Lesson 9.4

À la pharmacie

At the Pharmacy

Armed with his prescription from lesson 9.3, Lucas heads to the pharmacy! In this lesson you'll learn the vocabulary for buying medicine, understanding dosage instructions, and asking the pharmacist questions. You'll also master two essential grammar structures: 'devoir + infinitive' (must / have to) and 'il faut + infinitive' (one must / it is necessary to). These are incredibly useful for giving and receiving instructions of all kinds — not just at the pharmacy.

Learning tips

'L'officine' is the formal and correct French word for a pharmacy (the dispensing area). You may also hear 'la pharmacie' used for the shop as a whole. Knowing 'officine' will impress a French pharmacist!
'Devoir' conjugates like a regular -oir verb: je dois, tu dois, il/elle doit, nous devons, vous devez, ils/elles doivent. It is used with a following infinitive — 'je dois avaler' (I must swallow).
'Il faut' is impersonal — it has no subject other than the placeholder 'il' and is always the same form. It applies to everyone: 'il faut avaler avec de l'eau' = 'one must swallow with water / you need to swallow with water'.
Notice the difference in register: 'vous devez' speaks directly to a person ('you must'), while 'il faut' is general advice ('one must'). Both are very common.
Dosage instructions in French follow a pattern: number + noun + 'fois par' + time period, e.g. 'deux comprimés trois fois par jour' (two tablets three times a day). You'll hear this often.

Warm-up & Active Recall

Recap: In lesson 9.3 you learned 'avoir' expressions for physical states: 'avoir faim', 'avoir soif', 'avoir sommeil', 'avoir froid', 'avoir chaud', 'avoir peur', 'avoir de la fièvre'. Quick check: how do you say 'I am hungry and thirsty' in French? (Hint: use 'avoir', not 'être'!)

Word	Meaning
le docteur	the doctor
le rendez-vous	the appointment
la fièvre	fever
la grippe	the flu
le médicament	the medicine / medication
l'ordonnance	the prescription
examiner	to examine
prescrire	to prescribe
la consultation	the consultation
le symptôme	the symptom

Dialog

Lucas arrives at the pharmacy with his prescription. Camille plays the role of the pharmacist. She explains what he has been prescribed — a cough syrup and an ointment — and gives him clear dosage instructions using 'vous devez' and 'il faut'. The dialog also introduces tablets ('comprimés') and the concept of buying medicines without a prescription.

💊 À l'officine — Lucas entre avec une ordonnance du docteur

Lucas

Bonjour, je suis Lucas. Je viens de chez le docteur — voici mon ordonnance.

(Hello, I am Lucas. I come from the doctor — here-is my prescription.)

Hello, I'm Lucas. I've just come from the doctor's — here is my prescription.

Camille

Bonjour ! Je suis le pharmacien de cette officine. Voyons ça.

(Hello! I am the pharmacist of this pharmacy. Let-us-see that.)

Hello! I'm the pharmacist at this pharmacy. Let's have a look.

Camille

Vous avez un rhume et une légère fièvre. Le docteur prescrit un sirop et une pommade.

(You have a cold and a slight fever. The doctor prescribes a syrup and an ointment.)

You have a cold and a slight fever. The doctor has prescribed a syrup and an ointment.

Lucas

D'accord. Comment je dois prendre le sirop ?

(Okay. How I must take the syrup?)

I see. How should I take the syrup?

Camille

Vous devez avaler une grande cuillerée trois fois par jour, après les repas.

(You must swallow a big spoonful three times per day, after the meals.)

You must swallow a large spoonful three times a day, after meals.

🧴 Au comptoir — le pharmacien explique la pommade et les comprimés

Lucas

Et la pommade — comment je dois l'appliquer ?

(And the ointment — how I must it-apply?)

And the ointment — how should I apply it?

Camille

Il faut appliquer la pommade deux fois par jour sur la gorge. C'est simple.

(It is-necessary to-apply the ointment two times per day on the throat. It-is simple.)

You need to apply the ointment to your throat twice a day. It's simple.

