Bonus Unit 6 — Apartment viewing · A1

1

The setting

Where and who

Place: a 3^rd-floor apartment in the Croix-Rousse neighbourhood of Lyon.
Characters: Eva (French, 24, an architecture student) is looking for two flatmates for her big apartment. She's hosting Li Yitong (李一桐) and Zhang Jiani (张嘉倪), two Chinese Master's students in Lyon, who replied to her ad on Appartager. Note: Li Yitong and Zhang Jiani are both well-known Chinese actresses — they appear here as guest characters in our bonus chapters. As an English-speaking learner, you don't need to know who they are to enjoy the dialogue; just two students looking for a flat in Lyon.

Eva opens her apartment door to Yitong and Jiani — Scene 1 Arrival — "Welcome to the Croix-Rousse!" First impressions

E

Eva

French, 24. Architecture student in Lyon. Open and curious about other cultures.

李

Li Yitong · 李一桐

Master's student in law. Calm and studious — she likes working in the evenings.

张

Zhang Jiani · 张嘉倪

Master's student in communication. Bubbly, loves bright spaces and cooking.

2

The dialogue

Read along

Eva —Bonjour ! Vous êtes Yitong et Jiani ? Entrez, entrez ! Hello! Are you Yitong and Jiani? Come in, come in!
Li Yitong —Bonjour Eva ! Oui, c'est nous. Merci beaucoup de nous recevoir. Hi Eva! Yes, it's us. Thank you so much for having us over.
Zhang Jiani —On a beaucoup aimé ton annonce sur Appartager ! We really liked your ad on Appartager!
Eva —Super ! Bienvenue à la Croix-Rousse. Je vais vous montrer l'appartement. Mais d'abord, vous pouvez laisser vos chaussures à l'entrée, s'il vous plaît ? Great! Welcome to the Croix-Rousse. I'll show you around the flat. But first — could you leave your shoes by the entrance, please?
Zhang Jiani —Pas de problème ! En Chine, c'est pareil chez nous. No problem! It's the same at home in China.

Eva shows the living room with balcony and view over Lyon — Scene 2 Living room and kitchen — "Look at this view!" The shared spaces

Eva —Voilà le salon. Il est très lumineux, avec un grand balcon. Here's the living room. It's very bright, with a big balcony.
Zhang Jiani —Wouah ! La vue est magnifique ! On voit la basilique de Fourvière ! Wow! The view is gorgeous! You can see the Fourvière basilica!
Li Yitong —Et la Saône aussi… C'est superbe. And the Saône river too… it's stunning.
Eva —Oui, on adore. La cuisine est juste à côté, ouverte sur le salon. Yes, we love it. The kitchen is right next door, open onto the living room.
Li Yitong —Elle est moderne ! Il y a un four et un lave-vaisselle ? It's modern! Is there an oven and a dishwasher?
Eva —Oui, tout est équipé. On peut cuisiner ensemble le week-end ! Yes, fully equipped. We can cook together on weekends!
Zhang Jiani —Parfait ! On adore faire la cuisine. Tu connais la cuisine chinoise ? Perfect! We love cooking. Do you know Chinese cuisine?
Eva —Un peu ! Je sais faire du riz cantonais. Mais vous allez sûrement m'apprendre beaucoup d'autres choses ! A bit! I can make Cantonese fried rice. But I'm sure you'll teach me lots more!

Eva opens the door to a bright bedroom; the two friends look in — Scene 3 The bedrooms — "One bright, one quiet" Picking rooms

Eva —Maintenant, les chambres. Il y a deux chambres libres. La première donne sur la rue : elle est très lumineuse, avec une grande fenêtre. Now, the bedrooms. There are two free rooms. The first one looks onto the street — very bright, with a big window.
Zhang Jiani —Oh, j'adore ! J'aime beaucoup les chambres claires. Oh, I love it! I really like bright rooms.
Eva —Et la deuxième est de l'autre côté du couloir. Elle est plus calme — elle donne sur la cour. Pas de bruit. And the second one is on the other side of the corridor. It's quieter — it overlooks the courtyard. No noise.
Li Yitong —Ah, parfait pour moi ! Je travaille beaucoup le soir, j'ai besoin du calme. Oh, perfect for me! I work a lot in the evenings — I need quiet.
Eva —Très bien ! Donc Jiani la chambre claire et Yitong la chambre calme ? Great! So Jiani gets the bright room and Yitong the quiet one?
Zhang Jiani —Oui ! Et la salle de bains ? Yes! And the bathroom?
Eva —Au bout du couloir. Il y a une douche, des toilettes séparées et un lave-linge. At the end of the corridor. There's a shower, a separate toilet, and a washing machine.

