This is the perfect ebook to start learning French. You will discover 96 basic French words, phrases and sentences for beginners. Phrases for greetings, introducing oneself, asking questions or directions, giving compliments and more. There is also a resource list for learning French included.

1. The ultimate guide
for starting your
French learning
journey
www.learnfrenchwithchanty.com
9 6 b a s i c F r e n c h w o r d s a n d p h r a s e s
B o n u s : F r e e F r e n c h l e a r n i n g r e s o u r c e s l i s t
Author : Chantal Briba Nacro

2. TABLE OF
CONTENTS
www.learnfrenchwithchanty.com
03 About the author
05 Saying hello
11 How are you?
07 Please and sorry
06 Goodbye
12 Yes/No and more
10 Where are you
from?
09 Introductions
08 Thank you
04 Introduction
15 Giving compliments
14 Do you speak French?
16 Useful questions
17 Learning resources 1
13 Directions
18 Learning resources 2
19 Conclusion
2

3. 3
About the
author

4. Introduction
4

5. DECEMBER 2016
SAYING HELLO
1
B O N J O U R
Bonjour is literally translated as
Good day. But it means in fact good
morning and it can be used as an
all-purpose word to say hello in
French. You can use it almost
anytime of the day.
2 B O N S O I R
3 M A D A M E
Mademoiselle is the term used to
refer to a non-married woman. To
be cautious, you should avoid to
say Bonjour Mademoiselle when
you don't know the marital status of
the person. Better say Bonjour
Madame in that case. Mlle is the
abbreviation of Madame.
5
Madame means Madam or Mrs.
When speaking to people that you
are not familiar with or older
people, it's better to say Bonjour
Madame. It is a sign of respect.
Mme is the abbreviation of
Madame.
M O N S I E U R
Monsieur means sir or mister. It is
used in the same context as
Madame. e.g. Bonjour Monsieur
Martin! Monsieur is abbreviated as M.
There are different ways of saying Hello
in French. It all depends on the
moment of the day, the type of
relationship you have with the person
you are greeting and even the age.
M A D E M O I S E L L E
S A L U T
Salut means hi. It's used between
friends and with people you know
well. It can be used alone or
followed with the first name of the
person. e.g. Salut Christine !
C O U C O U
4
6
7
Bonsoir is the French word for
Good evening.
Coucou means also hello or hi. It's
used the same way as Salut. e.g.
Coucou les filles !
5

6. DECEMBER 2016
GOODBYE
8
A U R E V O I R
Au revoir is the all-purpose word
that we use when it’s time to leave.
However, depending on the
situation, some other words might
be more appropriate.
9
À B I E N T Ô T
10
Au revoir and À bientôt are the
most common words used for
saying goodbye. See you soon is
the English equivalent word to À
bientôt.
À D E M A I N
If you must meet on a particular
day, you can say À+ name of the
day. e.g. À lundi = See you on
Monday
12
If you want to say see you
tomorrow, just use the expression à
demain.
À P L U S T A R D
See you later is translated À plus
tard.
Saying goodbye in French can be
expressed several ways. To use the
appropriate word, you must take into
consideration the moment when you
would see each other again, wether it is
later, soon, or a farewell.
À L U N D I
S A L U T
We have seen that Salut means hi.
Salut can also be used to say
goodbye when leaving someone.
A D I E U
11
13
15
When you will not meet someone
soon or will not see him/her again,
then the right word should be
Adieu (farewell).
À L A S E M A I N E P R O C H A I N E
This means See you next week. The
word "prochain(e)" means next. You
can also say au mois prochain (see
you next month), à l'année
prochaine (see you next year).
14
6

7. 20
PLEASE AND
SORRY
16 S ' I L T E P L A I T
S'il te plait = please. Use s'il te plait
when referring to a friend, family
member, someone you know well.
e.g. Maman, je peux avoir un
bonbon s'il te plait?(Mummy, can I
have a candy please?)
17
S ' I L V O U S P L A I T
18
S'il vous plait = please. We use this
for formal situations,like in a
professional context, or someone
we barely know. e.g. Je voudrais un
ticket de bus s'il vous plait. (I would
like a bus ticket please).
D É S O L É ( E )
Pardon alson means sorry and can
be used in the same context as
désolé (e). But in other contexts,
pardon can be used when you
didn't hear properly something and
you would like the person to
repeat. e.g. pardon, vous dites? (
sorry, what are you saying?)
E X C U S E - M O I
Excuse-moi sounds like the English
counterpart Excuse me. It can be
used when you want to ask for
forgiveness or kindly ask
something to someone. e.g.
Excuse-moi, tu peux bouger?
(Excuse me, can you move?)
Being polite when asking for something
is always appreciated. The same goes for
saying sorry when you hurt, or offend
someone. Here are the ways to say these
useful expressions.
P A R D O N E X C U S E Z - M O I
Excusez-moi is the formal way of
saying Excuse me. You can use it in
any formal situation, for example to
hail somebody, a waiter for
instance, ...
e.g. Excusez-moi, l’addition s’il
vous plait! (Excuse me, the bill
please!)
19
21
When you do something you feel
bad about, immediately say Désolé
(e) for sorry. You can also say Je
suis Désolé(e) which means I am
sorry.
7

