1.

Basic Phrases / les expressions de base

NEW! If you'd like to study these phrases (and their pronunciations) individually, please go to Basic
French Phrases.
Bonjour
/bu/
Hello / Good day / Good morning

Bonsoir
/bswa/
Good evening

Bonne nuit
/bn ni/
Good night (only said when
going to bed)

Salut
/saly/
Hi / Bye

Au revoir
/()vwa/
Goodbye

S'il vous plat / S'il te plat

/sil vu pl/
Please (formal / informal)

Merci (beaucoup)
/msi boku/
Thank you (very much)

De rien.
/d j/
You're welcome.

Je vous en prie.
/vu z pri/
You're welcome. (formal) / Go
ahead.

Bienvenu(e)
/bjvny/
Welcome (also You're welcome in
Quebec)

Allons-y!
/al zi/
Let's go!

A tout l'heure
/a tu ta l/
See you in a little while

A plus tard
/a ply ta/
See you later

A bientt
/a bjto/
See you soon

A demain
/a dm/
See you tomorrow

Je suis dsol(e)
/dezle/
I'm sorry

Pardon !
/pad/
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 ?
/km tale vu/
How are you? (formal)

Je vais bien
/ ve bj/
I'm fine.

Trs bien / mal / pas mal

/t bj/ /mal/ /pa mal/
Very good / bad / not bad

a va ?
/sa va/
How are you? (informal)

a va.
/sa va/
I'm fine. (informal response
to a va ?)

Oui / non
/wi/ /n/
Yes / no

Comment vous appelez-vous ?

/km vu zaple vu/
What's your name? (formal)

Tu t'appelles comment ?
/ty tapl km/
What's your name?
(informal)

Je m'appelle...
/ mapl/
My name is...

Enchant(e)
/te/

Monsieur, Madame,
Mademoiselle

Mesdames et Messieurs
/medam/ /mesj/

Nice to meet you.

/msj/ /madam/ /madwazl/

Mister, Misses, Miss

Ladies and gentlemen

Vous tes d'o ? / Vous venez

d'o ?
/vu zt du/ /vu vne du/
Where are you from? (formal)

Tu es d'o ? / Tu viens
d'o ?
/ty du/ /ty vj du/
Where are you from?
(informal)

Je suis de... / Je viens de...

/ si d/ / vj d/
I am from...

O habitez-vous ?
/u abite vu/
Where do you live? (formal)

Tu habites o ?
/ty abit u/
Where do you live?
(informal)

J'habite ...
/abit a/
I live in...

Quel ge avez-vous ?
/kl ave vu/
How old are you? (formal)

Tu as quel ge ?
/ty kl /
How old are you? (informal)

J'ai ____ ans.

/e __ /
I am ____ years old.

Parlez-vous franais ? / Tu
parles anglais ?
/pale vu frs/ /ty pal gl/
Do you speak French? (formal) /
Do you speak English? (informal)

Je parle allemand.
/ pal alm//
I speak German.

Je ne parle pas espagnol.

/ n pal pa spal/
I don't speak Spanish.

Comprenez-vous? / Tu
comprends?
/kpne vu/ /ty kp/
Do you understand? (formal /
informal)

Je comprends
/ kp/
I understand

Je ne comprends pas
/ n kp pa/
I don't understand

Pouvez-vous m'aider ? / Tu peux

m'aider ?
/puve vu mede/ /ty p mede/
Can you help me? (formal /
informal)

Bien sr.
/bj sy/
Of course.

Comment ?
/km/
What? Pardon?

Tenez / Tiens
/tne/ /tj/
Hey / Here (formal / informal)

Je sais
/ s/
I know

Je ne sais pas
/n s pa/
I don't know

O est ... / O sont ... ?

/u / /u s/
Where is ... / Where are ... ?

Voici / Voil
/vwasi/ /vwala/
Here is/are... / There it is.

Il y a ... / Il y avait...
/il i a/ /il i av/
There is / are... / There was /
were...

Comment dit-on ____ en

franais ?
/km di t __ fs/
How do you say ____ in French?

Qu'est-ce que c'est que a ?

/ks k s k sa/
What is that?

Qu'est-ce qu'il y a ?
/ks kil i a/
What's the matter?

a ne fait rien.
/sa n f j/
It doesn't matter.

Qu'est-ce qui se passe ?

/ks ki s pas/
What's happening?

Je n'ai aucune ide.

/ ne okyn ide/
I have no idea.

Je suis fatigu(e) / Je suis

malade.
/ si fatie/ / si malad/
I'm tired / I'm sick.

J'ai faim / J'ai soif.

