French for Beginners
Your first steps in French
Why French is easier than you think
French is a Romance language closely related to many English words. About 30% of English vocabulary comes from French! The biggest challenge? French spelling and pronunciation don't always match - but there are clear patterns.
French has consistent rules for pronunciation once you learn them. Silent letters follow predictable patterns, and liaison (connecting words in speech) has clear rules. The nasal sounds may seem strange at first, but there are only 4 of them!
French verbs mostly follow three main patterns (-er, -ir, -re) with -er verbs making up 90% of all verbs. Once you know one -er verb, you can recognize thousands!
Important tips:
- • Note: final consonants are usually silent (except c, r, f, l - think "CaReFuL")
- • The letter "e" at the end is almost always silent
- • Accents change pronunciation: é (ay), è (eh), ê (eh)
Chapter
1
The French Alphabet & Sounds
The basics of pronunciation
French uses the same 26 letters as English, but pronunciation is very different. The good news: once you know the rules, French pronunciation is quite consistent.
Important sound combinations
ou
→
oo sound
vous (voo), beaucoup (boh-koo)
oi
→
wah sound
moi (mwah), trois (twah)
eu
→
uh sound
deux (duh), heureux (uh-ruh)
au/eau
→
oh sound
beau (boh), château (shah-toh)
ai/ei
→
eh sound
fait (feh), seize (sehz)
ch
→
sh sound
chat (shah), chercher (shehr-shay)
qu
→
k sound
que (kuh), quatre (kah-truh)
gn
→
ny sound
montagne (mon-tah-nyuh), gagner (gah-nyay)
ill
→
ee-y sound
fille (fee-yuh), famille (fah-mee-yuh)
th
→
t sound
thé (tay), théâtre (tay-ah-truh)
Nasal vowels - Unique to French!
When vowels come before n or m (and no vowel follows), they become nasal. Unlike Dutch, these are pronounced through the nose:
an/am/en/em
→ ahn (nasal)
Voorbeeld
dans (in)
[dahn]
💡 Like Dutch "an" but through nose
on/om
→ ohn (nasal)
Voorbeeld
bon (good)
[bohn]
💡 Like Dutch "on" but nasal
in/im/ain/ein
→ anh (nasal)
Voorbeeld
vin (wine)
[vanh]
💡 No Dutch equivalent
un/um
→ unh (nasal)
Voorbeeld
un (one/a)
[unh]
💡 Like "eun" but nasal
ien
→ ee-anh (nasal)
Voorbeeld
bien (well)
[bee-anh]
💡 Like "ieen" but nasal
The French "u" - Completely different from Dutch!
This sound doesn't exist in Dutch or English. Say "ie" but with rounded lips:
tu
you
Uitspraaktip
Say Dutch "ie" with lips like "oe"
une
a/one (f)
Uitspraaktip
Start with "uu" then move tongue forward
rue
street
Uitspraaktip
Dutch "r" + French "u"
sur
on
Uitspraaktip
Practice: "sie" with round lips
vu
seen
Uitspraaktip
Not like Dutch "oe" at all!
Silent letters - Very important!
Final consonants:
Usually silent except C, R, F, L
Voorbeelden: petit (puh-tee), grand (grahn), mais (meh)
Final -e:
Almost always silent
Voorbeelden: table (tah-bluh), rouge (roozh), parle (pahrl)
H:
Always silent
Voorbeelden: homme (ohm), heure (uhr), hôtel (oh-tel)
Final -s:
Silent (except liaison)
Voorbeelden: les (lay), vous (voo), trois (twah)
Final -ent:
Silent in 3rd person plural verbs
Voorbeelden: parlent (pahrl), mangent (mahnzh)
Liaison - Connecting words
Sometimes final consonants ARE pronounced when the next word starts with a vowel:
les amis
(the friends)
Zonder: lay + ah-mee
→
Met liaison: lay-zah-mee
vous avez
(you have)
Zonder: voo + ah-vay
→
Met liaison: voo-zah-vay
un ami
(a friend)
Zonder: unh + ah-mee
→
Met liaison: unh-nah-mee
petit ami
(boyfriend)
Zonder: puh-tee + ah-mee
→
Met liaison: puh-tee-tah-mee
deux heures
(two hours)
Zonder: duh + uhr
→
Met liaison: duh-zuhr
Chapter
2
Greetings & Essential Phrases
The foundation of every conversation
These words and phrases appear in every French story. They are the building blocks of social interaction.
Greetings throughout the day
NOTE: French is MORE formal than Dutch - always use "vous" with strangers, unlike Dutch where "je" is becoming common:
Bonjour
→
Good morning/Good day
(Until ~6:00 PM)
Formal & informal
Nederlands equivalent: Goedemorgen/Goedemiddag
Bon après-midi
→
Good afternoon
(12:00-6:00 PM)
Less common
Nederlands equivalent: Goedemiddag
Bonsoir
→
Good evening
(From ~6:00 PM)
Formal & informal
Nederlands equivalent: Goedenavond
Bonne nuit
→
Good night
(When going to bed)
Intimate/family
Nederlands equivalent: Welterusten
Salut
→
Hi/Bye
(All day)
Informal only!
