Learn French by speaking it

Your first French phrases

From section 1, First Steps. Every phrase in the course comes with a tip like these.

• 👋
  Salut Hello

  Salut is the casual hello and goodbye among friends; with strangers or staff, Bonjour is the safe choice.

• ☀️
  Bonjour Good morning

  French has no separate morning greeting: Bonjour covers the whole day and Bonsoir takes over after dark.

• ☕️
  Un café, s'il vous plaît A coffee, please

  Un goes with masculine nouns and une with feminine ones; café is masculine.

• 🪑
  Une table pour deux A table for two

  Table is feminine, hence une, and pour deux needs no word for people.

• 🚉
  Où est la gare ? Where is the station?

  La gare is a train station; a metro or bus stop is une station.

• ⬅️
  Tournez à gauche Turn left

  The vous imperative simply drops the pronoun, and à gauche keeps its à.

• 🔢
  Un, deux, trois One, two, three

  The x of deux and the s of trois stay silent unless a vowel follows.

• ✋
  Quatre et cinq Four and five

  Never link et onto the next word: the t of et is always silent.

• 🔢
  Vingt et un, vingt-deux, vingt-trois Twenty-one, twenty-two, twenty-three

  Vingt et un takes 'et' and no hyphen; the rest keep theirs.

• 💶
  Ça fait quarante euros That will be forty euros

  Ça fait is what a shop says when it totals things up.

The French course, section by section

Each section has five units of five lessons, a review and a grammar guidebook.

1. A1 Section 1: First StepsSay hello, order, count and find your way

   First Words

   Say hello and introduce yourself

   Greetings · Introductions · Politeness · Getting Help · Small Talk

   “Salut”

   Food & Drinks

   Order like a local

   At the Café · Ordering Food · Tastes · Drinks · The Bill

   “Un café, s'il vous plaît”

   Getting Around

   Find your way in a new city

   Asking the Way · Taking a Taxi · Public Transport · At the Hotel · Sightseeing

   “Où est la gare ?”

   Numbers & Money

   Count, pay and tell the time

   Counting · Prices · Time · Days · At the Bank

   “Un, deux, trois”

   The Calendar

   Bigger numbers, months and dates

   Bigger Numbers · Months · Dates · Picking a Day · How Long

   “Vingt et un, vingt-deux, vingt-trois”

   Guidebook: 15 grammar notes

   • Tu and vous. Vous is the polite you for strangers, staff and anyone older. Tu is for friends, family and children. Vous is also the plural you for everybody.
   • Je m'appelle. S'appeler is reflexive: je m'appelle is literally I call myself. The little me or vous in the middle is part of the verb and never disappears.
   • Ne and pas. Negation is a sandwich around the verb: ne in front, pas behind. Ne shortens to n' before a vowel, and in relaxed speech people drop it.
   • Un, une, le, la. Every noun is masculine or feminine. Café takes un and le, table takes une and la. Learn the article together with the word, never on its own.
2. A1 Section 2: Everyday LifeShops, health, family, food and your routine

   Shopping

   Buy what you need

   At the Shop · Sizes & Colors · At the Market · Pharmacy · Returns

   “Je regarde, merci”

   Health & Safety

   Get help when you need it

   How You Feel · At the Doctor · Emergencies · The Body · Staying Safe

   “Je ne me sens pas bien”

   Family & Friends

   Talk about the people in your life

   My Family · Friends · About You · Describing People · Invitations

   “Je te présente ma mère”

   Daily Life

   Your day from morning to night

   Morning · At Work · Evening · Free Time · Chores

   “Je me réveille à sept heures”

   Food & Cooking

   Groceries, the kitchen and eating at home

   At the Supermarket · Fruit & Vegetables · In the Fridge · Simple Cooking · Eating at Home

   “Où est le pain ?”

   Guidebook: 15 grammar notes

   • Le, la, les, en. Object pronouns go in front of the verb, not after it: je le prends, vous l'avez. En replaces a noun after a number or a quantity.
   • Quantities take de. After a word of quantity French uses plain de with no article: un kilo de pommes, un verre de vin, beaucoup de monde.
   • Ce, cet, cette, ces. This and these change with the noun: ce ticket, cette boîte, ces pommes. Before a vowel ce becomes cet so the words still flow.
   • Avoir mal à. Aches use avoir mal à plus the body part, and à merges with the article: au dos, à la tête, aux dents.
3. A2 Section 3: Making PlansWeather, feelings, home, clothes and your phone

   Weather & Plans

   Talk about today and tomorrow

   Weather · Seasons · Making Plans · Trips · Changing Plans

   “Il fait beau aujourd'hui”

   Feelings & Opinions

   Say what you think and feel

   Feelings · Opinions · Likes & Dislikes · Compliments · Wishes

   “Je suis content”

   Home & Living

   Your place and the people around it

   My Home · Renting · Problems at Home · Neighbors · Guests

   “J'habite dans un appartement”

   Phone & Internet

   Calls, messages and Wi-Fi

   Phone Calls · Messages · Wi-Fi & Data · Apps & Photos · Tech Problems

   “Je peux te rappeler plus tard ?”