/e f/ /e swaf/
I'm hungry / I'm thirsty.

J'ai chaud / J'ai froid.

/e o/ /e fw/
I'm hot / I'm cold.

Je m'ennuie.
/ mni/
I'm bored.

a m'est gal. / Je m'en

fiche.
/sa m teal/ / m fi/
It's the same to me / I don't
care. (informal)

Ne vous en faites pas. / Ne

t'en fais pas.
/n vu ft pa/ /n t f pa/
Don't worry (formal / informal)

Ce n'est pas grave.

/s n pa gav/
It's no problem. / It's alright.

J'ai oubli.
/e ublije/
I forgot.

Je dois y aller.
/ dwa i ale/
I must go.

A vos souhaits ! / A tes souhaits !

/a vo sw/ /a te sw/
Bless you! (formal / informal)

Flicitations !
/felisitasj/
Congratulations!

Bonne chance !
/bn s/
Good luck!

C'est vous ! / C'est toi !

/s ta vu/ /s ta tw/
It's your turn! (formal / informal)

Taisez-vous ! / Tais-toi !
/tze vu/ /t tw/
Shut up! / Be quiet! (formal /
informal)

Je vous aime / Je t'aime

/ vu zm/ / tm/
I love you (formal & plural /
informal)

Tu me manques.
/ty m mk/
I miss you. (informal)

Quoi de neuf ?
/kw d nf/
What's new?

Pas grand-chose.
/pa g oz/
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.
Don't forget to check out my video series on informal French expressions and slang vocabulary at
the Informal French tutorial

IPA
[a]

2. Pronunciation / la prononciation

For a more in-depth look at

French pronunciation, try to the French Phonetics tutorial.

French Vowels
Phonetic
spelling
[i] ee
IPA

Sample words

General
spellings
i, y

vie, midi, lit, riz

rue, jus, tissu,
[y] ee rounded
u
usine
bl, nez, cahier,
, et, final er
[e] ay
pied
and ez
jeu, yeux, queue,
[] ay rounded
eu
bleu
lait, aile, balai,
e, , , ai, ei,
[] eh
reine
ais
sur, uf, fleur,
[] eh rounded
u, eu
beurre
chat, ami, papa,
[a] ah
a, ,
salade
bas, ne, grce,
[] ah longer
a,
chteau
loup, cou, caillou,
[u] oo
ou
outil
eau, dos, escargot,
[o] oh
o,
htel
sol, pomme,
[] aw
o
cloche, horloge
fentre, genou,
[] uh
e
cheval, cerise
[] is disappearing in modern French, being replaced by [a]. Vowels that do not exist in English are
marked in blue.

Phonetic spelling
awn

French semi-vowels
Phonetic
General
IPA
Sample words
spelling
spelling
fois, oui,
[w]
w
oi, ou
Louis
[]
ew-ee
lui, suisse
ui
oreille,
[j]
yuh
ill, y
Mireille
French nasal vowels
Sample words
General spelling
gant, banc, dent
en, em, an, am, aon, aen

[ ]

ahn

[]
[o]

uhn
ohn

in, im, yn, ym, ain, aim, ein, eim, un, um,
en, eng, oin, oing, oint, ien, yen, en
brun, lundi, parfum
un
rond, ongle, front
on, om
[] is being replaced with [ ] in modern French
pain, vin, linge

In words beginning with in-, a nasal is only used if the next letter is a consonant. Otherwise, the inprefix is pronounce een before a vowel.
French Consonants
ex + vowel
egz
examen, exercice
ex + consonant
eks
exceptionnel, expression
ch (Latin origin)
sh
architecte, archives
ch (Greek origin)
k
orchestre, archologie
ti + vowel (except )
see
dmocratie, nation
c + e, i, y; or
s
cent, ceinture, maon
c + a, o, u
k
caillou, car, cube
g + e, i, y
zh
genou, gingembre
g + a, o, u
g
gomme, ganglion
th
t
maths, thme, thym
j
zh
jambe, jus, jeune
qu, final q
k
que, quoi, grecque
h
silent
haricot, herbe, hasard
vowel + s + vowel
z
rose, falaise, casino
x + vowel
z
six ans, beaux arts
final x
s
six, dix, soixante (these 3 only!)
There are a lot of silent letters in French, and you usually do not pronounce the final consonant, unless
that final consonant is C, R, F or L (except verbs that end in -r).
Liaison: French slurs most words together in a sentence, so if a word ends in a consonant that is not
pronounced and the next word starts with a vowel or silent h, slur the two together as if it were one
word. S and x are pronounced as z; d as t; and f as v in these liaisons. Liaison is always made in the
following cases:

after a determiner: un ami, des amis

before or after a pronoun: vous avez, je les ai
after a preceding adjective: bon ami, petits enfants
after one syllable prepositions: en avion, dans un livre
after some one-syllable adverbs (trs, plus, bien)
after est