Lucas

J'ai aussi des comprimés à avaler ?

(I-have also some tablets to swallow?)

Do I also have tablets to take?

Camille

Oui, deux comprimés par jour. Vous pouvez les acheter sans ordonnance la prochaine fois.

(Yes, two tablets per day. You can them buy without prescription the next time.)

Yes, two tablets a day. You can buy them without a prescription next time.

Lucas

Merci. Et cette pommade, elle est disponible sans ordonnance aussi ?

(Thank-you. And this ointment, it is available without prescription also?)

Thank you. And this ointment — is it available without a prescription too?

Vocabulary

Active words

Word	IPA	Translation	Note
l' l'officine	/lɔ.fi.sin/	the pharmacy (dispensing area)	Feminine noun. The precise term for the dispensing area inside a pharmacy. Also used for the shop: 'la pharmacie' is more common in everyday speech, but 'officine' is the formal/professional term.
le pharmacien	/lə faʁ.ma.sjɛ̃/	the pharmacist	Masculine form. Feminine: 'la pharmacienne'. In France, pharmacists have a 6-year university degree and are qualified to give medical advice.
le comprimé	/lə kɔ̃.pʁi.me/	the tablet / pill	Masculine noun. The standard French word for a tablet or pill. 'Deux comprimés par jour' = 'two tablets a day'.
le sirop	/lə si.ʁo/	the syrup	Masculine noun. Typically a cough or cold syrup: 'sirop contre la toux' = 'cough syrup'. The final 'p' is silent.
la pommade	/la pɔ.mad/	the ointment / cream	Feminine noun. Applied to the skin rather than swallowed. 'Appliquer une pommade' = to apply an ointment.
le rhume	/lə ʁym/	the cold (illness)	Masculine noun. 'Un rhume' = a common cold (not the flu). 'J'ai un rhume' = 'I have a cold'. The final 'e' is silent.
avaler	/a.va.le/	to swallow	Regular -er verb. 'Avaler un comprimé' = 'to swallow a tablet'. Always followed by the thing being swallowed.
appliquer	/a.pli.ke/	to apply	Regular -er verb. 'Appliquer la pommade' = 'to apply the ointment'. Used for creams, ointments, patches.
fois	/fwa/	time(s) (occurrence)	Feminine noun when referring to instances: 'une fois' (once), 'deux fois' (twice), 'trois fois par jour' (three times a day). Do not confuse with 'le temps' (time in general).
par jour	/paʁ ʒuʁ/	per day / a day	Fixed adverbial phrase. 'Deux comprimés par jour' = 'two tablets per day'. Other patterns: 'par semaine' (per week), 'par mois' (per month).

Passive words

Word	IPA	Translation	Note
l' l'allergie	/la.lɛʁ.ʒi/
l' l'aspirine	/las.pi.ʁin/
le pansement	/lə pɑ̃s.mɑ̃/
la vitamine	/la vi.ta.min/
sans ordonnance	/sɑ̃z‿ɔʁ.dɔ.nɑ̃s/
le dosage	/lə do.zaʒ/

Useful chunks

Word	Translation
deux comprimés par jour	two tablets per day
avaler avec de l'eau	swallow with water
sans ordonnance	without a prescription

Pronunciation: -ier and -ez endings: The pharmacist word 'pharmacien' ends in a nasal /jɛ̃/ — practise it as a single nasal sound, not 'ee-en'. Meanwhile, the verb endings '-ez' in 'vous devez' and 'vous pouvez' are pronounced /e/ — exactly like a plain 'é'. Do not add a 'z' sound at the end of 'devez' or 'appelez' in isolation; the 'z' only links (liaisons) when the next word starts with a vowel: 'vous devez avaler' → /vu.dəve.za.va.le/.

