| Quote | Episode | Scene | Learner notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| “You’re in Paris now. I’m sure we can find you something better than peanut butter.” | S1, Ep. 4 | He carries up her box from home, peanut butter included, then cooks her an omelet. | I’m sure we can… = a friendly offer. |
| “Keep the heat low and take it slow.” | S2, Ep. 4 | Cooking leeks with Emily: “You have to coax the flavor out.” | coax /koʊks/ = get by patience. Low and slow rhyme. |
| “Slow down. You’ve been given the gift of time. Take it.” | S3, Ep. 4 | He says she is “making life into work”, then adds in French: “Take the time to live.” | Three short commands, good for shadowing. |
| “Maybe we only communicate in your language, not mine.” | S4, Ep. 7 | A fight about the baby news. He switches to French; Emily: “Please, I don’t understand.” Gabriel: “Exactly.” | His French speech: below. |
Luc, Julien, Camille and Madeline quotes
Luc (Bruno Gouery) and Julien (Samuel Arnold) work at Savoir. Camille (Camille Razat, seasons 1–4) is Emily’s friend and Gabriel’s girlfriend; Madeline (Kate Walsh) is Emily’s Chicago boss (Wikipedia).
| Quote | Episode | Scene | Learner notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Luc: “I think the Americans have the wrong balance. You live to work. We work to live.” | S1, Ep. 1 | Luc finds Emily sitting alone and says the office is “a little afraid” of her. | Work to live = work only to pay for your life. |
| Luc: “Well, let’s call it the arrogance of ignorance.” | S1, Ep. 1 | Same talk: Emily admits she is “more ignorant than arrogant” for arriving without French. | arrogance /ˈer.ə.ɡəns/, ignorance /ˈɪɡ.nɚ.əns/. |
| Luc: “I see you tomorrow, Emily.” … “Don’t be early.” | S1, Ep. 1 | His goodbye after that talk. | Standard English: “I’ll see you tomorrow.” |
| Emily: “Has anyone noticed this is a very dysfunctional workplace?” Julien: “I think you’re the one bringing the drama.” | S1, Ep. 4 | Colleagues ask what she is up to with Sylvie and client Antoine. | Bring the drama = cause emotional trouble. |
| Camille: “Paris seems like a big city, but it’s really just a small town.” | S1, Ep. 4 | They have just met at a flower shop; Emily once got lost “in the 21st arrondissement” (there are 20). | arrondissement = a Paris district. |
| Camille, in French: “It doesn’t matter what language you’re speaking, I don’t believe a word coming out of your mouth.” | S2, Ep. 4 | A meeting held in French; Emily asks, “Répétez, s’il vous plaît?”, and gets this translation. | Not believe a word = believe nothing. |
| Madeline: “I know how much the French love to say no.” Sylvie: “We’re not really like that. It’s all in the way you ask.” | S2, Ep. 10 | Madeline thanks Sylvie for agreeing to her plan. | How you ask matters most. |
Emily in Paris quotes about work: marketing English
Emily’s job fills the show with office English. For real meetings, see our business English conversation guide.
| Word | Line in the show | Meaning (Cambridge) |
|---|---|---|
| brand, engagement /ɪnˈɡeɪdʒ.mənt/ | Emily’s first pitch: “But to build a brand, you must create meaningful social media engagement.” (S1, Ep. 1) | Brand: the qualities people connect with a company. Engagement: getting people interested; also an agreement to marry, or an appointment. |
| influencer /ˈɪn.flu.ən.sɚ/ | A beauty brand invites Emily to an “influencer lunch” (S1, Ep. 5). | Someone on social media who changes what people think or buy. |
| overpromise, underdeliver | Sylvie: “Is this the American way to overpromise and underdeliver?” (S1, Ep. 5) | Promise more than you can do, then do less. |
| campaign, pitch | Emily’s ad idea for women who stop coloring gray hair: “She’s done dying her hair, and now she’s just dying to live.” (S4, Ep. 4) | A campaign is planned business activity; a pitch tries to persuade. dye and die both sound /daɪ/; for hair the spelling is dyeing. |
Funny Emily in Paris quotes, love quotes and culture clash
| If you want | Try these lines |
|---|---|
| Love | “I need the whole crepe”; “Keep the heat low and take it slow.” |
| Funny | “You lost me at bonjour”; “It’s a breakfast wine” |
| Culture clash | “people will think you’re stupid”; “It’s all in the way you ask.” |
Read the culture-clash lines as comedy, not facts about French people: many French critics said the series stereotypes Parisians (Wikipedia).