It is optional after pas, trop fort, and the forms of tre, but it is never made after et.
Silent e: Sometimes the e is dropped in words and phrases, shortening the syllables and slurring more
words.
rapid(e)ment, lent(e)ment, sauv(e)tage /apidm/ /tm/ /sovta/
sous l(e) bureau, chez l(e) docteur /sul byo/ /el dkto/

 il y a d(e)... , pas d(e)... , plus d(e)... /yad/ /pad/ / plyd/

je n(e), de n(e) /n/ /dn/
j(e) te, c(e) que /t/ /sk/ (note the change of the pronunciation of the j as well)
Stress & Intonation: Stress on syllables is not as heavily pronounced as in English and it generally
falls on the last syllable of the word. Intonation usually only rises for yes/no questions, and all other
times, it goes down at the end of the sentence.

3. Alphabet / l'alphabet
a

/i/

/s/

b /be/

/ka/

/te/

/l/

/y/
/ve/

/a/

/se/

d /de/

m /m/

//

/n/

w /dublve/

/f/

/o/

/iks/

//

/pe/

/igrk/

h /a/

/ky/

/zd/

//

/i/

4. Nouns, Articles & Demonstratives / les noms, les articles & les demonstratifs
All nouns in French have a gender, either masculine or feminine. For the most part, you must
memorize the gender, but there are some endings of words that will help you decide which gender a
noun is. Nouns ending in -age and -ment are usually masculine, as are nouns ending with a consonant.
Nouns ending in -ure, -sion, -tion, -ence, -ance, -t, and -ette are usually feminine.
Articles and adjectives must agree in number and gender with the nouns they modify. And articles
have to be expressed even though they aren't always in English; and you may have to repeat the article
in some cases. Demonstratives are like strong definite articles.
Masculine

Definite Articles (The)

Feminine
Before Vowel

le lit
/l li/
the bed

la pomme
l'oiseau
/la pm/
/lwazo/
the apple
the bird
Indefinite Articles (A, An, Some)
Masculine
Feminine
Plural
un lit
// li/
a bed

une pomme
/ yn pm/
an apple

Plural
les gants
/le /
the gloves

des gants
/de /
some gloves

Masc.

Demonstrative Adjectives (This, That, These, Those)

Masc, Before Vowel
Fem.
Plural

ce lit
cet oiseau
cette pomme
ces gants
/s li/
/s twazo/
/st pm/
/se /
this/that bed
this/that bird
this/that apple
these/those gloves
If you need to distinguish between this or that and these or those, you can add -ci to the end of the noun
for this and these, and -l to the end of the noun for that and those. For example, ce lit-ci is this bed,
while ce lit-l is that bed.
5. Useful Words / les mots utiles
It's / That's
There is/are
and
but
now
especially
except
of course
so so
not bad
book
pencil
pen
paper
dog
cat
money

c'est
voil
et
mais
maintenant
surtout
sauf
bien sr
comme
ci, comme a
pas mal
le livre
le crayon
le stylo
le papier
le chien
le chat
l'argent (m)

/s/
/vwala/
/e/
/m/
/mtn/
/sytu/
/sof/
/bj sy/

There is/are
Here is/are
always
often
sometimes
usually
also, too
again

il y a
voici
toujours
souvent
quelquefois
d'habitude
aussi
encore

/il i a/
/vwasi/
/tuu/
/suv/
/klkfwa/
/dabityd/
/osi/
/k/

/km si, km sa/

late

en retard

/ta/

/pa mal/
/l liv/
/l kj/
/l stilo/
/l papje/
/l j/
/l a/
/la/

almost
friend (fem)
friend (masc)
woman
man
girl
boy
job / work

presque
une amie
un ami
une femme
un homme
une fille
un garon
le travail

/psk/
/y nami/
// nami/
/yn fam/
// nm/
/yn fij/
// gas/
/l tavaj/

The expression il y a is reduced to y a in everyday speech. When il y a is followed by a number, it

means ago. Il y a cinq minutes means five minutes ago. Some common slang words for money
include: le fric, le pze, le pognon, des sous and for job/work: le boulot.

