The word all spoken in french

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Translation English — French Collins Dictionary  

Most French students have learned to speak French like they would write in French. For a long time, French textbooks were the main way to learn French, and French literature was the way to practice what you had learned.

Nowadays, most French learning methods feature audio. But the vast majority still uses a very classic way of speaking French and only features overly enunciated French pronunciation.

Unfortunately, the spoken French taught to foreigners is a fiction. It’s not the way we speak French today, and that’s why so many students cannot understand French people when they speak French.

First, I’d like to define a bit more what spoken French is.

Spoken French vs Classic French Pronunciation

Let’s take an example: here are 3 ways to pronounce “I don’t know” in French.

Je ne sais pas –> [jeun saypa]—–>[shaypa]

Let’s analyse the various French pronunciations.

1. Je ne sais pas. First I said the phrase in an overly enunciated way, pronouncing every single word the way we would write.
   This is the way most French teaching method would teach you to say it.
   However, that’s not how most French people would pronounce it today.
2. [jeun saypa] Then I used a spoken French pronunciation, and glided the je and the ne together.
   This is what I call “a medium gliding” – it’s still quite enunciated and a tad formal, but it’s common.
3. [shaypa] Then I said it the way I would probably say it most of the time when I speak.
   The je becomes kind of a sh sound and the ne totally disappears.
   This is a very common casual French pronunciation, which students seldom learn.

What Affects the Way People Speak French?

There’s no ‘universal’ way to speak French. The same way spoken English differs from one person to the other, one region to another, the way the French speak French varies a lot.

Many factors will affect the way people speak French:

1. the context of the conversation (business, casual, formal, intellectual…),
2. geography (country, regional accents – for example in the South of France, French people still pronounce the “e” quite distinctly.)
3. age : young people tend to apply more glidings and use more slang when they speak than adults.
4. whether you are trying to sound smart or cooooool…

Why is spoken French seldom taught in French classrooms?

Many teachers of French as a second language complain that their – often imposed – curriculum concentrates too much on written French. Unfortunately, French tests are still very much based on grammar and French verb conjugations, and these are mostly drilled in written form.

When they try to complement their French textbook with audio, it’s either audio made for students featuring an overly enunciated French, classic sentence structure and vocabulary, or authentic French material which is usually way too complicated to understand for their beginner/ intermediate students.

If only someone had developed a French learning audio method recorded in both classic and modern French enunciation… But I digress…

Spoken English versus Spoken French

Let me reassure you: we have exactly the same problem in France with the English language. In our English language classrooms, we learn to write I am not going to. And most French people learn to say [I-am-not-going-to] when any English speaker would say [I’m not goin’ to]…

Nothing prepares French people for extreme glidings such as [I ain’t gonna] but even if a foreigner may not want or need to speak this way, this extremely glided pronunciation is common in Hollywood movies and series. So a French speaker learning English should learn to understand it.

An Important difference

There’s an important difference between French and English : in English, people tend to speak the same way in every context. In a formal context, you may use a more upscale vocabulary, but your pronunciation would more or less remain the same whether you’re speaking at a business meeting or at home with your friends.

A French person doesn’t always pronounce words exactly the same way.
We usually use a more glided pronunciation in a relaxed context, like saying [shaypa], and enunciate more in a more formal context, and say [jeun saypa].

What French pronunciation should I use?

The French pronunciation you choose should depend a lot on how you speak in English… Are you more classic or modern? What’s your age? As I said above, younger people tend to apply stronger glidings.

In general, I suggest students use moderate glidings. If a beginner or intermediate French student, who may not yet have a perfect French accent, was to use very strong French glidings, it may sound quite weird.

However, it’s important that you understand both modern French and traditional French pronunciation. This is why my French learning method is recorded at several speeds and levels of enunciation.

Now let me explain some common spoken French glidings.

This is not an easy lesson to write, because French pronunciation evolves all the time, and there are no rules per se. So I’m going you some examples, with audio recordings. For more example of enunciated French versus spoken French pronunciation, I invite you to sample my French phrasebook: the sentences are recorded twice so you learn both the classic and modern French pronunciation.

First let’s see what happens to pronouns and the negative in everyday spoken French.

Je, Tu, Il(s), Elle(s) Spoken French Pronunciation

Please press on the audio player to hear my audio recordings.

1. Je becomes kind of a “sh” sound.
   Enunciated French: Je suis (I am)
   Spoken French: shui
   Enunciated French: Je parle (I am speaking)
   Spoken French: shparl
2. Tu becomes t in front of a vowel
   Enunciated French: Tu es d’accord ? (do you agree?)
   Spoken French: té dacor ?
   Enunciated French: Tu imagines (you imagine)
   Spoken French: timajin
3. Il, elle (singular), ils and elles (plural) become i and è + a consonant (not a vowel)
   This is quite an extreme gliding and I don’t encourage you to do it, but you need to understand it.
   Enunciated French: Elle regarde (she’s watching)
   Spoken French: èrgard
   Enunciated French: Ils parlent (they’re speaking)
   Spoken French: iparl

Is the Ne Pronounced in Spoken French?

In spoken French, the way we pronounce the written “ne” of the French negative form is really affected. We either glide it, or it totally disappears.

Pronouncing the “ne” – medium way.

If someone speak in a natural, but quite enunciated way in French, the “ne” of the negative will glide with “je, tu, nous and vous”.

1. Enunciated French: Je ne parle pas
   Spoken French: jeun parlpa
2. Enunciated French: Tu ne parles pas
   Spoken French: tun parlpa
3. Enunciated French: Nous ne parlons pas
   Spoken French: noon parlonpa
4. Enunciated French: Vous ne parlez pas
   Spoken French: voon parlépa

This is a medium gliding. Actually in most of France nowadays, it would be extremely rare to pronounce the ne without gliding it a bit (yet as I said above, there are different French regional accents).

So, I strongly encourage you to apply this medium gliding.

Would you like more examples? Check out my free lesson on the conjugation of être – to be in French – with 450 audio recordings! You’ll understand why I say French students should learn French verb conjugations with audio !

When the French “ne” disappears

Now, quite often in spoken French, the “ne” and even the “n’” totally disappear.

This is very, very common in spoken French pronunciation.

Let’s hear how the verb “parler” in the present indicative negative would be pronounced.

Press on the audio player and you’ll hear 3 pronunciations:

1. the overly enunciated pronunciation like you probably learned it in school or with a traditional French learning method,
2. then the medium glided pronunciation like I encourage you to speak,
3. the common modern French pronunciation like you’ll hear it in France today.