Grammar: Obligation with 'devoir' + infinitive and 'il faut' + infinitive — expressing necessity

Structure	Exemple	Sens
je dois + infinitif	Je dois avaler le sirop.	I must swallow the syrup.
tu dois + infinitif	Tu dois appliquer la pommade.	You must apply the ointment.
il/elle doit + infinitif	Il doit prendre deux comprimés.	He must take two tablets.
nous devons + infinitif	Nous devons boire de l'eau.	We must drink water.
il faut + infinitif	Il faut avaler avec de l'eau.	One must swallow with water.
il faut + infinitif (négatif)	Il ne faut pas oublier le sirop.	One must not forget the syrup.

This lesson focuses on expressing obligation and necessity — saying what must be done. French has two main ways to do this. The first is 'devoir + infinitive': this verb conjugates for each subject (je dois, tu dois, il/elle doit, nous devons, vous devez, ils/elles doivent) and speaks directly to a person — 'vous devez avaler le sirop' means 'you must swallow the syrup', addressed to you specifically. The second is 'il faut + infinitive': this is impersonal and unchanging — 'il faut' is always the same form, equivalent to 'one must', 'you need to', or 'it is necessary to'. 'Il faut avaler avec de l'eau' applies to everyone. Both structures are negated differently: 'devoir' adds 'ne...pas' around the verb itself ('je ne dois pas oublier'), while 'il faut' adds 'ne...pas' around 'faut' ('il ne faut pas oublier'). The negative form 'il ne faut pas' is very strong — it means it is forbidden or strongly inadvisable. At the pharmacy, you will hear both structures constantly as the pharmacist gives instructions.

Exercises

Fill in the Blanks

Choose the correct word from the brackets to complete each sentence.

Je dois le comprimé avec de l'eau. (avaler/appliquer)(tablets are swallowed, not applied)
Le pharmacien travaille dans une . (officine/consultation)(where does the pharmacist work?)
Il faut prendre le sirop trois par jour. (fois/jours)(number of occurrences — which noun?)
Elle a un et elle tousse beaucoup. (rhume/dosage)(a cold involves coughing — which noun?)
Il faut la pommade sur la peau deux fois par jour. (appliquer/avaler)(pommade goes on the skin — which verb?)

Grammar Application

Complete or transform each sentence using 'devoir' or 'il faut' as indicated.

Complétez avec la bonne forme de 'devoir' : Tu prendre le sirop ce soir.(tu + devoir — which conjugation?)
Complétez avec la bonne forme de 'devoir' : Nous avaler les comprimés après le repas.(nous + devoir — which conjugation?)
Transformez avec 'il faut' : Je dois me reposer. → (rewrite 'je dois me reposer' using impersonal 'il faut')
Complétez avec la bonne forme de 'devoir' : Il aller à l'officine ce matin.(il + devoir — which conjugation?)
Transformez avec 'il faut' : Tu dois boire beaucoup d'eau. → (rewrite 'tu dois boire...' using impersonal 'il faut')

Translate into French

Translate each sentence into French. The French answers are given — translate FROM English TO French, checking the correct structure.

I must swallow two tablets per day.
You need to apply the ointment in the morning.
The pharmacist is in the pharmacy.
She must take the syrup three times a day.
I have a cold, I need to rest.

Build Your Own Sentence

Write 2–3 French sentences giving health instructions to a friend who has a cold. Use 'devoir' for personalised advice and 'il faut' for general advice.

Takeaway

Use 'devoir + infinitive' to tell a specific person what they must do, and 'il faut + infinitive' for general necessity — both structures are essential for giving and following instructions in French.

Culture note: French pharmacies are far more than shops — they are frontline healthcare providers. With a green illuminated cross as their symbol, they are found on almost every high street in France. French law requires at least one pharmacist to be present at all times. Pharmacists can advise on minor illnesses, recommend treatments, measure blood pressure, and even administer some vaccines. Many medicines that require a prescription in the UK or US can be bought over-the-counter ('sans ordonnance') in France, while others that are freely available elsewhere do require a prescription in France. France also has a tradition of homeopathic ('homéopathique') remedies sold at pharmacies, though their effectiveness is debated. Learning to navigate a French pharmacy will make travelling and living in France much easier.

Explanations in: de en