The ultimate guide for the beginner: 96 basic French words and phrases and Free French learning resources list Author : Chantal Briba Nacro www. learnfrenchwithchanty.com, 7 aeTABLE OF ee) US About the author Introduction Saying hello Goodbye Please and sorry Thank you Introductions Where are you from? How are you? © © o © @ © © © © Yes/No and more Directions Do you speak French? Giving compliments Useful questions Learning resources 1 Learning resources 2 Conclusion www. learnfrenchwithchanty.comAbout the author Chantal is a native French teacher who has always been passionate about sharing her knowledge with others. She is from Burkina Faso, a francophone country. She did part of her studies in Morocco and France before moving to Singapore with her family, where she started her teaching career. She is currently living in the United States of America. She has been teaching many people around the globe for more than 7 years now. In May 2020, she founded Learn French With Chanty, a website aimed to teach French vocabulary, Grammar and learning tips to all people interested in learning French. She is a mom, a teacher, an online entrepreneur, trying her best to produce good content for the benefits or her readers.Introduction French is spoken by about 300 millions people in the world and learning it, no matter what your reasons can be, represents lots of opportunities : professional, relationships, and more. If you have decided to learn this beautiful language, | will start by congratulating you as you would have made the right choice. However, knowing actually where to start learning can be a challenge. To help you in your first steps, | have written this ebook which will serve as a guide for those who are just beginning to learn French. It will teach you the basics to interact with francophone people. Topics like greetings, introductions, asking questions, and more, will be covered. As a bonus, I've added a list of few resources that will be useful to you.SAYING HELLO There are different ways of saying Hello in French. It all depends on the moment of the day, the type of relationship you have with the person you are greeting and even the age. 1 BONJOUR Bonjour is literally translated as Good day. But it means in fact good morning and it can be used as an all-purpose word to say hello in French. You can use it almost anytime of the day. 2 BONSOIR Bonsoir is the French word for Good evening. 3 MADAME Madame means Madam or Mrs. When speaking to people that you are not familiar with or older people, it's better to say Bonjour Madame. It is a sign of respect. Mme is the abbreviation of Madame. 4 MADEMOISELLE Mademoiselle is the term used to refer to a non-married woman. To be cautious, you should avoid to say Bonjour Mademoiselle when you don't know the marital status of the person. Better say Bonjour Madame in that case. Mlle is the abbreviation of Madame. MONSIEUR Monsieur means sir or mister. It is used in the same context as Madame. e.g. Bonjour Monsieur Martin! Monsieur is abbreviated as M. SALUT Salut means hi. It's used between friends and with people you know well. It can be used alone or followed with the first name of the person. e.g, Salut Christine ! coucou Coucou means also hello or hi. It's used the same way as Salut. e.g. Coucou les filles !GOODBYE Saying goodbye expressed several in French can be ways. To use the appropriate word, you must take into consideration the moment when you would see each other again, wether it is later, soon, or a farewell 0 1 n AU REVOIR Au revoir is the all-purpose word that we use when it's time to leave. However, depending on the situation, some other words might be more appropriate. A BIENTOT Au revoir and A bientot are the most common words used for saying goodbye. See you soon is the English equivalent word to A bientot A DEMAIN If you want to say see you tomorrow, just use the expression a demain. A LUNDI If you must meet on a particular day, you can say A+ name of the day, e.g. A lundi = See you on Monday A PLUS TARD See you later is translated A plus tard. B 4 i Good Bye! SALUT We have seen that Salut means hi. Salut can also be used to say goodbye when leaving someone. ALA SEMAINE PROCHAINE This means See you next week. The word "prochain(e)" means next. You can also say au mois prochain (see you next month), a l'année prochaine (see you next year) ADIEU When you will not meet someone soon or will not see him/her again, then the right word should be Adieu (farewell).PLEASE AND SORRY Being polite when asking for something is always appreciated. The same goes for saying sorry when you hurt, or offend someone. Here are the ways to say these useful expressions. 