6. Subject Pronouns / les pronoms sujets

Subject Pronouns
/nu/
nous
We

je

//

tu

/ty/

You (informal)

vous

/vu/

You (formal and plural)

il /il/
He
ils
/il/
They (masc.)
elle /l/
She
elles /l/
They (fem.)
on //
One
Il and elle can also mean it when they replace a noun (il replaces masculine nouns, and elle replaces
feminine nouns) instead of a person's name. Ils and elles can replace plural nouns as well in the same
way. Notice there are two ways to say you. Tu is used when speaking to children, animals, or close
friends and relatives. Vous is used when speaking to more than one person, or to someone you don't
know or who is older. On can be translated into English as one, the people, we, they, or you.
Tutoyer and vouvoyer are two verbs that have no direct translation into English. Tutoyer means to use
tu or be informal with someone, while vouvoyer means to use vous or be formal with someone.
7. To Be & To Have / Etre & avoir
I am

je suis

Present tense of tre /t/ - to be

/ si/
We are
nous sommes

You are

tu es

/ty /

You are

vous tes

/vu zt/

He is
She is
One is

il est
elle est
on est

/il /
/l /
/ n/

They are
They are

ils sont
elles sont

/il s/
/l s/

I was

j'tais

Past tense of tre - to be

/et/
We were

You were

tu tais

/tu et/

You were

/nu sm/

nous tions

/nu zetj/

vous tiez

/vu zetje/

He was
il tait
/il et/
They were
ils taient
/il zet/
She was
elle tait
/l et/
They were
elles taient /l zet/
One was
on tait
/ net/
Je and any verb form that starts with a vowel (or silent h) combine together for ease of pronunciation.
I will be

je serai

Future Tense of tre - to be

/ se/
We will be nous serons

You will be

tu seras

/ty sa/

He will be
She will be
One will be

il sera
elle sera
on sera

I have

j'ai

You have

tu as

You will be vous serez

/il sa/
They will be ils seront
/l sa/
They will be elles seront
/ sa/
Present tense of avoir /avwa/ - to have
/e/
We have
nous avons
/ty /

You have

vous avez

/nu s/
/vu se/
/il s/
/l s/
/nu zav/
/vu zave/

He has
She has
One has

il a
elle a
on a

I had

j'avais

You had

tu avais

He had
She had
One had

il avait
elle avait
on avait

/il /
They have
ils ont
/il z/
/l /
They have
elles ont
/l z/
/ n/
Past tense of avoir - to have
/av/
We had
nous avions
/nu zavj/
/ty av/

You had

vous aviez

/vu zavje/

I will have

j'aurai

/il av/
ils avaient
/il zav/
/l av/
They had
elles avaient
/l zav/
/ nav/
Future tense of avoir - to have
/oe/
We will have
nous aurons
/nu zo/

You will have

tu auras

/ty o/

You will have

vous aurez

/vu zoe/

He will have
She will have
One will have

il aura
elle aura
on aura

/il oa/
/l oa/
/ noa/

They will have

They will have

ils auront
elles auront

/il zo/
/l zo/

In spoken French, the tu forms of verbs that begin with a vowel contract with the pronoun: tu es =
t'es /t/, tu as = t'as /t/, etc. In addition, it is very common to use on (plus 3rd person singular
conjugation) to mean we instead of nous.
Common Expressions with avoir and Etre
Avoir and tre are used in many common and idiomatic expressions that should be memorized:
avoir chaud
avoir froid
avoir peur

/avwa o/
/avwa fwa/
/avwa p/

to be hot
to be cold
to be afraid

avoir raison

/avwa z/

to be right

avoir tort

/avwa t/

to be wrong

avoir faim
avoir soif

/avwa f/
/avwa swaf/

to be hungry
to be thirsty

avoir sommeil

/avwa smj/

to be sleepy

avoir honte

/avwa t/
/avwa bzw
avoir besoin de
d/

to be ashamed
to need

avoir l'air de

/avwa d/

to look like,
seem

avoir
l'intention de

/avwa tsj/

to intend to

tre de retour
tre en retard
tre en avance

/t d tu/ to be back
/t ta/ to be late
/t navs/ to be early
to be in
tre d'accord
/t dak/
agreement
tre sur le point /t sy l
to be about to
de
pw d/
tre en train de /t t d/ to be in the act of
tre enrhume /t yme/ to have a cold
nous + tre (un
/t / u/ to be (a day)
jour)

avoir envie de /avwa vi d/ to feel like

avoir de la
/avwa d la s/ to be lucky
chance
J'ai froid. I'm cold.
Je suis en retard! I'm late!
Tu avais raison. You were right.
Tu tais en avance. You were early.
Il aura sommeil ce soir. He will be tired Elle sera d'accord. She will agree.
tonight.
Nous sommes lundi. It is Monday.
Elle a de la chance ! She's lucky!
Vous tiez enrhum. You had a cold.
Nous aurons faim plus tard. We will Ils seront en train d'tudier. They will be (in
be hungry later.
the act of) studying.
Vous aviez tort. You were wrong.
Elles taient sur le point de partir. They were
Ils ont chaud. They are hot.
about to leave.
Elles avaient peur hier. They were
On est de retour. We/you/they/the people are
afraid yesterday.
back.
8. Question Words / les interrogatifs
Who
What
Why
When
Where
How
How much / many
Which / what

