Listen to Audio
Practice Exercises
| Bonjour /bɔ̃ʒuʀ/ Hello / Good day / Good morning |
Bonsoir /bɔ̃swaʀ/ Good evening |
Bonne nuit /bɔn nɥi/ Good night (only said when going to bed) |
| Salut /saly/ Hi / Bye |
Au revoir /ɔʀ(ə)vwaʀ/ Goodbye |
S’il vous plaît / S’il te plaît /sil vu plɛ/ Please (formal / informal) |
| Merci (beaucoup) /mɛʀsi boku/ Thank you (very much) |
De rien. /də ʀjɛ̃/ You’re welcome. |
Je vous en prie. /ʒəvu zɑ̃ pri/ You’re welcome. (formal) / Go ahead. |
| Bienvenu(e) /bjɛ̃vəny/ Welcome (also You’re welcome in Quebec) |
Allons-y! /alɔ̃ zi/ Let’s go! |
A tout à l’heure /a tu ta lœʀ/ See you in a little while |
| A plus tard /a ply taʀ/ See you later |
A bientôt /a bjɛ̃to/ See you soon |
A demain /a dəmɛ̃/ See you tomorrow |
| Je suis désolé(e) /dezɔle/ I’m sorry |
Pardon ! /paʀdɔ̃/ Excuse me! (pushing through a crowd) / Sorry! (stepped on someone’s foot) |
Excusez-moi ! /ekskyze mwa/ Excuse me! (getting someone’s attention) / I’m sorry! (more formal apology) |
| Comment allez-vous ? /kɔmɑ̃ tale vu/ How are you? (formal) |
Je vais bien /ʒə ve bjɛ̃/ I’m fine. |
Très bien / mal / pas mal /tʀɛ bjɛ̃/ /mal/ /pa mal/ Very good / bad / not bad |
| Ça va ? /sa va/ How are you? (informal) |
Ça va. /sa va/ I’m fine. (informal response to Ça va ?) |
Oui / non /wi/ /nɔ̃/ Yes / no |
| Comment vous appelez-vous ? /kɔmɑ̃ vu zaple vu/ What’s your name? (formal) |
Tu t’appelles comment ? /ty tapɛl kɔmɑ̃/ What’s your name? (informal) |
Je m’appelle… /ʒə mapɛl/ My name is… |
| Enchanté(e) /ɑ̃ʃɑ̃te/ Nice to meet you. |
Monsieur, Madame, Mademoiselle /məsjø/ /madam/ /madwazɛl/ Mister, Misses, Miss |
Mesdames et Messieurs /medam/ /mesjø/ Ladies and gentlemen |
| Vous êtes d’où ? / Vous venez d’où ? /vu zɛt du/ /vu vəne du/ Where are you from? (formal) |
Tu es d’où ? / Tu viens d’où ? /ty ɛ du/ /ty vjɛ̃ du/ Where are you from? (informal) |
Je suis de… / Je viens de… /ʒə sɥi də/ /ʒə vjɛ̃ də/ I am from… |
| Où habitez-vous ? /u abite vu/ Where do you live? (formal) |
Tu habites où ? /ty abit u/ Where do you live? (informal) |
J’habite à… /ʒabit a/ I live in… |
| Quel âge avez-vous ? /kɛl ɑʒ ave vu/ How old are you? (formal) |
Tu as quel âge ? /ty ɑ kɛl ɑʒ/ How old are you? (informal) |
J’ai ____ ans. /ʒe __ ɑ̃/ I am ____ years old. |
| Parlez-vous français ? / Tu parles anglais ? /paʀle vu frɑ̃sɛ/ /ty paʀl ɑ̃glɛ/ Do you speak French? (formal) / Do you speak English? (informal) |
Je parle allemand. /ʒə paʀl almɑ/̃ I speak German. |
Je ne parle pas espagnol. /ʒə nə paʀl pa ɛspaɲɔl/ I don’t speak Spanish. |
| Comprenez-vous? / Tu comprends? /kɔ̃pʀəne vu/ /ty kɔ̃pʀɑ̃/ Do you understand? (formal / informal) |
Je comprends /ʒə kɔ̃pʀɑ̃/ I understand |
Je ne comprends pas /ʒə nə kɔ̃pʀɑ̃ pa/ I don’t understand |
| Pouvez-vous m’aider ? / Tu peux m’aider ? /puve vu mede/ /ty pø mede/ Can you help me? (formal / informal) |
Bien sûr. /bjɛ̃ syʀ/ Of course. |