1 18 S'IL TE PLAIT Siil te plait = please. Use s'il te plait when referring to a friend, family member, someone you know well. @.g. Maman, je peux avoir un bonbon s'il te plait?(Mummy, can | have a candy please?) S'IL VOUS PLAIT S'il vous plait = please. We use this for formal situations, like in a professional context, or someone we barely know. e.g. Je voudrais un ticket de bus s'il vous plait. (I would like a bus ticket please) DESOLE (E) When you do something you feel bad about, immediately say Désolé (e) for sorry. You can also say Je suis Désolé(e) which means | am sorry. PARDON Pardon alson means sorry and can be used in the same context as désolé (e). But in other contexts, pardon can be used when you didn't hear properly something and you would like the person to repeat. e.g. pardon, vous dites? ( sorry, what are you saying?) 20 EXCUSE-MOI Excuse-moi sounds like the English counterpart Excuse me. It can be used when you want to ask for forgiveness or kindly ask something to someone. e.g. Excuse-moi, tu peux bouger? (Excuse me, can you move?) EXCUSEZ-MOI Excusez-moi is the formal way of saying Excuse me. You can use it in any formal situation, for example to hail somebody, a waiter for instance, ... eg. Excusez-moi, laddition s'il vous plait! (Excuse me, the bill please!)THANK YOU ! To show your gratefulness, you must know how to say thank you in French. And it's also good to know how to reply and French people have many ways of say you're welcome. As usual, saying the same thing nD MERCI The most common way of saying Thank you is Merci. MERCI BEAUCOUP If you want to stress on the fact that you are very grateful, you can say Merci beaucoup which means thanks a lot ! JE TE REMERCIE Another way is saying Je te remercie which can be translated as | thank you. JE VOUS REMERCIE Je vous remercie is the formal way of saying | thank you. It is sometimes followed with de or pour. e.g. Je vous remercie de m'avoir aidé/ Je vous remercie pour votre aide.(| thank you for helping me/for your help). You're welcome can be translated different ways. The most common is De rien. JE T'EN PRIE Je tien prie is another way of saying you're welcome to a close relationship. B JE VOUS EN PRIE Je vous en prie means also You're welcome and is the formal way. For example | would reply Je vous en prie to my boss who says thank you tome. [8 IL W'YA Pas DE qual There is no need to say thank you is what we mean by Il n'y a pas de quoi.INTRODUCTIONS In this section , you will learn essential vocabulary about how to introduce yourself when you meet someone for the first time. Tu_or vous can be used depending on the context. 30 COMMENT TU T'APPELLES? This is the basic sentence for asking someone's name in an informal context. For example, you will hear this in conversations between people of the same age group or adult to kid's. Another variant of the same question is Comment t'appelles-tu? COMMENT VOUS APPELEZ- VOUS? This is the formal way of asking someone's name. What's your name? The same question has several degrees of formality. Vous vous appelez comment? Comment est-ce que vous vous appelez? Comment vous appelez-vous is the most formal. 32 «JE M'APPELLE ... The answer to the questions above is Je m’appelle. It is literally translated as | am called but means My name is. 33. MON PRENOM EST... Mon prénom est is used to tell your first name. e.g. Mon prénom est Chantal. 3% 36 JE SUIS You can also use the verb to be to introduce yourself. In that case you would say Je suis .... which means | am. This is mostly used to tell one’s nationality or profession. MOI C'EST... Moi c'est can be literally translated as Me it's. But it simply means | am. e.g. Moi, c'est Chantal. ENCHANTE (E) When you get to know someone's name, to be courteous, you should say enchanté(e) which means nice to meet you.WHERE ARE YOU FROM? When you meet people for the first time, one of the first questions will be about your origins. This is how to ask and reply to this kind of questions. i) | TU VIENS D'0U? Tu viens d'ou means Where are you from? As you'll notice, Tu is the pronoun used. Then