1. Je ne parle pas = jeun parlpa – shparlpa
2. Tu ne parles pas = tune parlpa – tuparlpa
3. Il ne parle pas = een parlpa – iparlpa
4. elle ne parle pas = ènn parlpa – èparlpa
5. Nous ne parlons pas = noonparlonpa – nooparlonpa
6. Vous ne parlez pas = voon parlépa – vooparlépa
7. Ils ne parlent pas = een parlpa – iparlpa
8. Elles ne parlent pas = ènn parlpa – èparlpa

My beginner level French method features a realistic story recorded 3 times to feature overly enunciated, normal and modern spoken French pronunciation.

French Today’s audiobook method is the only French learning method to teach both traditional and modern spoken French pronunciation, and still provide level-adapted grammar structure to gradually prepare to successfully interact with French people.

Let’s carry on with our exploration of spoken French.

What Happens With Small Words?

Just like with “ne” and “je”, other small words in “e” are likely to glide in spoken French.

How to pronounce “Se, ce, te, me, que, de, me” in spoken French?

Se, ce, te, me, que, de, me… They all glide in spoken French: the “e” will not be pronounced and the consonant will glide with another French vowel.

Let’s take some example

1. The “il” and the “te” both glide becoming “it”
   Enunciated French: Il te parle (he is talking to you)
   Spoken French: itparl
2. “Que” becomes a K sound that starts the following word.
   Enunciated French:Je veux que tu lui parles (I want you to speak to him/her)
   Spoken French: shveu ktu lui parl
3. When followed by an S sound, the “que” and the following word combine to sound like an X sound
   Enunciated French: Je n’ai pas que ça à faire (I have other things to do)
   Spoken French: jé paxa-a fèr
4. “Qu’est-ce que” is pronounced Kèss
   Enunciated French: Qu’est-ce que tu fais ? (What are you doing?)
   Spoken French: Kèss tu fay
5. The “ce” part of “est-ce que” always glides.
   You will hear “S keu”, or “S kil”, “S Kèl” when followed by “il(s)” or “elle(s)”
   Enunciated French: Est-ce qu’il fait beau ? (Is the weather nice ?)
   Spoken French: S kifèbo
6. The “de” often glides or even disappears
   Enunciated French: Pas de problème (No problem)
   Spoken French: pad problem
   Enunciated French: Tout de suite (Right away)
   Spoken French: toot suit

I realise this is really new to many of you reading this lesson. So how can you learn this? Repeating short phrases is not going to help much because you need to get accustomed to the flow of it all in French. The best way to learn the right French pronunciation is to learn it in the context of a story.

French Today’s French learning method is illustrated by an ongoing bilingual novel recorded once in overly enunciated French, then in modern spoken French, and focuses on today’s everyday French language. 
Learn French easily at home and on the go on any device!

How to pronounce object pronouns in spoken French?

The pronunciation of French object pronouns (me, te, le, la, lui, nous, vous, les, leur) is quite different between overly enunciated French and normal spoken French

1. “te” becomes a [t] sound.
2. “le” becomes a [L] sound and often totally disappears,
3. “lui” becomes a [ui] sound and often totally disappears.
4. “la” may also totally disappear.

“Nous” “vous” and “leur” don’t change much, but other words like “ne” or “je, tu, il(s), elle(s)” may contract with them and affect the way you think the whole sentence should sound…

Overly enunciated French pronunciation: Je le donne à Pierre – I give it to Pierre.
Common gliding: Jeul donne à Pierre
Extreme gliding: Jleu donne à Pierre

Now let’s make a more complex sentence:
Overly enunciated French pronunciation: Je ne le lui donne pas – I don’t give it to him/her.
Enunciated French pronunciation: Jeun le lui donn pa
Common gliding: Jui donn pa
Extreme gliding: Ji donne pa (I don’t encourage you to copy that one)

To know more about the modern glided pronunciation of the French object pronouns le, la, les, lui, leur pronunciation I’ll let you follow the link to another lesson I dedicated to that subject… There’s just too much to say!

Expressions in Spoken French

Because we say them so much, the pronunciation of common French expressions is going to be quite different in spoken French.

So different that if you only learned the written form, or the overly enunciated way to say these expressions, you will probably not understand them if you heard them in a natural French conversation.

What’s the Modern Pronunciation of”Il y a”?

“Il y a” is probably where the difference between the enunciated and the modern spoken French pronunciation is the most blatant.

Please click on the audio player to hear my recording.
First the enunciated pronunciation, then then regular spoken French pronunciation.

1. Enunciated French: Il y a (there was)
   Everyday Spoken French: ya
2. Enunciated French: Il n’y a pas (there isn’t)
   Everyday Spoken French: yapa
3. Enunciated French: Il y en a (there’s some)
   Everyday Spoken French: yan na
4. Enunciated French: Il n’y en a pas (there isn’t any)
   Everyday Spoken French: yan napa
5. Enunciated French: Il y aura (there will be)
   Everyday Spoken French: yora
6. Enunciated French: Il y a eu (there has been)
   Everyday Spoken French: ya u

Politeness expressions – spoken French pronunciation

The modern pronunciation of French politeness expressions will probably surprise you.

1. Enunciated French: Je t’en prie (you’re welcome using tu)
   Everyday Spoken French: shtan pri
2. Enunciated French: S’il te plaît (please using tu)
   Everyday Spoken French: ste plé
3. Enunciated French: Il n’y a pas de quoi (it’s nothing using tu)
   Everyday Spoken French: yapad koi
4. Enunciated French: Non (no in French)
   Everyday Spoken French: nan
5. Enunciated French: Oui
   Everyday Spoken French: way (we spell it “ouais” – a common way to say yes in French)

Now that we’ve talked in length about the modern spoken French pronunciation, let’s see the French vocabulary used in spoken French.

What Is French Slang?

Slang has mostly to do with French vocabulary.

The traditional French slang is called “l’argot”, and many words of “argot” are used colloquially in spoken French throughout generations.

Like in other languages, French slang terms can easily become outdated… Some slang terms can be really vulgar, or even be insults… So be careful when using French… You should be sure of the meaning and only use slang in the right context and with the right crowd.

Examples of modern French slang

What is verlan?

What is franglish?

“Franglish” is a mix of French and English words used with a more or less correct French accent and meaning in French.
Spoken French: On a brainstormé toute la journée au bureau.
We brainstormed all day at the office.
Formal French: On a bien réfléchi ensemble toute la journée au bureau.