   What to Wear

   Clothes, the weather and your own style

   Getting Dressed · Dressing for the Weather · What Suits You · Looking After Clothes · Style & Taste

   “Je m'habille”

   Guidebook: 15 grammar notes

   • Weather with il fait. Weather uses the empty subject il: il fait beau, il fait froid, il pleut, il neige. For wind and sun French says il y a du.
   • Talking about tomorrow. Aller plus an infinitive is the near future, and the plain present covers a fixed plan: on part samedi. The real future tense can wait.
   • En, au, aux with countries. Feminine countries take en, masculine ones au and plural ones aux: en Italie, au Portugal, aux Pays-Bas. Most countries ending in e are feminine.
   • Être or avoir for feelings. Adjectives take être: je suis content. But a handful of nouns take avoir: j'ai hâte, j'ai raison, j'ai froid.
4. A2 Section 4: Out & AboutTravel, driving, hobbies and celebrations

   Travel

   From the airport to the road

   Check-in · Security · On the Plane · Arrival · Renting a Car

   “Voici mon passeport”

   Around Town

   Errands and everyday services

   Post Office · Hair Salon · Gym & Pool · Library · Laundry & Repairs

   “Je voudrais envoyer un colis”

   Sports & Hobbies

   What you do for fun

   Sports · Music & Movies · Books & Games · Outdoors · Hobbies at Home

   “Tu fais du sport ?”

   Celebrations

   Parties, gifts and holidays

   Parties · Gifts · Holidays · Weddings & Babies · Traditions

   “Tu es invité”

   On the Road

   Driving, parking and getting around on two wheels

   Driving · Parking · At the Gas Station · Problems on the Road · Walking & Cycling

   “Tu peux me ramener ?”

   Guidebook: 15 grammar notes

   • The little word y. Y replaces a place already mentioned and sits before the verb: j'y vais. It is also the y hiding inside il y a.
   • Past tenses with être. Verbs of coming and going, plus every reflexive verb, use être in the past. The participle then agrees: ma valise n'est pas arrivée.
   • Pour and pendant. Pour marks a length you are planning ahead: pour trois jours. Pendant covers time actually spent. Often French drops both and names the length alone.
   • Je voudrais. Je voudrais opens almost any request at a counter. Follow it with a noun or straight with an infinitive: je voudrais louer une voiture.
5. A2 Section 5: Time TravelWork, the past, the future and real talk

   Work & Study

   At the office and in class

   My Job · At the Office · Meetings · At School · Applying for a Job

   “Tu fais quoi dans la vie ?”

   Talking About the Past

   Yesterday, last weekend and long ago

   Yesterday · Last Weekend · Childhood · Experiences · Telling a Story

   “Tu as fait quoi hier ?”

   Future & Goals

   Plans, dreams and promises

   Tomorrow · Goals · Dreams · Promises & Offers · Predictions

   “Demain, je télétravaille”

   Real Conversations

   Keep a chat going like a native

   Keeping It Going · Reacting · Asking Nicely · Disagreeing Politely · Saying Goodbye

   “Comment ça va ?”

   Making Friends

   How you met, staying in touch and saying yes or no

   How We Met · Keeping in Touch · Inviting · Saying Yes or No · Getting Closer

   “On s'est rencontrés par un ami”

   Guidebook: 16 grammar notes

   • The real future. Add -ai, -as, -a, -ons, -ez, -ont to the infinitive: je paierai, tu habiteras. Être and avoir are irregular, giving je serai and j'aurai.
   • Jobs take no article. After être a job stands bare: je suis designer, je voulais être pilote. The article comes back only with c'est: c'est un designer.
   • Du travail, de l'expérience. Uncountable things take the partitive: du travail, de l'expérience. Switch to un or une only when you mean one specific job or event.
   • Avoir or être in the past. Most verbs build the past with avoir: j'ai fait. Verbs of coming and going, and every reflexive, take être and agree: je suis allée.
6. B1 Section 6: Connecting IdeasLonger sentences with because, but and so

   Because & But

   Give reasons and contrasts

   Giving Reasons · Contrasts · Consequences · In Order · Adding Ideas

   “Je suis en retard à cause des embouteillages”

   Describing Places

   Say what a place is like

   My Neighborhood · In the City · In Nature · Inside a Place · First Impressions

   “J'habite dans un quartier tranquille”

   Step by Step

   Explain how to do something

   In the Kitchen · Following a Recipe · How It Works · Detailed Directions · Rules & Signs

   “Tu peux me passer le couteau ?”