The three friends discuss the rent and toast in the living room — Scene 4 The rent and the decision — "We'll take it!" Sealing the deal

Eva —Maintenant, parlons du loyer. C'est 450 € par personne, charges comprises. Internet, eau et électricité inclus. Now, let's talk about the rent. It's 450 € per person, bills included. Internet, water and electricity included.
Li Yitong —D'accord. Et qu'est-ce qu'il faut faire pour le bail ? OK. And what do we need to do for the lease?
Eva —Il faut juste votre passeport et un garant. Vous allez signer la semaine prochaine au bureau de l'agence. You just need your passport and a guarantor. You'll sign next week at the agency office.
Zhang Jiani —Et… il y a des règles à respecter dans la coloc ? And… are there any house rules?
Eva —Pas beaucoup ! Il ne faut pas faire de bruit après 22 h, et on partage le ménage : une semaine chacune. Not many! No noise after 10 p.m., and we share the cleaning — one week each.
Li Yitong —Pas de problème ! Et… on peut inviter des amis ? No problem! And… can we have friends over?
Eva —Bien sûr ! Mais il faut juste prévenir avant. Pour les fêtes, on demande aux deux autres. Of course! Just give a heads-up. For parties, we ask the other two first.
Zhang Jiani —C'est très clair. On peut te donner notre réponse ce soir ? Very clear. Can we give you our answer tonight?
Eva —Bien sûr. Téléphonez-moi ou envoyez-moi un message ! Of course. Call me or text me!
Li Yitong —En fait, Eva… on adore l'appartement. On le prend ! Actually, Eva… we love the apartment. We'll take it!
Zhang Jiani —Oui ! Tu vas être notre première amie française ! Yes! You're going to be our first French friend!
Eva —Génial ! Bienvenue à la maison, mes futures colocataires ! On va boire un thé pour fêter ça ? Wonderful! Welcome home, my future flatmates! Shall we have a tea to celebrate?
Li Yitong & Zhang Jiani —Avec plaisir ! Gladly!

3

3 new words

Just three to learn

All the rest of the vocabulary comes from Lessons 21 to 24 (Unit 6) and earlier units.

lumineux / lumineuse adj. bright, full of natural light A lumineuse room gets a lot of sunlight. Very useful when describing a flat (it's the first thing French ads mention).
Ex.: Le salon est très lumineux. "The living room is very bright."
le loyer n.m. rent (the monthly payment) The amount of money paid each month to the landlord. Charges comprises = "bills included" (water, electricity, etc.).
Ex.: Le loyer est de 450 €, charges comprises. "Rent is 450 €, bills included."
un / une colocataire n. flatmate, roommate Someone you share an apartment with. In casual speech, French people say "un coloc" / "une coloc". Faire une coloc = "to share a flat / live in a flatshare".
Ex.: Mes colocataires sont chinoises. "My flatmates are Chinese."

💡 Bonus expression: donner sur + place = "to look out onto" / "to face / overlook". Standard phrase for describing where windows or balconies face.
• La chambre donne sur la cour. "The bedroom looks onto the courtyard."
• Le balcon donne sur la rue. "The balcony faces the street."

4

Comprehension

Did you follow?

Pick the right answer

Which Lyon neighbourhood is the apartment in?
How many free bedrooms are there?
What can you see from the balcony?
How much is the rent per person?
What's Eva's rule about noise?
What does Eva offer at the end?

5

Lyon & flatsharing the French way

Cultural snapshot

🏙️ Lyon, "the capital of the Gauls"

Lyon is France's 2nd city after Paris. Located at the confluence of the Rhône and the Saône, it's famous for:

Its cuisine 🍽️ — France's gastronomic capital, with its famous "bouchons" (small traditional restaurants) and dishes like quenelle, salade lyonnaise, and tablier de sapeur.
Its traboules 🚪 — secret passageways between buildings, especially in Vieux Lyon and Croix-Rousse, originally used to transport silk.
The Fête des Lumières 🕯️ every 8 December — the whole city lights up with art installations.
The Fourvière basilica ⛪, perched on the hill that dominates the city.

🏘️ La Croix-Rousse, the silk-workers' quarter

A neighbourhood on the "working hill" (as opposed to Fourvière, the praying hill). In the 19th century it was home to the canuts, Lyon's silk weavers. Today it's a bohemian, lively district popular with students: markets, cafés, artists' studios, gorgeous views over Lyon.

🤝 Flatsharing in France

Colocation ("coloc'" in casual speech) — French for flatsharing — is very common among students and young professionals, especially in big cities where rent is high.

Popular platforms: LeBonCoin, SeLoger, Appartager (≈ SpareRoom in the UK or Roomies in the US).
Flatmates split the loyer (rent) and charges (bills — water, electricity, internet, heating).
The bail (lease) can be individual (each tenant signs for their room) or solidaire (everyone is jointly liable for the full rent).
The garant (guarantor — usually a parent) covers the rent if the tenant can't pay. This catches a lot of foreign students by surprise — many landlords demand a French-resident guarantor.
The dépôt de garantie (security deposit) is typically 1 month's rent (returned at the end of the lease).

Renting in big French cities is expensive — students and young workers commonly share flats. Each flatmate pays their share of the loyer; bills (les charges) are usually itemized separately. Leases (bail) typically require a guarantor (garant) and a security deposit (dépôt de garantie).

💡 Housing vocabulary for going further:

un studio — a single-room apartment (≈ a "studio" / "bedsit").
un T2 / un F2 — a 2-room apartment (1 bedroom + 1 living room). ≈ a "1-bed flat" in UK English.
un T3 / F3 — 3 rooms (2 bedrooms + 1 living room). ≈ a "2-bed flat".
la surface = the area in m² (square metres) — e.g. 40 m² = "forty square metres" (≈ 430 sq ft).
meublé / non meublé = "furnished / unfurnished".
l'étage = the floor. 3^e étage in France = the 4th floor in the US, the 3rd floor in the UK. The rez-de-chaussée (ground floor) doesn't count as an "étage" — same logic as British "ground floor / first floor".

Une visite d'appartement