Qui
Quoi
Pourquoi
Quand
O
Comment
Combien
Quel(le)

/ki/
/kwa/
/pukwa/
/k/
/u/
/km/
/kbj/
/kl/

9. cardinal Numbers / Les nombres cardinaux

Zero
One
Two
Three
Four
Five
Six
Seven
Eight
Nine
Ten
Eleven
Twelve
Thirteen
Fourteen

Zro
Un
Deux
Trois
Quatre
Cinq
Six
Sept
Huit
Neuf
Dix
Onze
Douze
Treize
Quatorze

/zeo/
// /
/d/
/tw/
/kat/
/sk/
/sis/
/st/
/it/
/nf/
/dis/
/z/
/duz/
/tz/
/katz/

Fifteen
Sixteen
Seventeen
Eighteen
Nineteen
Twenty
Twenty-one
Twenty-two
Twenty-three
Thirty
Thirty-one
Thirty-two
Forty
Fifty
Sixty
Seventy
(Belgium & Switzerland)
Seventy-one
Seventy-two
Eighty
(Belgium & Switzerland)
Eighty-one
Eighty-two
Ninety
(Belgium & Switzerland)
Ninety-one
Ninety-two
One Hundred
One Hundred One
Two Hundred
Two Hundred One
Thousand
Two Thousand
Million
Billion

Quinze
Seize
Dix-sept
Dix-huit
Dix-neuf
Vingt
Vingt et un
Vingt-deux
Vingt-trois
Trente
Trente et un
Trente-deux
Quarante
Cinquante
Soixante
Soixante-dix
Septante
Soixante et onze
Soixante-douze
Quatre-vingts
Octante
Quatre-vingt-un
Quatre-vingt-deux
Quatre-vingt-dix
Nonante
Quatre-vingt-onze
Quatre-vingt-douze
Cent
Cent un
Deux cents
Deux cent un
Mille
Deux mille
Un million
Un milliard

/kz/
/sz/
/dist/
/dizit/
/diznf/
/v/
/vt e // /
/v d/
/v tw/
/tt/
/tt e // ///
/tt d/
/kat/
/skt/
/swast/
/swastdis/
/sptt/
/swast e z/
/swast duz/
/katv/
/ktt/
/katv t// /
/katv d/
/katv dis/
/nnt/
/katv z/
/katv duz/
/s/
/s t/ /
/d s/
/d s t// /
/mil/
/d mil/
/o milj/
/o milja/

French switches the use of commas and periods. 1,00 would be 1.00 in English. Belgian and Swiss
French use septante and nonante in place of the standard French words for 70 and 90 (though some
parts of Switzerland use huitante for 80 and octante is barely used anymore). Also, when the numbers
5, 6, 8, and 10 are used before a word beginning with a consonant, their final consonants are not
pronounced. Phone numbers in France are ten digits, beginning with 01, 02, 03, 04, or 05 depending on

the geographical region, or 06 and 07 for cell phones. They are written two digits at a time, and
pronounced thus: 01 36 55 89 28 = zro un, trente-six, cinquante-cinq, quatre-vingt-neuf, vingt-huit.
Ordinal Numbers / Les nombres ordinaux
first
premier / premire
second
deuxime / second
third
troisime
fourth
quatrime
fifth
cinquime
sixth
sixime
seventh
septime
eighth
huitime
ninth
neuvime
tenth
dixime
eleventh
onzime
twelfth
douzime
twentieth
vingtime
twenty-first
vingt et unime
thirtieth
trentime
The majority of numbers become ordinals by adding -ime. But if a number ends in an e, you must
drop it before adding the -ime. After a q, you must add a u before the -ime. And an f becomes a v
before the -ime.
Listen to the la tlphone : un message mp3 and try the cloze (fill-in-the-blank) exercise
from French Listening Resources.
10. Days of the Week / Les jours de la semaine
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
day
week
today
yesterday
tomorrow

lundi
mardi
mercredi
jeudi
vendredi
samedi
dimanche
le jour
la semaine
aujourd'hui
hier
demain