Nederlands equivalent: Hoi/Doei
Coucou
→
Hey
(All day)
Very informal
Nederlands equivalent: Hé/Hoi
How are you? - Questions
Comment allez-vous?
→
How are you?
(Formal)
Formal (vous)
Comment vas-tu?
→
How are you?
(Informal)
Informal (tu)
Ça va?
→
How's it going?
(Very common)
Informal
Comment ça va?
→
How's it going?
(Common)
Neutral
Quoi de neuf?
→
What's new?
(Casual)
Informal
Tu vas bien?
→
Are you well?
(Personal)
Informal
Tout va bien?
→
Everything good?
(Checking in)
Neutral
How are you? - Answers
Ça va bien, merci
→
I'm fine, thanks
(Standard positive)
Universal
Très bien, merci
→
Very well, thanks
(Extra positive)
Universal
Super!
→
Great!
(Enthusiastic)
Informal
Pas mal
→
Not bad
(Neutral)
Informal
Comme ci, comme ça
→
So-so
(Mixed)
Informal
Bof
→
Meh
(Indifferent)
Very informal
Ça pourrait aller mieux
→
Could be better
(Mildly negative)
Neutral
Pas très bien
→
Not very well
(Negative)
Universal
Et toi?
→
And you?
(Asking back)
Informal
Et vous?
→
And you?
(Asking back)
Formal
Saying goodbye
Au revoir
→
Goodbye
(Standard farewell)
Salut
→
Bye
(Informal farewell)
À bientôt
→
See you soon
(You'll see each other soon)
À plus tard
→
See you later
(Later today)
À plus
→
See ya
(Very informal)
À demain
→
See you tomorrow
(You'll meet tomorrow)
À tout à l'heure
→
See you in a bit
(Very soon)
Bonne journée
→
Have a good day
(Daytime farewell)
Polite forms - Essential!
S'il vous plaît
→
Please (formal)
💡 Use with vous
S'il te plaît
→
Please (informal)
💡 Use with tu
Merci
→
Thank you
💡 Universal
Merci beaucoup
→
Thank you very much
💡 More emphatic
De rien
→
You're welcome
💡 Literally: of nothing
Je vous en prie
→
You're welcome (formal)
💡 More formal
Excusez-moi
→
Excuse me (formal)
💡 Getting attention
Pardon
→
Sorry/Excuse me
💡 Quick apology
Je suis désolé(e)
→
I'm sorry
💡 Real apologies
Avec plaisir
→
With pleasure
💡 Accepting offers
Important responses
Oui
→
Yes
(wee)
Non
→
No
(nohn)
Je ne sais pas
→
I don't know
(Very useful!)
Peut-être
→
Maybe
(puh-teh-truh)
Bien sûr
→
Of course
(bee-anh soor)
D'accord
→
Okay/Agreed
(dah-kor)
Pas de problème
→
No problem
(pah duh proh-blem)
Chapter
3
Être (To Be) - The most important verb
This verb appears in almost every sentence
Just like in English, "to be" is irregular but essential. You'll see it constantly in French texts.
The conjugation - Learn this by heart!
je
suis
(I am)
Je suis français
I am French
tu
es
(you are)
Tu es gentil
You are kind
il/elle
est
(he/she is)
Elle est belle
She is beautiful
nous
sommes
(we are)
Nous sommes amis
We are friends
vous
êtes
(you (pl./formal) are)
Vous êtes jeunes
You are young
ils/elles
sont
(they are)
Ils sont étudiants
They are students
Common expressions with être
Il y a
→
There is/are
Il y a un problème
- There is a problem
(Sounds like "ya")
C'est
→
It is/This is
C'est bon
- It's good
Ce sont
→
These/Those are
Ce sont mes amis
- These are my friends
Qu'est-ce que c'est?
→
What is it?
Qu'est-ce que c'est que ça?
- What is that?
Je suis de...
→
I'm from...
Je suis de Paris
- I'm from Paris
C'est vrai
→
It's true
(Confirmation)
C'est possible
→
It's possible
(Expressing possibility)
C'est important
→
It's important
(Emphasizing)
Il est tard
→
It's late
(Time expression)
Il faut
→
It's necessary/One must
Il faut partir
- We must leave
Il fait + adjective
→
It is + adjective
Il fait beau
- The weather is nice
Practice sentences - Recognize the pattern
Le livre est sur la table
→
The book is on the table
La pizza est bonne
→
The pizza is good
Les enfants sont à l'école
→
The children are at school
Où es-tu?
→
Where are you?
Nous sommes en France
→
We are in France
Je ne suis pas sûr
→
I'm not sure