Emily in Paris quotes in French: what the French words mean
Meanings come from Le Robert (French) and Cambridge (French words used in English). “Say it” is a rough guide for English speakers.
| French | In the show | Meaning | Say it |
|---|---|---|---|
| bonjour, la plouc | S1, Ep. 1: colleagues greet Emily with it, calling it “a little term of endearment”. Later it is translated: “The hick.” | Le Robert: familiar and insulting; a peasant, or someone with rough manners. Compare hick. | bohn-ZHOOR, lah PLOOK |
| ringarde | S1, Ep. 6: Pierre Cadault’s word for Emily. “It means ‘basic.’” | Le Robert: old-fashioned, in bad taste (familiar); feminine form. | ran-GARD |
| voilà | S1, Ep. 1, the rental agent: “Non, c’est normal. Et voilà.” | Voilà: said when you show something. | /ˌvwɑːˈlɑː/ |
| chambre de bonne | S1, Ep. 1: “Your magnificent chambre de bonne.” Emily: “Chambre de what now?” | In the show, “the room for the housekeeper”: a small top-floor room. | SHAHM-bruh duh BUN |
| c’est la vie | S1, Ep. 3: after a breakup and no shower water, Emily shrugs: “But c’est la vie.” | C’est la vie: things happen and you cannot change them. | /ˌseɪ lə ˈviː/ |
| faux amis | S1, Ep. 5, titled “Faux Amis”: Mindy’s crayon example. | False friends (see Mindy above). | foh-zah-MEE |
| je ne sais quoi | S1, Ep. 2 and S3, Ep. 9, in fashion talk. | Je ne sais quoi: a charm you cannot name. | /ˌʒə nə seɪ ˈkwɑː/ |
Gabriel’s French speech: two English versions
In S4, Ep. 7 Gabriel answers Emily in French. The subtitles give: “I feel ripped off. I had this bright future with you, a Michelin star, a baby.” and “I’m drained. I no longer believe in anything.” (Ripped off = cheated.) A fan on Reddit quotes an “official translation”: “I spent so much time trying to convince you that you and I were worth it”, where the subtitles say “I spent time trying to convince you that we were worth it”.
Same meaning, different words: check the episode before you quote a translated line. A Paris school also warns that the French subtitles “don’t really reflect the dialogues very well” (French à la Carte). For French words in English, see how to say déjà vu and café.
Emily in Paris captions for Instagram: short, real lines
| Caption | Who, episode | Good for |
|---|---|---|
| “You lost me at bonjour.” | Emily, S1 Ep. 1 | a first day in a new city |
| “It’s like wearing poetry.” | Emily, S1 Ep. 1, on a perfume | a new perfume or outfit |
| “But c’est la vie.” | Emily, S1 Ep. 3 | a bad hair day |
| “I need the whole crepe.” | Emily, S1 Ep. 7 | food photos |
| “Paris seems like a big city, but it’s really just a small town.” | Camille, S1 Ep. 4 | running into friends |
| “Keep the heat low and take it slow.” | Gabriel, S2 Ep. 4 | cooking at home |
| “This isn’t just a fun year abroad anymore. This is your life.” | Mindy, S2 Ep. 10 | a move abroad |
Emily in Paris quotes that are misquoted online
Seen on popular lists or in Google’s AI answer (November 2026). “Not found” means not in the subtitles of seasons 1–4.
