1. Some Basic Phrases
| Bonjour bohn-zhoor Hello / Good day | Bonsoir bohn-swahr Good evening | Bonne nuit bun nwee Good night |
| Salut sah-lew Hi / Bye | Au revoir ohr-vwah Goodbye | S'il vous plaît seel voo pleh Please |
| Merci (beaucoup) mair-see boh-koo Thank you (very much) | De rien. / Je vous en prie. duh ree-ahn / zhuh voo zawn pree You're welcome. | Bienvenu(e) bee-ahn-vuh-new Welcome (also You're welcome in Quebec) |
| A tout à l'heure / A plus tard ah too tah luhr / ah plew tahr See you later | A bientôt ah bee-ahn-toh See you soon | A demain ah duh-mahn See you tomorrow |
| Désolé(e)! day-zoh-lay Sorry! | Pardonnez-moi! pahr-dohn-nay-mwah Excuse me! | Allons-y! ah-lohn-zee Let's go! |
| Comment allez-vous ? koh-mawn tahl-ay voo How are you? (formal) | Ça va ? sah vah How are you? (informal) | Très bien / mal / pas mal treh bee-ahn / mahl / pah mahl Very good / bad / not bad |
| Je vais bien zhuh vay bee-ahn I'm fine. | Ça va. sah vah I'm fine. (informal) | Oui / non wee/nohn Yes / no |
| Comment vous appelez-vous ? koh-mawn voo zah-play voo What's your name? (formal) | Tu t'appelles comment ? tew tah-pell koh-mawn What's your name? (informal) | Je m'appelle... zhuh mah-pell My name is... |
| Enchanté(e) awn-shawn-tay Nice to meet you. | Monsieur, Madame, Mademoiselle muh-syuh, mah-dahm, mahd-mwah-zell Mister, Misses, Miss | Mesdames et Messieurs meh-dahm eh meh-syuh Ladies and gentlemen |
| Vous êtes d'où ? voo zet doo Where are you from? (formal) | Tu es d'où ? tew ay doo Where are you from? (informal) | Je suis de... zhuh swee duh I am from... |
| Où habitez-vous ? ooh ah-bee-tay voo Where do you live? (formal) | Tu habites où ? tew ah-beet ooh Where do you live? (informal) | J'habite à... zhah-beet ah I live in... |
| Quel âge avez-vous ? kell ahzh ah-vay voo How old are you? (formal) | Tu as quel âge ? tew ah kell ahzh How old are you? (informal) | J'ai ____ ans. zhay ____ awn I am ____ years old. |
| Parlez-vous français ? par-lay voo frahn-say Do you speak French? (formal) | Tu parles anglais ? tew parl on-glay Do you speak English? (informal) | Je (ne) parle (pas)... zhuh nuh parl pah I (don't) speak... |
| Comprenez-vous? / Tu comprends? kohm-pren-ay-voo / tew kohm-prawn Do you understand? (formal / informal) | Je (ne) comprends (pas) zhuh nuh kohm-prawn pah I (don't) understand | Je (ne) sais (pas) zhuhn say pah I (don't) know |
| Pouvez-vous m'aider? / Tu peux m'aider? poo-vay voo meh-day / tew puh meh-day Can you help me? (formal / informal) | Bien sûr. bee-ahn sir Of course. | Comment? kohm-mawn What? Pardon? |
| Où est ... / Où sont ... ? ooh eh / ooh sohn Where is ... / Where are ... ? | Voici / Voilà vwah-see / vwah-lah Here is... / Here it is. | Il y a .../ Il y avait... eel-ee-ah / eel-ee-ah-veh There is / are... / There was / were... |
| Comment dit-on ____ en français? kohm-mawn dee-tohn ___ on frahn-say How do you say ____ in French? | Qu'est-ce que c'est que ça? kess kuh seh kuh sah What is that? | Qu'est-ce qu'il y a? |
| Ça ne fait rien. sah nuh feh ree-ahn It doesn't matter. | Qu'est-ce qui se passe? kess kee suh pahs What's happening? | Je n'ai aucune idée. zhuh neh oh-kewn ee-day I have no idea. |
| Je suis fatigué(e) / malade. zhuh swee fah-tee-gay / mah-lahd I'm tired / sick. | J'ai faim / soif. zhay fawn / swahf I'm hungry / thirsty. | J'ai chaud / froid. zhay show / fwah I'm hot / cold. |
| Je m'ennuie. zhuh mawn-nwee I'm bored. | Ça m'est égal. sah meh-teh-gahl I don't care. | Ne vous en faites pas. / Ne t'en fais pas. nuh voo zawn fett pah / nuh tawn feh pah Don't worry (formal / informal) |
| Ce n'est pas grave. suh neh pah grahv It's no problem. / It's alright. | J'ai oublié. zhay oo-blee-ay I forgot. | Je dois y aller. zhuh dwah see ah-lay I must go. |
| A vos souhaits! / A tes souhaits! ah voh soo-eh / a teh soo-eh Bless you! (formal / informal) | Félicitations! fay-lee-see-tah-see-ohn Congratulations! | Bonne chance! bun shahns Good luck! |
| C'est à vous! / C'est à toi! set ah voo / set a twah It's your turn! (formal / informal) | Taisez-vous! / Tais-toi! tez-zay voo / teh twah Shut up! / Be quiet! (formal / informal) | Je t'aime zhuh tem I love you (informal and singular) |
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.
This article was used with permission from:
Indo-European Languages