Learning the basics of French/Introducing Yourself
This lesson contains the basic French alphabet and pronunciation guide, along with common phrases used for introductions.
French alphabet
editThis is the French alphabet with approximate pronunciation and IPA (see also: IPA for French and French phonology).
Letter Pronunciation IPA Approximate A /ɑ/ ah B /be/ bay C /se/ say D /de/ day E /ə/ euh (like Am. English "look") F /ɛf/ eff G /ʒe/ jay H /aʃ/ ash I /i/ ee (like English "e") J /ʒi/ gee (Warning: Don't confuse with "g") K /kɑ/ kah L /ɛl/ ell M /ɛm/ emm N /ɛn/ enn O /o/ oh P /pe/ pay Q /ky/ kooh R /ɛʁ/ air S /ɛs/ ess T /te/ tay U /y/ ooh V /ve/ vay W /dublə ve/ doobluh vay X /iks/ eeks Y /igʁɛk/ ee grek Z /zɛd/ zed
It is important to realize that several sounds greatly differ in French:
- the letter a is only pronounced "ah"
- the letter e (by itself) is only pronounced "euh" (when it takes the accent ´like é it is pronounced "ay")
- the letter i is only pronounced "ee"
- the letter h is normally silent, and rarely pronounced
There are five accents within French:
French Grammar • Introducing Yourself •  audio (info •101 kb • help)  The accents  Les accents
| |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Accent | Role | name in French | example in French |
| ` | changes the sound of the e over which it is, but change the meaning of the word for an a or an u | Accent grave | achète, à, où |
| ´ | Only over an e, to change the sound | Accent aigu | désolé(e) |
| ^ | change the length of the vowel (longer than before) | Accent circonflexe | (un) hôtel |
| ¨ | often over an e and with another vowel just before (e.g. uë), you have to say the 2 vowels distinctly and not together. | Tréma | Noël |
| ç | Changes the sound for the C. Is only placed before an a, o or u. It makes the c become /s/. | Cédille | français |
In Romance Languages, it is common to have a formal and informal way to say "you." In French, we have tu (informal) and vous (formal), and each is conjugated differently, as you will see later on. To help determine which form of "you" should be used, one must consider the other person's age, profession, and overall relationship.
If the other person is a minor, very close personally, or a family member, "tu" should be used. If the other person is an adult, not very well known, or a stranger, "vous" should be used.
You will see demonstrations in the dialogues below.
Vocabulary
edit| French Vocabulary • Introducing Yourself • bogusOggFile (upload) Greetings Les salutations
| |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Salut | Hi./Bye. | (informal) | |
| Bonjour | Hello | (more formal than salut)(all day) | |
| Bonsoir | Hello | (after 19h00 [7:00 pm]) | |
| Quoi de neuf ? | What's up (about you)? (lit. what's new) | ||
| Pas grand-chose. | Not much. (lit. not a lot of things) | ||
| French Vocabulary • Introducing Yourself • audio (info •202 kb • help) Good-bye Au revoir
| ||
|---|---|---|
| Salut. | Hi/Bye | (informal) |
| Au revoir. | Good-bye. | ohrvwahr (ev not pronounced) |
| À demain. | See you tomorrow. | ah duhman (Lit: To/Until Tomorrow) |
| Au revoir, à demain. | Bye, see you tomorrow. | |
| À tout à l'heure. | See you (later today)! | ah tootah luhr |
| À la prochaine. | See you (tomorrow)! | ah lah proh shayn |
| Bonne journée | Have a nice day | |
| Bonne soirée | Good evening | |
| Bonne nuit | Good night | bun nwee |
| À bientôt. | See you soon. | ah byantoe |
| Ciao | Bye. | chow (Italian) |
| French Vocabulary • Introducing Yourself • audio (info •111 kb • help) Introductions Introductions
| |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Comment vous appellez-vous ? (formal), Comment t'appelles tu ? (informal), Quel est ton nom ? (informal) |
What is your name? (Literally, "How do you call yourself?") What is your name? (Literally, "Which is your name?") | ||
| Je m'appelle _____. | My name is _____. (literally "I call myself _____.") | ||
| Mon nom est _____. | My name is _____. (literally "My name is _____.") | ||
| French Vocabulary • Introducing Yourself • audio (info •105 kb • help) How are you? Ça va?
