Friends isn’t safe from inconsistencies and plot holes, and there’s one regarding Phoebe Buffay and her ability (or lack of) to speak French. Friends made its debut on NBC in 1994 and came to an end in 2004 after 10 successful seasons. Though a long time has passed since the final episode of the series aired, Friends continues to be quite popular, more so after its time at Netflix, which introduced new generations to the series.
Friends followed a group of six young adults living in New York City and doing their best to juggle all aspects of their lives while also dealing with everything adulthood threw their way. Among those was Phoebe Buffay (Lisa Kudrow), a masseuse and amateur musician who was the most eccentric of the group and also the one with the most tragic backstory. Phoebe ended up living in the streets after her mother killed herself and her step-father went to jail, which means she never attended high school but still learned a lot of things.
Among the abilities she learned while living in the streets are speaking Italian and French, but this last one seems to be one she forgets easily, and ended up creating a weird plot hole in the series.
Friends: Does Phoebe Know How To Speak French Or Not?
Phoebe proved she’s fluent in Italian when Joey’s grandmother came to visit, and her ability to speak French showed up a couple of times, but she also forgot about it in some situations. Fans have pointed out that in season 8’s episode “The One With Rachel’s Date”, when Phoebe meets Monica’s sous-chef Tim, she doesn’t know what “sous” means, with Tim explaining that it’s French for “under”. That wouldn’t have been a big deal if a previous episode – specifically season 7’s “The One With Phoebe’s Cookies” – hadn’t shown that she was somewhat skilled in French when she told Monica that her grandma got her cookie recipe from her French grandmother “Nestle Toulouse”.
While that moment can be justified by Phoebe simply knowing the correct pronunciation through what her grandmother told her, a later episode definitely proved that Phoebe has known how to speak French all along. Season 10’s episode “The One Where Joey Speaks French” revealed that she has been fluent in French for years, explaining that she learned with a small group of people who gathered behind a dumpster to learn the language. Though this plot hole doesn’t really affect Friends as a whole nor Phoebe’s arc, it’s a detail that fans have been pointing out frequently, but in the end, it only adds to Phoebe’s mysterious and eccentric personality.