/l/di/
/madi/
/mkdi/
/di/
/vddi/
/samdi/
/dim/
/l u/
/la s()mn/
/oudi/
/j/
/dm/

next
prochain / prochaine
/p/ /pn/
last
dernier / dernire
/dnje/ /dnj/
day before yesterday
avant-hier
/avtj/
day after tomorrow
aprs-demain
/apdm/
the following day
le lendemain
/l ldm/
the day before
la veille
/la vj/
Articles are not used before days, except to express something that happens habitually on a certain day,
such as le lundi = on Mondays. Days of the week are all masculine in gender and they are not
capitalized in writing.
Listen to the l'heure & la date : l'emploi du temps mp3 and try the cloze (fill-in-the-blank)
exercise from French Listening Resources.
11. Months of the Year / Les mois de l'annEe
January
janvier
/vje/
February
fvrier
/fevije/
March
mars
/mas/
April
avril
/avil/
May
mai
/m/
June
juin
//
July
juillet
/ij/
August
aot
/u(t)/
September
septembre
/sptb/
October
octobre
/ktb/
November
novembre
/nvb/
December
dcembre
/desb/
month
le mois
/l mwa/
year
l'an / l'anne
/l/ /lane/
decade
la dcennie
/deseni/
century
le sicle
/l sjkl/
millennium
le millnaire
/milen/
To express in a certain month, such as in May, use en before the month as in "en mai." With dates, the
ordinal numbers are not used, except for the first of the month: le premier mai but le deux juin. Also
note that months are all masculine and not capitalized in French (same as days of the week).
12. Seasons / Les saisons
Summer
Fall
Winter

l't
l'automne
l'hiver

/lete/
/lotn/
/liv/

in the summer
in the fall
in the winter

en t
en automne
en hiver

/ nete/
/ notn/
/ niv/

Spring

le printemps

/l pt/

in the spring

au printemps

/o prt/

13. Directions / Les directions

on the left
on the right
straight ahead
North
South
East
West

le nord
le sud
l'est
l'ouest

gauche
droite
tout droit

/l n/
/l syd/
/lst/
/lwst/

Northeast
Northwest
Southeast
Southwest

/a go/
/a dwt/
/tu dw/
le nord-est
le nord-ouest
le sud-est
le sud-ouest

/l n(d)st/
/l n(d)wst/
/sydst/
/sydwst/

14. Colors & Shapes / Les couleurs & les formes

Red

rouge

/u/

square

le carr

/kae/

Orange orange

//

circle

le cercle

/skl/

Yellow jaune

/on/

triangle

le triangle

/tijgl/

Green

vert / verte

/v/ /vt/

rectangle

le rectangle

/ktgl/

Blue

bleu / bleue

/bl/

oval

l'ovale

/val/

Purple

violet / violette

/vjl/ /vjlt/

cube

le cube

/kyb/

White

blanc / blanche

/bl/ /bl/

sphere

la sphre

/sf/

Brown

brun / brune
marron

/bo/ /byn/
/ma/

cylinder

le cylindre

/sild/

Black

noir / noire

/nwa/

cone

le cne

/kon/

Pink

rose

/oz/

octagon

l'octogone

/ktogn/

Gold

dor / dore

/de/

box

la bote

/bwat/

Silver

argent /
argente

/ate/

light

clair / claire

/kl/

Gray
gris / grise
/gi/ /giz/
dark
fonc / fonce /fse/
Some adjectives of color do not change to agree with gender or number, such as adjectives that also
exist as nouns: orange, marron, rose; and compound adjectives: bleu clair, noir fonc remain
masculine even if they describe a feminine noun. Remember to place the color adjective after the
noun.

15. Weather / Le temps qu'il fait

What's the weather like?

Quel temps fait-il ?

/kl t f til/

It's nice
Il fait bon
/il f b/
bad
Il fait mauvais
/il f mve/
cool
Il fait frais
/il f f/
cold
Il fait froid
/il f fw/
warm, hot
Il fait chaud
/il f o/
cloudy
Il fait nuageux
/il f nya/
beautiful
Il fait beau
/il f bo/
mild
Il fait doux
/il f du/
stormy
Il fait orageux
/il f a/
sunny
Il fait soleil
/il f slj/
humid
Il fait humide
/il f ymid/
muggy
Il fait lourd
/il f lu/
windy
Il fait du vent
/il f dy v/
foggy
Il fait du brouillard
/il f dy buja/
snowing
Il neige
/il n/
raining
Il pleut
/il pl/
freezing
Il gle
/il l/
hailing
Il grle
/il gl/
It is ____ degrees.
Il fait ____ degrs.
/il f __ dge/
Il pleut des cordes /il pl de kod/ is a common expression meaning it's pouring. Il caille /il kaj/ or a
caille /sa kaj/ is slang for it's freezing. And remember that France uses Celcius degrees.
Listen to the le climat: le temps dans les Alpes mp3 and try the cloze (fill-in-the-blank)
exercise from French Listening Resources.
16. Time / Le temps qui passe
What time is it?
It is...
one o'clock
two o'clock
noon
midnight
a quarter after three
one o'clock sharp
four o'clock sharp
twelve thirty
six thirty
a quarter to seven
five twenty
ten fifty

Quelle heure est-il ?