| |
|---|---|
| Comment allez-vous ? (formal), Comment vas-tu ? (informal), Comment ça va ?/Ça va ? (informal) |
How are you? |
| Ça va (très) bien. | I'm(very) well. (lit. It's going (very) well.) |
| Oui, ça va. | I'm ok. (literally "Yes, it goes.") |
| Très bien, merci. | Very well, thanks. |
| Pas mal. | Not bad. |
| pas si bien/pas très bien | not so well |
| (très) mal | (very) bad |
| Comme ci, comme ça. / Bof | So-So. |
| Désolé(e). | I'm sorry. |
| Et toi ? Et vous ? |
And you? (informal) And you? (formal) |
Dialogues
editExample 1 (a girl talking to her friend)
edit| name | French | English | pronunciation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anne: | Salut ! Ça va ? | Hi! How's it going? | (Sahlu! Sah vah) |
| Bertrand: | Bien, et toi? | Well, and you? | (Beeyan, eh twah?) |
| Anne: | Bien! | Well! |
Example 2 (a woman talking to a stranger)
edit| name | French | English | pronunciation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Madame Michelle : | Bonsoir Monsieur, comment allez-vous ? | Good evening sir, how are you? | (Banswar Muhseeure, coman tallay-voo?) |
| Monsieur Dupont : | Bien, et vous ? | Well, and you? | (Beeyan, eh voo?) |
| Mme. Michelle : | Très bien ! | Very well! | (Tray beeyan) |
Example 3 (a boy introducing his friend to an adult)
edit| name | French | English | pronunciation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Claude: | Monsieur Dupont, je vous présente Anne. | Mister Dupont, I would like to introduce you to Anne. | (Muhseeure Doopan, juh voo praysahnt Ann.) |
| M. Dupont: | Nice to meet you (enchanted) | (Anshantay) | |
| Anne: | Ravie de faire votre connaissance. | Thrilled to meet you. | (Rahvee duh fair votruh conaysans.) |
Example 4 (Sofia has just met Michel)
edit| Name | French | English | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Michel: | Bonjour, je m'appelle Michel. Comment vous appelez-vous ? | Hello, my name is Michel. What is your name? | Bonzhoor, zha m'appayl mishel. koman voo zaplay voo |
| Sofía: | Bonjour, Michel. Je m'appelle Sofía. Comment ça s'écrit, 'Michel' ? | Hello, Michel. My name is Sofía. How is your name written, 'Michel' ? | bonzhoor, mishel. zha m'appayl soffeeyah. koman sa saykree, Mishel |
| Michel: | Ça s'écrit M-I-C-H-E-L. Comment allez-vous ? | It is written M-I-C-H-E-L. How are you? | Sa saycree emm-ee-say-ash-euh-ell koman talay voo |
| Sofía: | Comme-ci comme-ça. Et vous ? | So-so. What about you? | Komsi komsa. ay voo |
| Michel: | Très bien, merci. | Very good, thanks. | Tray beeyan, mayrsee |
| Sofía: | Bien ! À demain, Michel. | Well, see you tomorrow, Michel. | Beeyan ah duman, mishel |
| Michel: | À demain ! | See you tomorrow! | ah duman |
Les Nombres (numbers) 1-20
edit| number | in French | pronunciation | listen | number | in French | pronunciation | listen |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | un | (uhn) | 11 | onze | (ohnze) | ||
| 2 | deux | (duh) | 12 | douze | (dooze) | ||
| 3 | trois | (trwah) | 13 | treize | (trez) | ||
| 4 | quatre | (katr) | 14 | quatorze | (katorz) | ||
| 5 | cinq | (sank) | 15 | quinze | (kanz) | ||
| 6 | six | (sees) | 16 | seize | (sez) | ||
| 7 | sept | (set) | 17 | dix-sept | (dees-set) | ||
| 8 | huit | (weet) | 18 | dix-huit | (dees-weet) | ||
| 9 | neuf | (nuff) | 19 | dix-neuf | (dees-nuff) | ||
| 10 | dix | (dees) | 20 | vingt | (van) |
Être and avoir
editÊtre and avoir are the first two important verbs you will need. Before you can use them, you need to understand the available targets within French:
| French Grammar • Introducing Yourself • audio (info •61 kb • help) Subject Pronouns Les pronoms personnels
| |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st person | singular | je | I |
| plural | nous | we | |
| 2nd person | singular | tu | you |
| plural | vous | you | |
| 3rd person | singular | il, elle, on | he, she, one |
| plural | ils, elles | they (masculine) they (feminine) | |
Être means to be, and avoir means to have.
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