French slang based on foreign words

Other foreign languages influence the French language, in particular Arabic.
Spoken French: Je la kiff.
I’m attracted to her.
Formal French: Je la trouve très attirante.

So there are definitely several layers to mastering French Vocabulary!

Are You Learning The Right French Vocabulary?

It’s important that students get a feeling for the vocabulary words they are learning.

Lots of people like to listen to French songs and learn some new vocabulary this way. It’s fine, but be aware that if you are in your fifties, you may not want to sound like a twenty year-old rap singer…

On the other hand, I hear too many students who learn French with traditional French literature from the 19th century and use words or expressions that are absolutely outdated now.

So, it’s important that you learn not only French vocabulary, but also the context in which it is best used. To achieve this, there is nothing better than learning French within the context of a story.

And this is only for the vocabulary part…. Now let’s see how French grammar changes when we speak French.

Spoken French – Questions & Grammar

Many grammatical constructions such as asking questions also change in modern spoken French.

1. What’s your name?
   Formal French: Comment vous appelez-vous ?
   Spoken French: Vous vous appelez comment ?
2. Why are you going to France?
   Formal French: Pourquoi allez-vous en France ?
   Spoken French: vous allez en France pourquoi ?
3. What are you doing?
   Formal French: Qu’est-ce que tu fais ?
   Spoken French: Tu fais quoi ?

In modern street French, it’s very, very rare to use inversion. Instead, it’s the tone of your voice that shows we are asking a question: we just say the statement, then we raise our voice.

• Does he live in France?
  Il habite en France ?

If we are using an interrogative expression (why, when, who, at what time etc…), the expression will be placed at the end of the street French question.

1. At what time do you start?
   Tu commences à quelle heure ?
2. With whom do you work?
   Vous travaillez avec qui ?

This is particularly confusing for students of French who often never studied this way to ask a question in French class, and are totally confused by the word order and therefore freeze when they need to answer in French.

French Today’s audiobook “Secrets of French Conversation” explains in depth all the different ways of asking questions in French, including the very formal inversion, est-ce que, and also the modern spoken French way, all with audio recordings and plenty of exercises.

Now let’s see how even the classical French word order gets affected when we speak French.

Spoken French Word Order

Something else that changes in spoken French is the the typical word order: I can’t really explain it, but we either use pronouns to reinforce the subject, for example:

• Your answer is great
  Formal French: Ta réponse est très bonne
  Spoken French: Elle est top ta réponse !

Or we feed the info in chunks, without many linking words, as to feed the brain the most important facts first. For example:

• When does the cleaning lady come exactly on Monday?
  Formal French: Quand exactement la femme de ménage vient-elle ce lundi ?
  Spoken French: La femme de ménage, lundi, elle vient quand
  exactement ?

See how in spoken French, you got the key info very clearly:

• “la femme de ménage”
• “lundi”
• “vient quand”.

I could also have said

1. “la femme de ménage vient quand exactement lundi”,
2. “elle vient quand exactement lundi, la femme de ménage ?”
3. “elle vient quand exactement la femme de ménage lundi ?”…

There are several possibilities!

It would be extremely hard to teach a French student to mimic these constructions, as there are no rules per se. It’s our French ear that would tell us if it’s possible or not. Yet, the word order is not totally random: I couldn’t move the “word blocks” in many different ways…

So, here again, I don’t suggest you speak this way necessarily. But you need to be able to understand it and therefore learn with a French method with both classic and modern spoken French recordings so you develop an ear for these constructions.

Test Your Spoken French Understanding

Because so many students are in denial (they think they understand French but they don’t actually understand modern spoken French) I actually designed a unique test especially to test your spoken French understanding.

My French test is entirely audio based: all the questions will be presented to you as a recording, and then after each question, you’ll have an answer which I’ve also recorded.

Take my free Spoken French test now!

Spoken French Language And French Mistakes

Unfortunately, some French grammar mistakes are also very common in spoken French.

Believe it or not, but the French Subjunctive is actually hard for French people as well. Nowadays, it’s quite common to hear Subjunctive mistakes. Same goes for past participle agreements.

Some grammatical constructions are also affected. For example, it’s common to hear “la copine à ma soeur” instead of “la copine de ma soeur” (my sister’s friend).

I’m sorry if I sound like a snob, but I think the info is important: there is a difference to be made between:

1. the modern spoken French way of asking questions, which most French people uses when they speak French in a relaxed environment, yet considered by some linguists to be poor French,
2. and French mistakes, which are… well, not just poor French, but simply real mistakes!

Voilà, I hope you now understand more the difference between modern spoken French – the French you’ll actually hear when you go to France and in modern French movies – and the overly enunciated, overly formal French that you’re likely to have studied with traditional French learning methods.

Both are part of the reality of French today.

I suggest you check out my French audiobook method to learn French the smart way today.

This article is for anyone interested in French. This amazing, beautiful language is extremely demanding of those who learn it. We want to help you. Beginner or intermediate — here you will find tips on how to master langue française. Bon chance!

Features of the French language

• Double trouble. There are only two genders in French: masculine and feminine. This is an advantage, because you don’t need to memorize the neutral one. The downside is that all adjectives, numerals, pronouns, verbs, and verbal forms agree in gender and number. At the same time, it is impossible to determine the gender of a noun without an article. You just need to know: male or female. Spoiler: nouns with the ending -tion are usually femininebut definitely not always (la révolution, l’inscription, la libération, etc.). An example of agreement of two words:
  • Chapeau, m. — hat;
  • Chemise, f. — shirt.

• Agreement by the gender of the subject. In French, the possessive pronouns have gender, which is decided by the subject. For example, “my coat” would be son manteau — son is a masculine pronoun, and is used because the word manteau is masculine.
• Bizzare numerals. In French, numericals are formed a bit differently than in English. We form them by essentially saying “so many tens and a number,” except for anything smaller than 13. Think about it — twenty-two (2×10+2), fifty-seven (5×10+7). In French, things are more complicated. For instance, the threshold for uniquely-named numbers is 16, not 12. Only then do the French switch to the “tens + another number” system, and it goes for round numbers as well. However, 80 is not “eight tens” — it’s “four twenties” for some reason, and there are many more surprises waiting for you. Overall, learning to count in French is an adventure in its own right — see the table below.