   Comparing & Choosing

   Say which one and why

   Better or Worse · The Best of All · Which One? · Price & Quality · Making a Decision

   “Celui-ci est mieux que celui-là”

   Giving Advice

   Should, could and if I were you

   Asking for Advice · Suggestions · Warnings · Encouragement · Health Advice

   “Tu ferais quoi à ma place ?”

   Guidebook: 20 grammar notes

   • Parce que and à cause de. Parce que is followed by a full clause. À cause de takes a noun and blames it, and grâce à does the same job for a happy reason.
   • Bien que and the subjonctif. Bien que and quoique always pull the subjonctif: bien que ce soit cher. Mais, cependant and par contre need no special form at all.
   • Donc, alors and du coup. Donc states the logical result, alors links what you did next, and du coup is the casual so you hear in every conversation.
   • Ordering the steps. D'abord opens, ensuite or puis continues, enfin closes. Finalement is different: it means in the end, after a change of plan.
7. B1 Section 7: Handling SituationsProblems, interviews, money and paperwork

   Complaints & Problems

   Say what went wrong, politely

   At the Hotel · At the Restaurant · Faulty Products · Late & Lost · Getting It Fixed

   “Excusez-moi, j'ai un petit souci avec ma chambre”

   Job Interview

   Talk about yourself with confidence

   About Yourself · Strengths & Weaknesses · Your Experience · Questions to Ask · Salary & Start Date

   “Merci de m'avoir reçu pour cet entretien”

   Money Matters

   Accounts, bills and transfers

   Opening an Account · Paying Bills · Sending Money · Budgeting · Fees & Insurance

   “Je voudrais ouvrir un compte bancaire”

   Paperwork

   Appointments, forms and documents

   Making an Appointment · Filling In Forms · At the Office · Documents · Deadlines & Renewals

   “J'aimerais prendre rendez-vous, s'il vous plaît”

   Living Abroad

   Settle in a new country

   Finding an Apartment · Utilities & Repairs · Meeting Locals · Settling In · Local Customs

   “La caution, c'est un mois ou deux ?”

   Guidebook: 20 grammar notes

   • Vous with staff and strangers. Anyone you do not know personally takes vous, and the verb ends in ez. Slipping into tu with a receptionist or an official sounds rude.
   • Pourriez-vous and je voudrais. The conditional is the politeness tense: pourriez-vous, je voudrais, j'aimerais. A plain je veux would land like an order.
   • Depuis and ça fait. For something still going on, French keeps the present and adds depuis or ça fait: ça fait une heure qu'on attend. English switches to have been.
   • Il manque and il y a. Il manque puts the missing thing after the verb: il manque une pièce. Il y a does the same for a mistake you have just spotted.
8. B2 Section 8: Speak Your MindOpinions, stories, what-ifs and idioms

   Debating Opinions

   Argue your point and listen

   Strong Opinions · Both Sides · Persuading · Doubts · Changing Your Mind

   “Si tu veux mon avis, c'est la mauvaise approche”

   Telling Stories

   Make people listen

   Setting the Scene · What Happened Next · Surprises & Twists · Feelings in the Story · The Moral

   “Ça s'est passé il y a deux ou trois ans”

   News & Society

   Talk about the world

   In the News · The Environment · Technology & Us · Work & Life Balance · Traditions & Change

   “Tu as entendu parler de ce qui s'est passé en centre-ville ?”

   What If

   Imagine, regret and wish

   If I Had Time · Imagining · Regrets · Wishes · Plan B

   “Si j'ai le temps demain, je t'appellerai”

   Idioms & Expressions

   Sound like a native

   Everyday Idioms · Feelings in Idioms · Casual Talk · Being Funny · Sounding Natural

   “Ça coûte les yeux de la tête”

   Guidebook: 20 grammar notes

   • Announcing an opinion. Si tu veux mon avis and à mon avis flag what follows as your view. Je suis convaincu que and je trouve que then take the indicative, because you are asserting it.
   • D'un côté, d'un autre côté. The pair is d'un côté then d'un autre côté. De l'autre côté would put you physically on the far side of the street rather than on the other side of an argument.
   • Doubting without accusing. Je ne suis pas totalement convaincu and c'est trop beau pour être vrai let you push back gently. Être sûr de plus an infinitive keeps the question soft.
   • Avoir raison and avoir tort. French takes these with avoir, not être: tu n'as pas tort, j'avais tort. Reconnaître is the verb for admitting it, and the le stands for what you admit.

Speak French with an AI partner

The same 385 scenarios work in French. Your partner answers in French, rates each message Perfect, Good or Revision needed, and every scenario has goals to tick off. A few to start with:

18 French stories, read aloud

Short stories at A1, A2 and B1, each read by one of the characters, with questions at the end.

Mia est à la gare. Mia is at the station.

Il est huit heures du matin. It is eight o'clock in the morning.

From “Le train en retard”