| Popular version | Seen on | What the subtitles say |
|---|---|---|
| “A little ‘bonjour’ goes a long way.” | ScreenRant, Google’s AI answer | Nobody says it. In S1, Ep. 1 one file shows “Goes a long way” among apparent song lyrics as Emily meets the rental agent; a second subtitle file has no such line. |
| “It’s Paris, everyone’s serious about dinner.”; “Paris is for cheese lovers.” | Sweety High | Not found. |
| “It doesn’t matter what language we’re speaking…”, credited to Sylvie | Google’s AI answer (speaker), Sweety High (wording) | Camille says it in French (S2, Ep. 4); the translation has “you’re speaking”. |
| “Don’t you know what happened to Jean Valjean when he stole the baguette?” | ScreenRant | S2, Ep. 4: Emily says “what happens”. |
| “We’re on the precipice of the rest of our lives”, as Brooklyn’s wisdom | ScreenRant | S1, Ep. 7: two characters recite it from a film, and one is teased for quoting “your movie”. precipice /ˈpres.ə.pɪs/. |
| “To be a true Parisian, one must suffer”, “Life is like a croissant”, “I’m Roman now. I take the bus”, “perfection is everywhere”, the Muratori line | Google’s AI answer | Not found, and no reliable source for Season 5, so they are not on this page. |
Emily in Paris facts: creator, seasons, cast and awards
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Created by | Darren Star, creator of Sex and the City (Wikipedia); Lily Collins is also a producer (Variety). |
| Network | Netflix; first made for Paramount Network, moved to Netflix in July 2020 (Wikipedia). |
| Seasons | S1: 2 October 2020. S2: 22 December 2021. S3: 21 December 2022. S4: 15 August and 12 September 2024 (Wikipedia). S5: 10 episodes, 18 December 2025, with Rome and Venice (Deadline). S6 is the last. |
| Main cast | Lily Collins (Emily), Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu (Sylvie), Ashley Park (Mindy), Lucas Bravo (Gabriel), Samuel Arnold (Julien), Bruno Gouery (Luc), Camille Razat (Camille), William Abadie (Antoine), Lucien Laviscount (Alfie); Kate Walsh (Madeline) is recurring in seasons 1–3 (Wikipedia). |
| Awards | Two 2021 Golden Globe nominations: musical or comedy series, and Lily Collins (Golden Globes). 11 Emmy nominations, including Outstanding Comedy Series in 2021 (Television Academy). |
| Reach | Seasons 1–5: 32 weeks in Netflix’s global top 10 for English TV, No. 1 in 90 countries (Variety). |
| Venice, August 2025 | Assistant director Diego Borella, 47, died after falling ill on set at the Hotel Danieli; filming was stopped (La Repubblica, Italian). |
Short Emily in Paris quotes to shadow
Shadowing means playing one short line, pausing, and saying it back with the same speed and stress; the shadowing practice guide explains it. Capitals mark stress.
| Line | Say it | Watch for |
|---|---|---|
| “You lost me at bonjour.” | you LOST me at bon-JOUR. | Say “lost me” as one word. |
| “You live to work. We work to live.” | you LIVE to WORK. we WORK to LIVE. | Same words, swapped: keep the beat. |
| “Keep the heat low and take it slow.” | keep the HEAT LOW and take it SLOW. | Round your lips on “low” and “slow”. |
| “It’s all in the way you ask.” | it’s ALL in the WAY you ASK. | A statement: let your voice fall. |
Emily: short lines
B1You lost me at bonjour.
I did Rosetta Stone on the plane, but it hasn’t kicked in yet.
I’m not somebody who can share a crepe. I need the whole crepe.
Read it aloud
Listen to a model reading, then record yourself. You get your speaking pace, the share of words that came through clearly, and the words to repeat.
Sylvie, Luc and Gabriel: calm, clear lines
B2We’re not really like that. It’s all in the way you ask.
I think the Americans have the wrong balance. You live to work. We work to live.
Slow down. You’ve been given the gift of time. Take it.
Read it aloud
Listen to a model reading, then record yourself. You get your speaking pace, the share of words that came through clearly, and the words to repeat.
More drills: pronunciation practice. More shows: The Diplomat quotes. To check your level, take the English speaking test.
Say the lines out loud and get feedback
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Frequently asked questions
Did Emily learn French in Emily in Paris?
Slowly. She already goes to French class in Season 1, Episode 3, and meets Alfie in class in Season 2. In Season 3 Gabriel notices her French improving, but in S4, Ep. 7 she still cannot follow him in French.
Whose idea was Emily in Paris?
What is a famous quote about Paris in Emily in Paris?
Besides Camille’s “small town” line, Emily says in S3, Ep. 2: “You know, I’ll give it to Paris. Even when you’re having a bad day, the city is looking great.” (Promova has “when you have a bad day”.) I’ll give it to Paris = I admit Paris is good at this.
When does Emily in Paris season 6 come out?
Is Emily in Paris in English or French?
Mostly English; French scenes, like Gabriel’s speech in S4, Ep. 7, have English subtitles. For learners of French, French à la Carte suggests the French version from intermediate level.