• French pronunciation. The phonetics of the French language gives it a special charm. Nasal vowels, grassed r, combinations of consonants and vowels — all this creates the beauty of de la langue française. Some even joke that in French, pronunciation is more important than meaning. At the same time, you will hear grumpy remarks from language learners about how the French are terribly distorting foreign words.
• Merging. Another feature of French pronunciation is called liaison. This is a phonetic linking of consecutive words. It does not happen randomly, but according to rules. If a word ends in a consonant and the next begins with a vowel or a voiceless h, they are linked and read as one. For example, six heures sounds like a single word — [sisœ: r], and six hommes — [sisɔm].
• Fixed stress. One of the clear advantages of the French language is its constant stress on the last syllable. Whichever word you choose, the rule is the same. Although sometimes the stress changes in colloquial speech — depending on intonation.
• Lots of words for nothing. The French love their language, so they use as many words as possible, even where they are not needed. The most striking examples:
  • Subject repetition — Moi, je pense, que (I, I think that);
  • The word que in different variations — Qu‘est-ce que je dois faire? (What should I do?)
  • Two negative particles ne and pas around the verbs — Je ne suis pas contente (I’m not happy).
• Diacritical marks. The symbols over and under some of the French letters show how pronunciation changes. The word français itself has a diacritic mark. It means that the letter [c] is read as [s].

• 18 times is not the limit. If you thought that the twelveexcluding the passive voice tenses of the English language is a lot, get ready for a ride. There are more than eighteen of them in French (some count twenty-one). But even without an exact number, it is clear that agreeing verbs in every tense and mood is still highly enjoyable. There is even a form that is only used in literary language, such as magazine articles. It’s called the Passé Simple. You also need to be able to distinguish it in written speech.

How to learn French on your own?

French is not the most difficult language. It is quite possible to learn it on your own. Especially if you already speak English or Italian. With the latter, they share Latin roots, and in the former, there are many words borrowed from French. In this section, we will give you some tips on how to learn the perfect langue française.

1. Start with phonetics. Yes, just like in school. We ourselves do not like such methods, but they suit the French the best. You first need to understand the reading rules. Understand why beaucoup reads as [bo-koo], and qu’est-ce que ça as [kes-ke-sey]. And only then can you start learning French vocabulary. If you immediately start learning words by ear, there is a chance that you will face a problem: it will be difficult to match pronunciation with spelling. Nobody can just guess that [ohm] is written as homme.
2. Enjoy learning. The main secret in learning any language is to practice the way you like it. Bored of cramming grammar? Throw the blasted textbook aside and do something fun. Watch TV shows in French, listen to and memorize songs, read books or comics. If you are a full-fledged student, then grammatical constructions cannot be avoided, and Subjonctif will catch you, too. But after all, it can also be looked at through engaging examples.
3. Don’t be afraid of mistakes. It is impossible to learn a language without practice. Feel free to mispronounce words. No matter what jokes go about the French, no one will turn their backs on you because of an error in pronunciation. Most likely they will praise everyone who dares to learn their great and beautiful language.
4. Practice every day. Learning a foreign language is 20% understanding of grammatical concepts and 80% practice. Give French at least an hour every day. Or 30 minutes, or even 15. The main part is not to forget about it. It is enough to listen to an audio recording on the way home or rehearse out loud the recently learned phrases.
5. Surround yourself with French. Immersion in a language environment is the most effective way to learn a foreign language. Create your own French world: switch all your gadgets to it, change the keyboard layout, speak, listen and think in French.

Vocabulaire — How to learn French words?

We all know «merci» and “bonjour.” But it’s not enough to speak French. Once you’ve mastered the reading rules and the basics of grammar, it’s time to start building your vocabulary. The question arises: how to do this?

Look for familiar expressions

English has many words from French. Some of them have the same meaning, making them easier to remember. For example:

• Facade — une façade;
• Omelet — une omelette;
• Mise-en-scène — une mise en scène;
• Jacket — une jaquette.

A complete list of easy-to-remember French loanwords can be found here. But be careful. In addition to them, there are also false friends. For example, the word synthétiser means «to summarize,» not “synthesize”, and pain miraculously means “bread.”

Still, there are plenty of similar vocabulary and even grammatical forms.

Learn the gender of words

It will protect your nerve cells in the future. To inflect words correctly in French, you need to know the genders of the nouns. Better to memorize them right away. Otherwise, later you will frantically try to recollect: is it sa maison or son maison, belle robe or beau robe.

Make texts

A great way not only to learn a foreign language, but also to urgently remember something. Let’s say you have 10 new words. Take them all and come up with a text or a couple of sentences. It doesn’t matter how usable they are, the point is to create a memorizable image. Let’s give an example:

• Un chat — a cat;
• Acheter — buy;
• Des petit pois — peas;
• Une tasse — cup;
• Une aubergine — eggplant;
• Rêver — to dream.

We make a sentence: Un chat rêve d’acheter une tasse de petits pois et d’aubergines — A cat dreams of buying a cup of peas and eggplants. Weird? Yes. But super picturesque.

For that method, you need to know grammar: how words are connected through prepositions, articles, and verb forms. It is better to both write and pronounce sentences.

Use new knowledge in speech

The fastest way to remember words is to say them out loud. So you do two things at the same time: you learn new things and add them to your active vocabulary. You can know 10,000 French words passively, not using them in real life. This is a bad school habit. There they gave us a list — we crammed it only to forget later. You have to do the opposite.

One of the variants of this method is retelling the texts based on new words. Let’s say you read the article, then wrote down and sorted the unfamiliar phrases. Now, instead of cramming, retell the text using each one. It is effective learning through the use of words in context.

Learn not words, but phrases

Because of the liveliness and fluidity of French speech, sentences merge into one. Native speakers muffle the beginning, middle, end, or even the whole word. Therefore, we advise you to learn not single words, but fixed expressions with them. There are enough of them in French. For example, n’importe quoi — anything (slang: «oh everything, no difference, some kind of nonsense») or je n’en sais rien — I don’t know. And it is better to learn verbs right away with prepositions of control à, de or without:

• aider quelqu’un à faire quelque chose — to help someone do something;
• avoir besoin de quelque chose — you need something;
• vouloir faire quelque chose — to want to do something.

Phraseological units are loved in France, so learning the relevant ones is pivotal to success in mastering the language.

Memorize through pictures

This is a tip for visuals. If you quickly absorb information through external images, learn words from illustrated dictionaries or flashcards. You can buy them from a bookstore, find them online, or make your own. The latter option is more energy-intensive, but this way you will start learning words while creating cards.

Resources

Grammaire — How to learn French grammar?

French grammar scares beginners with its large number of tenses, the agreement between parts of speech, and simply with its existence. Of course, when you look at this «beauty» in textbooks, it invokes panic. But in fact, French grammar is extremely logical. It must be sorted out at the very beginning, along with the reading rules. Then you will have less desire to grab your head at the sight of Conditionnel.

