#258 Sending an International Package at the Post Office｜French Daily Life Phrases

When you are traveling abroad, you may want to send souvenirs home or ship packages to your family from your study-abroad destination. In these situations, you may need to arrange an international shipment at the post office.

With international shipping, there are several important points you may need to confirm, such as the delivery method, estimated arrival time, and whether tracking services are available.

In this section, I will explain useful French expressions for sending packages overseas at the post office, together with conversation examples and important grammar points.

Dialogue

A

Bonjour, je voudrais envoyer ce colis à l’étranger.
（Hello, I would like to send this package overseas.）

B

Bien sûr. Dans quel pays souhaitez-vous l’envoyer ?
（Certainly. Which country would you like to send it to?）

A

Au Canada, s’il vous plaît.
（To Canada, please.）

B

Vous préférez un envoi standard ou express ?
（Would you prefer standard or express shipping?）

A

Combien de temps prend l’envoi standard ?
（How long does standard shipping take?）

B

Environ une semaine.
（Approximately one week.）

A

D’accord, je vais prendre l’envoi standard.
（All right, I will take standard shipping.）

1. Requesting International Shipping

First, you need to tell the postal clerk that you would like to send a package overseas.

The expression “Je voudrais” is the present conditional form of the verb vouloir (“to want”). It is commonly used to express your wishes politely.

Although it is also possible to say:

This sounds more direct. In service situations such as at a post office, I recommend using “je voudrais,” which sounds softer and more polite.

The word “étranger” means “foreign country” or “abroad.” Since it begins with a vowel sound, French uses “l’étranger” instead of “le étranger.”

By combining it with the preposition “à,” the expression “à l’étranger” means “abroad” or “overseas.”

2. Confirming the Destination Country

For international shipping, the staff member may ask which country you would like to send the package to.

The phrase “dans quel pays” means “to which country.” Here, “quel” is an interrogative adjective meaning “which.”

In French, “quel” changes form depending on the gender and number of the noun that follows it. Since “pays” is masculine singular, the form used here is “quel.”

Next, “souhaitez-vous” comes from the verb “souhaiter” (“to wish” or “to prefer”). In customer-service situations, it is often used politely to mean “would you like” or “would you prefer.”

The expression “l’envoyer” is a shortened form of “le envoyer,” where elision occurs before the vowel sound.

In this sentence, “le” is not a definite article. Instead, it is an object pronoun referring to “ce colis” (this package).

3. Asking About Delivery Time

When sending packages internationally, it is important to confirm how long delivery will take.

This is especially useful if you are traveling or staying abroad temporarily, since knowing the estimated arrival date makes it easier to inform the recipient in advance.

The phrase “combien de temps” means “how much time” or “how long,” and it is commonly used to ask about duration.

By itself, “combien” usually asks about quantity or price (“how many” / “how much”). However, adding “de temps” changes the meaning to the length of time required.

The verb “prend” is the third-person singular form of “prendre.”Although “prendre” normally means “to take,” it can also mean “to require” or “to take time” when discussing duration.

Summary