Comment ? /kɔmɑ̃/ What? Pardon? |
| Tenez / Tiens /təne/ /tjɛ̃/ Hey / Here (formal / informal) |
Je sais /ʒə sɛ/ I know |
Je ne sais pas /ʒən sɛ pa/ I don’t know |
| Où est … / Où sont … ? /u ɛ/ /u sɔ̃/ Where is … / Where are … ? |
Voici / Voilà /vwasi/ /vwala/ Here is/are… / There it is. |
Il y a … / Il y avait… /il i a/ /il i avɛ/ There is / are… / There was / were… |
| Comment dit-on ____ en français ? /kɔmɑ̃ di tɔ̃ __ ɑ̃ fʀɑ̃sɛ/ How do you say ____ in French? |
Qu’est-ce que c’est que ça ? /kɛs kə sɛ kə sa/ What is that? |
Qu’est-ce qu’il y a ? /kɛs kil i a/ What’s the matter? |
| Ça ne fait rien. /sa nə fɛ ʀjɛ̃/ It doesn’t matter. |
Qu’est-ce qui se passe ? /kɛs ki sə pas/ What’s happening? |
Je n’ai aucune idée. /ʒə ne okyn ide/ I have no idea. |
| Je suis fatigué(e) / Je suis malade. /ʒə sɥi fatiɡe/ /ʒə sɥi malad/ I’m tired / I’m sick. |
J’ai faim / J’ai soif. /ʒe fɛ̃/ /ʒe swaf/ I’m hungry / I’m thirsty. |
J’ai chaud / J’ai froid. /ʒe ʃo/ /ʒe fʀwɑ/ I’m hot / I’m cold. |
| Je m’ennuie. /ʒə mɑ̃nɥi/ I’m bored. |
Ça m’est égal. / Je m’en fiche. /sa mɛ teɡal/ /ʒə mɑ̃ fiʃ/ It’s the same to me / I don’t care. (informal) |
Ne vous en faites pas. / Ne t’en fais pas. /nə vu ɑ̃ fɛt pa/ /nə tɑ̃ fɛ pa/ Don’t worry (formal / informal) |
| Ce n’est pas grave. /sə nɛ pa gʀav/ It’s no problem. / It’s alright. |
J’ai oublié. /ʒe ublije/ I forgot. |
Je dois y aller. /ʒə dwa i ale/ I must go. |
| A vos souhaits ! / A tes souhaits ! /a vo swɛ/ /a te swɛ/ Bless you! (formal / informal) |
Félicitations ! /felisitasjɔ̃/ Congratulations! |
Bonne chance ! /bɔn ʃɑ̃s/ Good luck! |
| C’est à vous ! / C’est à toi ! /sɛ ta vu/ /sɛ ta twɑ/ It’s your turn! (formal / informal) |
Taisez-vous ! / Tais-toi ! /tɛze vu/ /tɛ twɑ/ Shut up! / Be quiet! (formal / informal) |
Je vous aime / Je t’aime /ʒə vu zɛm/ /ʒə tɛm/ I love you (formal & plural / informal) |
| Tu me manques. /ty mə mɑ̃k/ I miss you. (informal) |
Quoi de neuf ? /kwɑ də nœf/ What’s new? |
Pas grand-chose. /pa gʀɑ̃ ʃoz/ Not a whole lot. |
Notice that French has informal and formal ways of saying things. This is because there is more than one meaning to “you” in French (as well as in many other languages.) The informal you is used when talking to close friends, relatives, animals or children. The formal you is used when talking to someone you just met, do not know well, or someone for whom you would like to show respect (a professor, for example.) There is also a plural you, used when speaking to more than one person. Also notice that some words take an extra e, shown in parentheses. If the word refers to a woman or is spoken by a woman, then the e is added in spelling; but in most cases, it does not change the pronunciation. To make verbs negative, French adds ne before the verb and pas after it. However, the ne is frequently dropped in spoken French, although it must appear in written French.