Learn the conjugation of verbs

Unfortunately, there is no learning this language without them. Probably the most annoying part of French is its verb forms. They change by every tense and for every pronoun. There are three groups of verbs in total. Below is an example of the conjugations of group 1 and 2 in Présent simple de l’indicatif≈Present Simple. With these verbs, things are mostly understandable.

The third group of irregular verbs is troublesome. Here’s a small example of how the verb avoir — «to have» — conjugates in all its forms.

If you need French for everyday communication, then you can make do with just learning the most necessary verbs from a phrasebook. But you still have to learn their forms. Otherwise, you run the risk of speaking exclusively in infinitives: I want, he do, she be. And those who strive to truly master French are not afraid of Subjonctif.

Don’t suffer from grammar

Remember that any activity can be turned into something fun. Instead of just cramming, try memorizing verb forms like a song to a familiar tune. Another option is to create a visual association. So, the 29 verbs conjugated with a être are easy to remember by drawing a picture or making a story out of them.

Take your time

French grammar will not run away from you. Start learning from the basics: personal pronouns, gender of nouns, groups of verbs, conjugation of the key être, and more. Move gradually. Start by reading a textbook in English, where everything is explained clearly.

Also, be sure to pay attention to the little things. If your goal is to truly master French, understand each grammatical construct. There are many small details in this language. For example, parts of speech such as en, on, dont, que. And they are all used regularly.

Resources

Compréhension orale — What and how to listen to in French?

Understanding French by ear is not easy. And not at all because of the stereotypical «they speak too fast» routine. The main difficulty is the connection between words. Native speakers move from one phrase to another so masterfully that all sentences merge into one. There seem to be no pauses between them. How can this be overcome? Listen to French speech. Listen, even if you don’t understand anything — turn on the recording and immerse yourself in French. Without understanding the meaning of what has been said, you still get used to the intonation and rhythm of the language.

Listen to podcasts and radio

A great way to get used to the sound of French. You can listen to both regular radio and educational podcasts. For example, Coffee Break Languages ​​was created specifically for those who are short on time. The entries are categorized according to difficulty levels, from A1 to C1. Another good podcast is News in slow French, which has trending news in French. Then there is French in 5 Minutes — small audios on various topics, from culture to language learning. French radio stations also offer great variety: France Info, Europe 1, RFM, France Culture and so on. Turn on any station and listen to programs or music. If you are interested not in France, but in other countries, find their stations. For example, Canadian 98.5 Montréal or Swiss RTS. Almost all of the listed radios have their own podcasts.

Watch TV shows and series

This method is the favorite of many foreign language learners. What could be nicer? You watch the show, enjoy your life and improve your French skills at once. But this also needs to be done correctly.

First, select the material according to your level. Start with kids’ shows or tutorials like Extra. There are simple and straightforward dialogues, especially useful to beginners. If you don’t like this, try looking at something you’ve seen before, but in French. Say you’re a fan of The Big Bang Theory and can retell any episode faster than Sheldon says «Bazinga.» Find it in French and go. It may not be easy to do this, though. Unfortunately, there are very few free resources for French films. The most convenient way is to use streaming services like Netflix or YouTube.

The second rule is to watch everything with French subtitles, not English. This makes it easier to remember vocabulary in context. Plus, you will immediately understand and think in another language. It will be difficult for a beginner to learn French from films, but for advanced students with a solid foundation, it is a great option.

Listen to lectures and audiobooks

They are suitable for advanced learners. Especially those planning to study in French. Audiobooks can be found on Audiolib or Audible. With lectures, it is a little more complicated. Try searching on Coursera. By the way, there are also French courses from various universities around the world.

Resources

Compréhension écrite — What and how to read in French?

Often people focus on speaking and underestimate reading. But all the elements of French are interconnected, and without developing this skill, others will also lag behind. Reading practice helps to build vocabulary and understand the internal logic of the language. The more you read, the easier it is for you to express yourself in French.

Start with easy texts

For beginners, we recommend short, easy texts designed especially for language learners. The resource Lingua has stories for A1-A2 levels.

When you get the vocabulary, move on to adapted books — simplified representations of original works. There aren’t many of them, but seek and ye shall find.

Read relevant press

Reading magazines and newspapers is a great and free way to improve your skills. This will help you learn modern vocabulary and slang expressions. And also immerse yourself in the political and cultural life of the country: you will understand how the French live and what is important to them. Fortunately, the French press offers a ton of options for all tastes: political Le Figaro, Le Monde, and Libération, the infamous Charlie Hebdo, the sporty L’Équipe, and so on.

Read fiction

There is no point in moving to this method before the level Intermediate. But even here you need to increase the degree gradually: from children’s books (B1) to professional literature (C1). Of the former, the most popular are The Little Prince, Little Nicolas and Arsene Lupine, as well as the series Découverte: Lecture en français facile from CLE International.

At the avancé level (B2), people start to feel the language. They can look at the constructs in the text and admire the skill of the writer. But don’t think that if you are learning French you have to love their classical literature. It’s hard to read it, and it’s even harder to understand. The Three Musketeers in French no longer seem so exciting.

Reading should be enjoyable. Don’t like classics? Well, okay. Look for detective stories or fantasy stories. For example, the thriller Nuitor the novel Une anglaise a bicyclette by contemporary French writers. The language in them is just as rich, but more relevant. If your goal is to work in a French-speaking country, read the professional literature right away. This will help you grasp the vocabulary you need faster.

Resources

Expression écrite — How to write in French?

The spelling of French is difficult not only for foreigners, but also for the native speakers themselves. Even such simple words as beau [handsome] or beaucoup [many] cause errors. What to expect from something like immarcescible [unbreakable]. If you need French to communicate, you can take a breather and skip the writing part. But for those who study langue française for study or work, we advise you to be patient. Writing will have to be studied long and hard.

Find assistance

First, look for someone who will review what you have written and correct your mistakes. Ideally, they should be a native, but anyone who speaks French at a high level will do. Try HiNative for asking questions to native speakers, or LangCorrect. There they correct your texts. But keep in mind — the spelling in French is so difficult that even the French can have a hard time.

Therefore, do not neglect the self-tests. And use all the available technologies: auto-edits in Word, electronic dictionaries, resources like Bon Patron or Languagetool. Don’t neglect searching for every word. And do not forget about diacritics accent symbols: è, à, ù, They are not optional. Their absence is a spelling error. Also, always check the gender of nouns and the correctness of the declension.