Il est...
une heure
deux heures
midi
minuit
trois heures et quart
une heure prcise
quatre heures prcises
midi (minuit) et demi
six heures et demie
sept heures moins le quart
cinq heures vingt
onze heures moins dix

/kl til/
/il /
/yn /
/d z/
/midi/
/mini/
/tw z e ka/
/yn pesiz/
/kat pesiz/
/midi (mini) e dmi/
/si z e dmi/
/st mw l ka/
/sk v/
/z mw dis/

in the morning/AM
du matin
/dy mat/
in the afternoon/PM
de l'aprs-midi
/d lapmidi/
in the evening/PM
du soir
/dy swa/
Official French time is expressed as military time (24 hour clock.) You can only use regular numbers,
and not demi, quart, etc. when reporting time with the 24 hour system. For example, if it is 18h30, you
must say dix-huit heures trente. The word pile /pil/ is also a more informal way of saying prcise
(exactly, sharp).
Listen to the l'heure & la date : l'emploi du temps mp3 and try the cloze (fill-in-the-blank)
exercise from French Listening Resources.
17. Family & Animals / La famille & les animaux
Family
Relatives
Parents
Grandparents
Mom
Stepmother/Motherin-Law
Dad
Stepfather/Father-inLaw
Daughter

la famille
des parents
les parents
les grandsparents

/famij/
/pa/
/pa/

Niece
la nice
/njs/
Nephew
le neveu
/n()v/
Grandchildren les petits-enfants /p()tizf/

/gpa/

Granddaughter la petite-fille

/p()tit fij/

la mre / maman

/m/
/mm/

Grandson

le petit-fils

/p()tifis/

la belle-mre

/blm/

Godfather

le parrain

/pa/

le pre / papa

/p/ /papa/ Godmother

la marraine

/man/

le beau-pre

/bop/

le filleul

/fijl/

la fille

/fij/

la filleule
des parents
loigns
clibataire
mari(e)
spar(e)

/fijl/
/pa
elwae/
/selibat/
/maje/
/sepae/

divorc(e)

/divse/

veuf
veuve

/vf/
/vv/

Godson

Son

le fils

Sister
Half/Step Sister
Sister-in-Law
Stepdaughter/Daught
er-in-Law
Brother
Half/Step Brother
Brother-in-Law

la sur
la demi-sur
la belle-sur

Goddaughter
Distant
/fis/
Relatives
/s/
Single
/dmi s/ Married
/bls/
Separated

la belle-fille

/bl fij/

le frre
le demi-frre
le beau-frre

/f/
Widower
/dmi f/ Widow
/bo f/

Divorced

Stepson/Son-in-Law le beau-fils

/bo fis/

Dog

Twins (m)

les jumeaux

/ymo/

Cat

Twins (f)
Uncle

les jumelles
l'oncle

/yml/
/kl/

Puppy
Kitten

le chien / la
chienne (m) / (f)
le chat / la chatte
(m) / (f)
le chiot
le chaton

/j/ /jn/
/a/ /at/
/jo/
/at/

Aunt
Grandmother
Grandfather
Cousin (f)
Cousin (m)
Wife
Husband
Woman
Man

la tante
/tt/
Pig
le cochon
la grand-mre
/gm/ Rooster
le coq
le grand-pre
/gp/
Rabbit
le lapin
la cousine
/kuzin/
Cow
la vache
le cousin
/kuz/
Horse
le cheval
la femme
/fam/
Duck
le canard
le mari
/mai/
Goat
la chvre
la femme
/fam/
Goose
l'oie
l'homme
/m/
Sheep
le mouton
un enfant / une
/f/
Lamb
l'agneau
enfant
la fille
/fij/
Donkey
l'ne
le garon
/gas/
Mouse
la souris
Le gendre /d/ is another word for son-in-law.