you should use this in an informal situation. a VOUS VENEZ D'OU? Vous venez d'ou is the same expression as tu viens d'ou but in a formal context. a JE VIENS DE Je viens de = | come from. Note that the preposition to use depends on the gender of the {Hse suis To say your nationality, you use Je suis (I am)+your nationality. E.g. Je suis anglais (I am English) Note that there is a difference country. + Je viens de France (feminine country) + Je viens d'Inde (country starting with a vowel) + Je viens du Canada (masculine country) + Je viens des Etats-Unis (plural country). between men and women. eg. Je suis chinois refers to a Chinese man while je suis chinoise refers to a woman. TU HABITES OU?/VOUS HABITEZ OU? These are the informal and formal ways of saying Where do you live. Oo QUELLE EST TA NATIONALITE? e Waarenicaiaay Quelle est ta nationalité is what is ae Races eae To reply to the question "Tu habites reply ou?", You can say J'habite a (city) s /J'habite en (feminine country)/ J'habite aux (plural country) e.g. Jhabite a Paris.HOW ARE YOU? After greetings how are you. In French we use the verb aller (to go) to ask how someone is feeling There are different ways of answering and most of the time after replying you say Et toi?/Et vous? (and you ?) the next step is the 44 COMMENT VAS-TU? One of the translation of How are you is Comment vas-tu? Comment tu vas is a variant of the same question but less formal. 45 COMMENT ALLEZ-VOUS? In a formal context, it's better to use Comment allez-vous for how are you? 46 CA VA? Ga va, is a very informal way of asking how you are. It works well from adult to kid, close friends, or teacher to student for example. 41 TU VAS BIEN? Tu vas bien = are you okay or are you going well? It's also used in an informal context. 48 JE VAIS BIEN Literally translated as | am going well, Je vais bien means simply | am fine. Most of the time, to be polite we add Merci at the end. e.g. Je vais bien, merci. 49 i GAVA Ca va is the short way of answering. | am well, | am okay we could translate. JE VAIS MAL If you are not feeling well, you can reply Cane va pas or Je vais mal. JE SUIS MALADE Je suis malade is the phrase for | am sick.YES/NO AND MORE Oui. Non, d'accord, ... words but that mean a lot when you are able to say them, Let's take a look! 42 4 55 Oui is the translation of yes. SI Si means also yes but only when you are replying to a negative question. e.g. Tu ne viens pas a la fete? Si, je viendrai plus tard, (you are not coming to the party? Yes, | will come later). D'ACCORD D'accord = Okay. e.g. Tu fais tes devoirs et tu vas te coucher. D'accord? ( You do your homework and you go to bed. Okay?) PAS DE PROBLEME The French phrase for no problem is pas de probleme. PEUT-ETRE Peut-étre means may be. GA MARCHE Ga marche is a French slang, literally translated as it walks but means in fact it works, it's ok. e.g. Tu me prends des croissants s'il te plait? Ok, ca marche ! (Can you get me some croissants? Okay! These are little 59 AVEC PLAISIR Avec plaisir means with pleasure. Every time you are willing to do something, you can use this expression. PARFAIT Perfecto in Spanish, perfect in English and Parfait in French. When you totally agree you can say Parfait. You can also make a comment, C'est parfait ! (it's perfect!) POURQUOI PAS? Pourquoi pas = Why not? e.g. On va au cinéma ce week-end? Pourquoi pas? (We go to the cinema this weekend? Why not?)DIRECTIONS Another important thing to know for a beginner is how to ask and find your way. Here are the questions you can ask if ever you get lost or want to go somewhere. When talking to fora. 62 Je voudrais aller a la/au/aux = would like to go to. As you can see, you can use different prepositions. Here is how to use them: + a la (feminine place); e.g. Je voudrais aller a la boulangerie + au (masculine word); e.g. Je voudrais aller au supermarché. * aux (plural voudrais aller aux toilettes. Generally, if you want to be polite, you can use s'il vous plait at the end of your sentence. 63 The sentence for “where is it" is C'est ou? e.g. C'est ou le cafe? 64 Another way of asking “where is it" would be ou se trouve...? e.g. Ou se trouve la banque?