French Phrases

French hangs on the Gallo-Romance branch of the Indo-European family tree, and is most closely related to Occitan, Francoprovençal and Gascon. It has approximately 62,000,000 speakers. In Europe, French is the official language in France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Monaco and Switzerland. Home speakers can also be found in Italy. It is one of the official languages of the European Union. Outside Europe it is spoken widely in Morocco, Tunisia, West Africa, the Caribbean and Quebec, Canada.

Pronunciation

Most letters in French are similar to their English equivalents, although there are some that can cause confusion:

é: as the ‘ay’ in ‘may’

è: a little longer than the ‘e’ in ‘very’

ê: like the ‘e’ in ‘met’

u: like the ‘u’ in ‘urn’

c: before e and I like ‘s’, before a, o and u like ‘k’

ç: like ‘s’ in ‘sit’

j: like the ‘s’ in ‘leisure’

Basics

Hello: Bonjour

Good evening: Bonsoir

Good night: Bonne niut

Good bye: Au revoir

Yes: Oui

No: Non

Please: S’il vous plai

Thanks you: Merci

You’re welcome: je vous en prie

Excuse me: Excusez-moi

Sorry: Pardon

How are you?: Comment allez-vous?

Fine thanks: Bien, merci

What’s your name?: Comment appelez-vous?

My name is.: Je m’appelle .

Where are you from?: De quell pays êtes-vous?

Do you speak English?: Parlez-vous anglais?

I don’t understand: Je ne comprends pas

Transport

What time does the.leave/arrive?: À quelle heure part/arrive.?

Airplane: l’avion

Bus: l’autobus

Ferry: le ferry

Train: le train

I’d like a .. Ticket: je voudrais un billet..

One way: aller-simple

Return: aller-retour

Directions

How do I get to.? Comment est-ce que je dois aller pur arriver à .?

Is it near/far?: Est-ce près/loin?

Turn left: Tournez à gauche/droite

Behind: derriére

In front of: devant

Opposite: en face de

I’m looking for.: je cherche.

Bank: une banque

Embassy: l’ambassade de.

An exchange office: le bureau de change

Post office: le bureau de poste

Public toilet: les toilettes

Accommodation

I’d like to book.: je voudrais réserver.

A single room: une chamber pour une personne

A double: une chamber pour deux personnes

How much is it per nuit?: Quel est le prix par nuit?

Is breakfast included? Est-ce que le petit déjeuner est compris?

Time

What time is it? Quelle heure est-il?

Its 2 o’clock: Il est deux heures

When?: Quand

Today: aujourd’hui

Tonight: ce soir

Tomorrow: demain

Yesterday: hier

Food

Breakfast: le petit déjeuner

Lunch: le déjeuner

Dinner: the diner

Vegetable: legume

Fish: poisson

Meat: viande

Poultry: volaille

I don’t eat meat: Jen e mange pas de viande

Beer: bière

Wine: Vin

Numbers

1: un

2: deux

3: trois

4: quatre

5: cinq

6: six

7: sept

8: huit

9: neuf

10: dix

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