Child (m) / (f)

Girl
Boy

/k/
/kk/
/lap/
/va/
/()val/
/kana/
/v/
/wa/
/mut/
/ao/
/n/
/sui/

Listen to the la famille : ma famille mp3 and try the cloze (fill-in-the-blank) exercise from
French Listening Resources.
Slang words for people and pets:
The entire family toute la smala

/tut la smala/

Grandma

mm / mamie

/meme/ /mami/ Brother le frangin

/f/

Grandpa
Children

pp / papi
des gosses
un gamin / une
gamine
une nana
un mec / type / gars

/pepe/ /papi/
/gs/

le fiston
tata / tatie

/fist/
/tata/ /tati/

/gam/ /gamin/ Uncle

tonton

/tt/

/nana/
Dog
/mk/ /tip/ /ga/ Cat

le cabot / clbard /kabo/ /kleba/

le minou
/minu/

Kid
Woman
Man

Sister
Son
Aunt

la frangine

/fin/

Listen to the animaux : chien ou chat ? mp3 and try the cloze (fill-in-the-blank) exercise
from French Listening Resources.
18. To Know People & Places / connaitre & savoir
connatre-to know people /knt/

savoir-to know facts /savwa/

connais

/kn/

connaissons

/kns/

sais

/s/

savons

/sav/

connais

/kn/

connaissez

/knse/

sais

/s/

savez

/save/

connat /kn/
connaissent
/kns/
sait /s/ savent
/sav/
Connatre is used when you know (are familiar with) people, places, food, movies, books, etc. and
savoir is used when you know facts. When savoir is followed by an infinitive it means to know how.
There is another form of savoir commonly used in the expressions que je sache that I know (of) and

pas que je sache not that I know (of).

Je connais ton frre. I know your brother.
Je sais que ton frre s'appelle Jean. I know that your brother is named John.
Connaissez-vous Grenoble ? Do you know (Are you familiar with) Grenoble? / Have you ever been
to Grenoble?
Oui, nous connaissons Grenoble. Yes, we know (are familiar with) Grenoble. / Yes, we've been to
Grenoble.
Tu sais o Grenoble se trouve. You know where Grenoble is located.
Ils savent nager. They know how to swim.
Connatre can be translated several ways into English:
Tu connais le film, Les Enfants ? Have you seen the film, Les Enfants?
Tu connais Lyon ? Have you ever been to Lyon?
Tu connais la tartiflette ? Have you ever eaten tartiflette?
19. Formation of Plural Nouns / la formation des noms pluriels
To make a noun plural, you usually add an -s (which is not
pronounced).
But there are some exceptions:

Sing.

Plural

If a noun already ends in an -s, add nothing.

bus(es)

le bus

les bus

If a noun ends in -eu or -eau, add an x.

boat(s)

le bateau

les bateaux

If a masculine noun ends in -al or -ail, change it to

-aux.

horse(s)

le cheval

les chevaux

Some nouns ending in -ou add an -x instead of -s.

knee(s)

le genou

les genoux

Exceptions: festival, carnaval, bal, pneu, bleu, landau, dtail, chandail all add -s. There are only
seven nouns ending in -ou that add -x instead of -s: bijou, caillou, chou, genou, pou, joujou, hibou.
There are, of course, some irregular exceptions: un il (eye) - des yeux (eyes); le ciel (sky) - les cieux
(skies); and un jeune homme (a young man) - des jeunes gens (young men).
Notice that the only time the pronunciation will change in the plural form is for masculine nouns that
change -al or -ail to -aux and for the irregular forms. All other nouns are pronounced the same in the
singular and the plural - it is only the article that changes pronunciation (le, la, l' to les).

20. Possessive Adjectives / les adjectifs possessifs

Masc.

Fem.

Plural

My

mon /m/

ma /ma/

mes /m/

Your

ton /t/

ta /ta/

tes /t/

His/Her/Its

son /s/

sa /sa/

ses /s/

Our

notre /nt/

notre /nt/

nos /no/

Your

votre /vt/

votre /vt/

vos /vo/

Their
leur /l/
leur /l/
leurs /l/
Possessive pronouns go before the noun. When a feminine noun begins with a vowel, you must use the
masculine form of the pronoun for ease of pronunciation. Ma amie is incorrect and must be mon amie,
even though amie is feminine. Remember that adjectives agree with the noun in gender and number,
not the possessor! Sa mre can mean his mother or her mother even though sa is the feminine form,
because it agrees with mre and not the possessor (his or her).
C'est ma mre et mon pre. This is my mother and my father.
Ce sont vos petits-enfants ? These are your grandchildren?
Mes parents sont divorcs. My parents are divorced.
Sa grand-mre est veuve. His grandmother is a widow.
Notre frre est mari, mais notre sur est clibataire. Our brother is married, but our sister is
single.
Ton oncle est architecte, n'est-ce pas ? Your uncle is an architect, isn't he?
Leurs cousines sont nerlandaises. Their cousins are Dutch.