Use simple sentences

This is a tip for beginners, but avancé can also use it. Literary French is characterized by long and tricky sentences. They sound beautiful within that style. You just can’t resist repeating after the native and wrap up something virtuoso. Do not hurry. At first, write simply, and then gradually move on to a truly literary French style. The time will come, and you will also write something like: «qu’il s’agisse d’un changement de région ou d’un retour en France depuis un pays étranger, une tolérance sera de mise pour les déplacements qui se feront durant ce week-end de Pâques«^[2].

Learn synonyms

Try to enrich your speech and make it more elegant. In a conversation, refined vocabulary is not needed, but in writing a well-chosen synonym will guarantee respect from your penpal. For example, it is better to replace the constructions [simple verb + adverb] with one word. Not «crier fortement,» but “hurler.” Not “très fatigué”, but “épuisé.” A good site for finding synonyms is Synonymo. Here are some common French words and their equivalents:

Correspond in French

Language is a living structure. It is constantly changing, and communicating with a native is a great way to stay up to date with all the innovations. This will bring you closer to real life. You will understand how the French communicate with each other. Of particular interest are the slang phrases and abbreviations, like mdr, a +, biz, slt, etc. The textbooks won’t teach you that. Look for a conversation partner in the HelloTalk, Ablo, or Italki apps. The latter is designed specifically for learning. There you will find French teachers from different French-speaking countries.

If you’re not ready to have a conversation with another person just yet, start writing to yourself. For example, start a diary or a blog in French.

Resources

Expression orale — How to speak French?

For some, speaking French is the most enjoyable part of learning a language, while for others it is the biggest stress of a lifetime. We will give you some tips on how to speak French.

Say it all out loud

That’s the universal rule for any language, but in French it is paramount. Don’t just read the texts, but retell them. Don’t just learn the words, but enunciate them. Start early. Learned your first five words? Make a sentence out of them. Let’s say you have je — me, aller — to go, cinéma— cinema, aujourd’hui — today. Now can you say «aujourd’hui, je vais au cinéma.» There, your first steps in spoken French. Of course, this is just the starting line. Getting beyond “I want sleep bed” takes a lot of exercise and grammar learning.

One way to practice is to say all your actions out loud. Start in the morning when you got up: «je me lave le visage, je me brosse les dents«I’m washing, I’m cleaning my teeth… or think out loud in French. You can even do it on the street.

Chat in French

Find someone to practice. It can be another French enthusiast, such as you, or a native. Communication with the latter is more effective in terms of understanding the language. Speaking with a French learner is just practice, but speaking with a native speaker is also a valuable experience. You will hear their accent, intonation, and learn slang. If there is still no opportunity to train with a francophonea French speaker, talk to yourself or find a conversation partner online. Try these platforms: Tandem, Speaky, or Easy Language Exchange.

Another popular practice option is attending conversation clubs. As a rule, they are organized by language schools.

Expand your active vocabulary

A sore spot for many French learners: «I know a word, but I can’t say it.» Why is this happening? Most likely, this person has been developing their passive vocabulary. It increases well through reading, listening, and watching movies. New phrases and expressions are remembered but do not become an asset. You can fix this by using them in speech. Learned a new word? Immediately use it in a conversation. Repeat it several times in a row to make it easier to remember.

Resources

Prononciation — How to master French pronunciation?

We advise you to give due attention to the correct pronunciation of french words. The difficulty is that some French sounds simply do not exist in our language. And some of those that do exist have different articulations. But learning to speak like a real Frenchman is possible. Here are some tips on how to improve your pronunciation.

Learn phonetics

We’ve already discussed how important it is to start French with the basics. Without understanding phonetics, pronunciation is impossible. The hardest thing for foreigners is with the «burry» r and the sounds [u], [ou], [œ]. In fact, you can read a separate lecture about each sound of this language. If you strive for the most correct pronunciation, analyze them all one by one. Preferably with a teacher. Those who want to come to France and pass for locals, cannot do without the help of a specialist. Otherwise, it is quite possible to study phonetics on your own. For example, TV5Monde offers a good beginner course.

Also, be sure to watch your articulation. The key to understanding French prononciation is the correct placement of the tongue in the mouth. Not only listen to what the person says but also watch how they do it.

Read tongue twisters

Advice for advanced language learners — take a chance. Grab a French tongue twister, read it in your head, and cry some in the corner. Then say it out loud several times, gradually increasing the speed. This is a great way to work out your articulation. Tongue twisters should be selected according to your level. Start with the simplest ones. For example, «douze douches douces.» The day will come and you will confidently say “les chaussettes de l’archiduchesse sont-elles sèches? Archi-sèches?«.

Learn pronunciation by ear

Technique fit for all levels — listen to as much French as possible. Songs, movies, podcasts, street conversations — anything will do. Just be careful with intonation. There is a difference between how people communicate in everyday life, how announcers read the news, and the performers sing.

To master the pronunciation, repeat after the speakers. And try to convey not only the words but also the emotional coloring of their speech. You can even duplicate the facial expressions and gestures.

Resources

You have four main options for learning French:

• Language schools (group lessons);
• Individual lessons with a tutor;
• Language courses abroad;
• Self-study.

Here are several lists of different resources for studying French and getting extra materials.

French courses abroad

Resources for self-studying French

Why learn French?

In terms of the number of native speakers, French is inferior to English and Chinese. It is spoken by 267 million people, making it the seventh most widespread language in the world^[1]. At the same time, langue française is placed second, right after English, among the languages ​​that people learn or want to learn^[3]. Maybe not everyone achieves mastery in it, but the interest is clearly there. French attracts people for a variety of reasons: study, career, travel, the desire to migrate, or simply its eternal beauty.

French for study

France has a relatively inexpensive and high-quality education. A year in a Bachelor’s degree program for foreign students costs 3,061 USD, and in a Master’s — 4,166 USD. It is cheaper than in, for example, the Netherlands and the UK. With the knowledge of a français, it is possible to study not only in France, but also in Canadain Quebec, Switzerland, or Belgiumin Wallonia. Though, in these countries, the variety of programs in French is much smaller.

Proof of language proficiency is required to enroll in a French-taught program. You can get it by passing DELF, DALF, or TCF. Preparing for them is not easy, so we advise you to do it with a tutor, preferably — one who has already passed them. Preparing for the exams on your own is also absolutely possible. The fundamental issue is to find the right study materials and train the right skills. Many language schools organize courses specifically for DELF preparation.