(where is the bank?) 65 C'est ici = it's here. C'est la-bas- it's there. a stranger, you can say Excuse me, | am looking noun); eg. Je 67 2 Loin de means far from, while pres de and a cote de = near or close to. Devant =in front /derriére = behind Entre =in between En face de = facing Allez-tout droit = go straight Tournez a gauche=turn left Tournez a droite = turn rightDO YOU SPEAK FRENCH? When interacting with people, you might need to tell if you understand or not what they are saying, ask them to repeat, and more. Here are some sentences you can use in that context. mW PARLEZ-VOUS FRANGAIS? Do you speak French? You can also use the informal way Vous parlez francais? B JE PARLE FRANGAIS Je parle = | speak. The word “frangais" can be replaced by any language you speak. For example anglais, espagnol, italien, russe, and so on. e.g. | speak Spanish = Je parle espagnol. [Th NON, Je NE PARLE PAS FRANGAIS In case you are asked if you speak French, and you don't, you can say non, je ne parle pas francais. 7 JE NE COMPRENDS PAS Don't feel shy to say that you don't understand something. Je ne comprends pas is the perfect phrase. 1m VOUS POUVEZ REPETER, S'IL VOUS PLAIT? When you didn't hear or understand, use Vous pouvez répéter, s'il vous plait? (Could you repeat please?) Francais VOUS POUVEZ PARLER PLUS LENTEMENT S’IL VOUS PLAIT 2? This is the sentence for Can you speak slower please? COMMENT ON DIT FRANCAIS 2 If you are looking for a word, feel free to ask for help. Comment on dit = How do we say? eg. Comment on dit "to speak" en frangais? (how do we say "to speak" in French?) VOUS POUVEZ EPELER S'IL VOUS PLAIT? Can you spell please? Before asking this, make sure that you know your alphabet well!GIVING COMPLIMENTS These words and prhases are useful in the sense that they will help you make little comments. For example after eating food you can say that it was delicious... 2 83 C'EST BON C'est bon means it's good or it's al right. e.g. C'est bon, j'ai retrouve mes clés, It's all right, i found my keys. C'EST BIEN C'est bien means it's good as well. Bon (good) Is an adjective and bien is an adverb (well). e.g. C'est bien ce que tu as fait. What you have done is good ! PAS MAL Pas mal stands for not bad. You'll use it to make an appreciation on something. e.g. Comment tu trouves ma robe? Pas mal! (How do you find my dress? Not bad!) C'EST DELICIEUX To comment on food, C'est délicieux is the magic word. It means it is delicious. C'EST MAGNIFIQUE C'est magnifique means that something is wonderful. It can be used to comment on landscape, clothes, ... C'EST GENTIL To compliment someone who acts with courteousy or who gives you something or offer you his/her help, you can say it is kind, c'est gentil C'est gentil de ta/votre part (It's kind of you) is a common sentence you'll hear in daily conversations. C'EST JOLI C'est joli = It's nice. Another way to make a positive comment and sound like a French. C'EST SYMPA C'est sympa = That's nice. e.g. C'est sympa d'etre venue a ma féte. (That's nice that you have come to my party).USEFUL QUESTIONS How to get yourself out of a difficult situation? My answer will be “Learn juestions". It can come handy at some moments. A QUELLE HEURE A quelle heure = at what time. For example if you want to know the arrival time of the train, you can formulate your question like this : A quelle heure arrive le train en provenance de Paris? IL EST QUELLE HEURE? If you don't want to be late, or are experiencing problems with your watch, knowing how to ask time can be really helpful. Il est quelle heure is the translation of what time is it. You can also use the more formal expression quelle heure est il? COMBIEN COOTE...? At the market or in any buying situation, you would want to ask How much something costs. e.g. Combien cote ce sac (How much is this bag?). You can also say Combien ¢a cote? This means how much does it cost? QU'EST-CE-QUE C'EST? When you don't know what something is, just say Qu'est ce que c'est =What is this. QUE VOULEZ-VOUS ...? Que voulez-vous is the formal way to say what do you want. The informal way is “Qu'est-ce que tu veux?" The reply would be je veux (1 want) or je voudrais (I would like). QUELLE EST VOTRE ADRESSE? What is your address? To this question you can reply J'habite au 30 rue du Chalet. You can also give your address directly. QUEL EST VOTRE NUMERO DE TELEPHONE? What is your phone number? To be able to reply to this question, you must make sure that you Know how to_count till 100,FRENCH LEARNING RESOURCES 1 Finding the best resources for learning French could be one of the important steps.There are free and paid ones, and | think that if you want to be successful you should combine some free ‘ones with paid ones, as the added value may not be the same. LE POINT DU FLE Le point_du ELE is an online directory where you can find most of the best resources classified per topic, with more than 7400 links. Before you click to open a resource, you have the information about the type of resource it is: article, video, audio, exercise, ... And you don't have to pay a dime for this! FRANCAIS INTERACTIF Francais interactif_ is a web-based French program developed and used at the University of Texas since 2004. It is is an open educational resource totally free and you can find for each chapter a vocabulary list, grammar lesson, phonetics and online activities. All for free. BBC On BBC's website, you'll find for free a French introductory video course divided into 10 parts with transcripts and worksheets which are perfect for beginners. DUOLINGO Duolingo is a free app for those who want to develop their vocabulary through a gamified style app. They also have a paid version. LINGOPIE Lingopie is specially designed for language learning. You can have fun watching your favorite movies and TV shows while learning French. Lingopie has over 1000 hours of French movies that are mostly from France. What | mostly like about them is the possibility to read the script in your target language and anytime you encounter an unfamiliar word, you can click on it to learn its meaning. You can also review it later as it is automatically saved as a flashcard. Unlike most of the websites listed above, Lingopie is not free but it won't break your bank. They often have promotions which can go up to 70% off, and luckily you can test the platform before subscribing with their 7-day free trial optionFRENCH LEARNING RESOURCES 2 FORVO Many people don't know about FORVO, while it is a very useful tool for learning words pronunciation. Anytime you don't know how to properly say a word, type it on Forvo's Website and you will have its pronunciation by native French speakers. And it's entirely free. TV5 MONDE TV5 Monde is a French TV channel. On their website, depending on your level, you can find a lot of interesting resources to learn French : from articles, video, followed with comprehension questions, quizzes, games, dictation, and all for free! LINGODA Lingoda is an online language school where you can learn French and other languages like English, German and Spanish 24/7, from the comfort of your home. Their teachers are all certified, and native speakers, and the classes are well structured according to the CEFRL standards. Classes focus on communication as well as in giving you a solid foundation in grammar and vocabulary. You can join group classes for as low as 12 euros per one hour class, or private classes from 28 euros per hour. If you love challenges, you can try the Lingoda Sprint, You have to commit to taking daily classes in a short period of time (2 months) and if you manage to attend all of them, you can get 50% Cash back or 100% depending on your subscription. This is perfect if you are looking for intensive classes with an effective cost. Lingoda also offer a 7-day free trial, giving you access to 3 group classes for free, or one private class, and that's a great way for you to check if you like their teaching approach or not. MONDLY Mondly is a gamified learning App like Duolingo. You can learn grammar and conjugation rules, have conversations with the chatbot and learn up to 41 languages. It is great for developing your vocabulary, speaking and listening skills. It has a free version with limited features, and a paid version that is still affordable. They often have promotions that | post on this page. They also offer Mondly Kids and Mondly Business.Conclusion Regardless of your learning style, you've got in this ebook the basic vocabulary to help you start talking in French right away, and few resources that you can use to learn French. | really do hope this will be useful to you. | have on my websites a section called free lessons where you can get free grammar and vocabulary lesson. Please check it out ! And on my blog | regularly publish topics that will surely interest you as a French learner. So, | hope to see you soon on www.learnfrenchwithchanty.com You can also follow me on your favoutite social media. 00008