French for work

If you are going to work in France, you can’t do it without knowing the language. The employers expect you to be at least B2C1-C2 for medicine, law, linguistics and journalism. There is a stereotype that the French do not like English. It is not true. The bottom line is different: they do not understand it. Did you know that in terms of English proficiency, France is below Greece and Romania?^[4] Therefore, do not think that you can easily find a job in Paris by showing your C1 English certificate. But in Canada, there are chances. Of course, this additionally requires other competencies, a quality education, and work experience.

It is not so easy to get settled in France. The unemployment rate among foreigners is 13% — the highest among French-speaking countries. In Belgium, it’s 10%, in Switzerland — 7.3%, and in Canada — 6.3%^[5].

The French language is generally appreciated abroad. With him you can find work in one of the large companies: L’Oreal, Renault, Auchan, Total, BNP Paribas, Dior and others. Plus it is the official language of international organizations: UN, Red Cross, Olympic Committee, etc. So for those wishing to work in the field of international relations, knowledge of French is a must.

French for immigration

French-speaking countries rank high among the most popular destinations for immigration. France is seventh, followed by Canada. Switzerland is in the 24th place because it is expensive^[6].

If your goal is France, you must be fluent in the language. Without French, life will not be nice there. We have already talked about the difficult relationship of citizens of the Republic with the English language. The situation is no better with other languages. Do you want to live in France? Speak and act like a Frenchman. And to become a fully accepted member of society, you need to know the language. It serves not only as a means of communication, but also brings people closer culturally.

Acquiring French citizenship is a quest. You need to live in the country for 5 years. Graduates of French universities — 2 years. It is also necessary to demonstrate the B1 level of language proficiency, which is not so high. To confirm it, you take an exam. It evaluates your speaking and listening skills, and, since 2020, also covers writing. So you have to learn it.

A few words for those wishing to move to red-and-white Canada. If you are aiming for an English-speaking province, knowledge of French will earn you extra points in the Express Entry system when you receive a visa. And with two languages, it will be easier for you to find a job.

French for travel

French may not be as common as English, but it will also come in handy when traveling. First, there are 29 countries in the world where French is recognized as an official language. Most of them are located in Africa. Want to visit Ivory Coast? Secondly, many people forget that France has overseas territories: New Caledonia, Guadeloupe, Martinique, and others. If you already know Europe inside and out, the French islands in the Pacific are awaiting you eagerly. In addition to the French-speaking countries, you will most likely be understood in Spain and Italy. These languages ​​have similar words and constructions.

If you’re learning French for a tourist trip, don’t get too deep into the intricacies of the language. You don’t need them. Pay attention to common colloquial phrases. There are many compilations for tourists on the Internet. For example, here. Believe me, the French will appreciate your attempt to learn a few words in their langue belle avec des mots superbesa beautiful language with superb words.

French for yourself

You don’t have to look for a reason to learn French. It attracts many people not by its practicality, but by its beauty. Someone studies it to sing along to their favorite songs from Notre-dame de Paris. Other brave souls dream of reading untranslated Sartre. Finally, many are passionate about la cuisine française. And the last group just wants to impress their beloved ones. Yes, that happens too. «French is the language of love.» A stereotype? Maybe. But it’s hard to deny that it’s melodic, graceful, and pleasing to the ear. If you are learning French for yourself, just choose whichever method you like. You can start by memorizing songs, and then you’ll get more engaged and sign up for professional courses.

Exams in French

Unlike the huge variety of English exams, there are not as many options in French. Three main tests to determine the level of the language are:

• DELF (A1-B2);
• DALF (C1-C2);
• TCF.

TCF is a generic name for all French language proficiency testsTest de Connaissance de Français. There are TCF Canada, TCF ANF ​​(for citizenship), TCF Québec, and a few more in other countries. DELF and DALF consist of four sections:

• Listening;
• Reading;
• Writing;
• Speaking.

You can prepare for these exams yourself. But it is still better to find a tutor or an assistant, at least for the speaking part. To train it well, you need a conversation partner. Also, pay attention to writing. French essays have their own specificities, different from English.

More details

The most common French words are: Oui (yes), non (no), merci (thank you), je (I), tu/vous (you), le/la/les (the), un, une des (a, an and some), le/la/les (it, them), et (and) and mais (but).

What are the most frequently used French words?

Learning the most common words is the first step to learning to speak fluently. Rather than just providing a list of top-100 words without any structure, we’ve created a list based on language sub-areas such as common adjectives, prepositions and verbs. We’ve also broken our list down into noun groups such family, clothing and much more.

Top 10 French words in a nutshell

These are the top ten frequently most used words in the French language:

1. Oui yes
2. Non no
3. Merci thank you
4. Je I
5. Tu/vous you
6. le, la, les the
7. Un, une, des a, an, some
8. le, la, les it, them
9. Et and
10. Mais but

Example sentences with the most common words:

• Oui, je parle français. Yes, I speak French.
• Non, je ne parle pas français. No, I don’t speak French.
• Merci beaucoup. Thank you very much.
• Je mange le pain. I eat the bread.
• Tu manges la salade. You seat the salad.
• Vous mangez la pizza. You eat the pizza.
• Le garçon chante. The boy sings.
• La fille nage. The girl swims.
• Les enfants chantent. The children sing.
• Un garçon écrit. A boy writes.
• Une fille dort. A girl sleeps.
• Des enfant étudient. Some kids study.
• Je le/la mange. I eat it.
• Je les mange. I eat them.
• Marc et Sylvie. Marc and Sylvie.
• Il aime Sylvie mais il est trop timide. He likes Sylvie but he’s too shy.

How to say “not in French

In French, to say “not”, wrap ne…pas around a verb. For example, “Je ne parle pas français” (I don’t speak French).

This is called negation. This page covers French negation in detail.

• Ne…pas not

Articles: words for “the” and “a, an”

The articles in French (words for the and a/an) must agree in gender and number with the noun they describe.

The words for the are called the definite article and the words for a/some are called the indefinite article. This page explains these French articles in detail.

• Le the (masculine)
• La the (feminine)
• Les the (plural)
• L’ the (comes before noun starting with a vowel)
• Un a or an (masculine)
• Une a or an (feminine)
• Des some (plural)

Personal pronouns

One of the first steps in learning French is to learn the personal pronouns. These refer to words for people (I, you, he, she, etc.).

This page covers French personal pronouns in detail.

• Je I
• Tu you
• Il he
• Elle she
• On one
• Nous we
• Vous you (formal)
• Ils they (all men or mixed company)
• Elles they (female only)

Stressed pronouns

A second kind of pronoun that’s use for people is is called a “stressed pronoun”. These are words like me, him and her in English.

This page covers French stressed pronouns.

• Moi me
• Toi you
• Lui him
• Elle her
• Nous us
• Vous you
• Eux them
• Elles them (female only)

Most common verbs

Verbs are action words. For example, “I go” or “I eat”. In the list below we included 10 commonly used verbs in the first-person singular (I) form.

This lesson covers the most common French verbs in detail.

• Je suis I am
• J’ai I have
• Je fais I make, I do
• Je vais I go
• Je parle I speak
• Je mange I eat
• Je sais I know
• Je veux I want
• Je dois I must
• Je peux I can

Words for politeness and greetings

It’s essential to learn words for politeness and greetings. Bonjour means hello and au revoir means good-bye.

• Bonjour Hello, good morning
• Au revoir goodbye
• Merci thank you
• De rien you’re welcome
• Salut hi and bye
• Bonsoir good evening
• Bonne nuit good night
• S’il vous plaît please (formal)
• S’il te plaît please (informal)

French numbers

Learning to count to ten is essential for any beginner. Learning these most basic numbers will help you to ask how much things cost, tell time and say the date.

This lesson covers the French numbers 1-100 in detail.

• Un one
• Deux two
• Trois three
• Quatre four
• Cinq five
• Six six
• Sept seven
• Huit eight
• Neuf nine
• Dix ten

Connecting words

Connecting words or conjunctions are words that are used to join two parts of sentence together.

• Et and
• Ou or
• Si if
• Mais but
• Quand when
• Que that
• Qui who, that
• Comme like, as
• Parceque because

French prepositions

A preposition is a word that introduces another part of a sentences. For example, “in the bathroom”, “at the movies” or “with mom”.

The two most commonly used French prepositions are à (to/at) and de (from/of). This page covers the French preposition à in detail and this page covers the French preposition de.

• À to, at
• De from, of
• Avec with
• Pour four
• Par by
• Sans without
• Contre against
• Dans in, inside of
• En in
• Sur on, on top of
• Chez at the home, place of
• Avant before
• Après after

French adverbs

An adverb is a word that’s used to describe how you do something. For example, “I run quickly” or “You speak slowly“.

• Bien well
• Mauvais poorly
• Vite quickly
• Rapidement quickly
• Lentement slowly
• Heureusement fortunately
• Seulement only
• Rarement rarely, seldom
• Souvent often
• Beaucoup a lot
• Un peu a little, a bit
• Trop too, too much

Family members

Learning the words for family members is essential for getting to know people.

This lesson covers French family vocabulary in detail.

• le père father
• la mère mother
• le frère brother
• la soeur sister
• le fils son
• la fille daughter
• le bébé baby
• l’enfant child
• le grand-père grandfather
• la grand-mère grandmother
• le cousin, la cousine cousin
• l’oncle uncle
• la tante aunt

French adjectives

Adjectives are describing words. For example, “a big house” or “an intelligent girl”.

The French rules for adjectives are very complex as the adjective must agree in number and gender with the noun (the thing) it’s describing (talking about).

The -e in parenthesis below indicates the feminine form of the adjective.

This page covers French adjectives and rules in detail.

• grand(e) big
• petit(e) little
• bon (bonne) good
• mauvais(e) bad
• beau (belle) beautiful
• joli(e) pretty
• jeune young
• vieux (vielle) old
• heureux (heureuse) happy
• triste sad

French colors

Learning the colors is very important for describing the things we see. Colors are also adjectives as they are description words.

This page covers French colors in detail.

• Rouge red
• Orange orange
• Jaune yellow
• Blanc white
• Noir black
• Bleu blue
• Vert green

Question words

Question words are words used for seeking information when asking a question. For example: Who, what, where, when and why.

• Quel (Quelle) which
• Qui who
• Quoi what
• Où where
• Quand when
• Why pourquoi

Words about time

Words about time include days of the week, months and times of day.

The following is just a sample of these words. These pages cover these words in detail: Telling time and months and days of the week,

• Aujourd’hui today
• Hier yesterday
• L’heure hour
• Le temps time
• Quelle heure what time
• Midi noon
• Minuit midnight
• Lundi Monday
• Mardi Tuesday
• Mercredi Wednesday
• Jeudi Thursday
• Vendredi Friday
• Dimanche Sunday

Food and drinks vocabulary

It’s nice to learn a few food words. This page offers a very complete list of French food vocabulary.

• le pain bread
• la viande meat
• le lait milk
• le fromage cheese
• le poulet chicken
• la salade salade
• la pomme apple
• la pomme de terre potatoe
• le riz rice
• le gâteau cake
• l’eau water
• le café coffee

Names of places

It’s important to know how to say the names of places. Here’s a list of frequently used words.

• le pays country
• l’état state
• la ville city
• le village town
• l’école school
• l’église church
• la maison house
• le bureau office
• le supermarché supermarket
• la poste post office
• la bibliothèque library

Clothing words

Here’s a brief list of some clothing words. This page covers clothing vocabulary in detail.

• la chemise shirt
• le pantelon pants
• la jupe skirt
• la robe dress
• le chemisier blouse
• le pull sweater
• les chaussures shoes
• les chaussettes socks

Conclusion

We hope we have helped to provide a comprehensive overview of the most common French words. We have summarized our top-10 list in the following table.

French	English	Pronunciation and comments
Oui	Yes	Pronounced «wee». «Mais oui!» Means of course!
Non	No	Pronounced «nɔ̃» or nasal «on». Non, je n’aime pas le fromage. No, I don’t like cheese.
Merci	Thank you	Pronounced «mer-see». Merci beaucoup means «Thank you very much».
Je	I	Pronounced «ʒə» or «juh». Je parle français! I speak French!
Tu/vous	You (informal), You (plural and formal)	Tu = ty, vous = vu or vou. This page covers pronunciation of tu.
le, la, les	The	Pronounced «luh», «lah» and «lay». When you want to say «the» all nouns require one of these words.
Un, une, des	A, an, some	Pronounced «uhn», «yn» and «day». Nouns require these articles as well.
le, la, les	It, them	Pronounced «luh», «la» and «les». These are covered in this object pronoun lesson.
Et	And	Pronounced «ay» and never «et». Et never has a liason in French.
Mais	But	Pronounced «may». Liason rule can apply to mais.

More lessons:

• French for beginners – how to get started
• French vocabulary lists
• French grammar lessons

More resources:

• Top 1000 French words