8. THANK YOU !
22
M E R C I
The most common way of saying
Thank you is Merci.
23
M E R C I B E A U C O U P
24
If you want to stress on the fact that
you are very grateful, you can say
Merci beaucoup which means
thanks a lot !
J E T E R E M E R C I E
Je vous remercie is the formal way
of saying I thank you. It is
sometimes followed with de or
pour. e.g. Je vous remercie de
m'avoir aidé/ Je vous remercie pour
votre aide.(I thank you for helping
me/for your help).
26
Another way is saying Je te
remercie which can be translated
as I thank you.
D E R I E N
You're welcome can be translated
different ways. The most common is
De rien.
To show your gratefulness, you must
know how to say thank you in French.
And it's also good to know how to reply
and say you're welcome. As usual,
French people have many ways of
saying the same thing.
J E V O U S R E M E R C I E
J E T ' E N P R I E
Je t'en prie is another way of
saying you're welcome to a close
relationship.
I L N ' Y A P A S D E Q U O I
25
27
29
There is no need to say thank you is
what we mean by Il n'y a pas de
quoi.
J E V O U S E N P R I E
Je vous en prie means also You're
welcome and is the formal way. For
example I would reply Je vous en
prie to my boss who says thank you
to me.
28
8

9. 34
INTRODUCTIONS
30
C O M M E N T T U T ' A P P E L L E S ?
This is the basic sentence for
asking someone’s name in an
informal context. For example, you
will hear this in conversations
between people of the same age
group or adult to kid's. Another
variant of the same question is
Comment t'appelles-tu?
31
C O M M E N T V O U S A P P E L E Z -
V O U S ?
32
This is the formal way of asking
someone's name. What's your
name? The same question has
several degrees of formality. Vous
vous appelez comment? Comment
est-ce que vous vous appelez?
Comment vous appelez-vous is
the most formal.
J E M ' A P P E L L E . . .
Mon prénom est is used to tell your
first name. e.g. Mon prénom est
Chantal.
J E S U I S
You can also use the verb to be to
introduce yourself. In that case you
would say Je suis .... which means I
am. This is mostly used to tell one's
nationality or profession.
In this section , you will learn essential
vocabulary about how to introduce
yourself when you meet someone for the
first time. Tu or vous can be used
depending on the context.
M O N P R É N O M E S T . . .
M O I C ' E S T . . .
Moi c'est can be literally translated
as Me it's. But it simply means I am.
e.g. Moi, c'est Chantal.
33
35
The answer to the questions above
is Je m'appelle. It is literally
translated as I am called but means
My name is.
When you get to know someone's
name, to be courteous, you should
say enchanté(e) which means nice
to meet you.
36
E N C H A N T É ( E )
9

10. WHERE ARE
YOU FROM?
37
T U V I E N S D ' O Ù ?
Tu viens d'où means Where are
you from? As you'll notice, Tu is the
pronoun used. Then you should
use this in an informal situation.
38
V O U S V E N E Z D ' O Ù ?
39
Vous venez d'où is the same
expression as tu viens d'où but in a
formal context.
J E V I E N S D E
Je viens de France (feminine
country)
Je viens d'Inde (country starting
with a vowel)
Je viens du Canada (masculine
country)
Je viens des Etats-Unis (plural
country).
Je viens de = I come from. Note
that the preposition to use
depends on the gender of the
country.
Quelle est ta nationalité is what is
your nationality? Below is how to
reply.
When you meet people for the first
time, one of the first questions will be
about your origins. This is how to ask
and reply to this kind of questions.
Q U E L L E E S T T A N A T I O N A L I T É ?
T U H A B I T E S O Ù ? / V O U S
H A B I T E Z O Ù ?
J ' H A B I T E À / E N / A U X
40
42
43
To reply to the question "Tu habites
où?", You can say J'habite à (city)
/J'habite en (feminine country)/
J'habite aux (plural country)
e.g. J'habite à Paris.
These are the informal and formal
ways of saying Where do you live.
3
10
To say your nationality, you use Je
suis (I am)+your nationality.
E.g. Je suis anglais (I am English)
Note that there is a difference
between men and women.
e.g. Je suis chinois refers to a
Chinese man while je suis chinoise
refers to a woman.
41 J E S U I S . . .

11. HOW ARE YOU?
44 C O M M E N T V A S - T U ?
One of the translation of How are
you is Comment vas-tu? Comment
tu vas is a variant of the same
question but less formal.
45 C O M M E N T A L L E Z - V O U S ?
46
In a formal context, it's better to use
Comment allez-vous for how are
you?
C A V A ?
Tu vas bien = are you okay or are
you going well? It's also used in an
informal context.
48
Ca va, is a very informal way of
asking how you are. It works well
from adult to kid, close friends, or
teacher to student for example.
J E V A I S B I E N
Literally translated as I am going
well, Je vais bien means simply I
am fine. Most of the time, to be
polite we add Merci at the end. e.g.
Je vais bien, merci.
After greetings, the next step is the
how are you.
In French we use the verb aller (to go)
to ask how someone is feeling.
There are different ways of answering
and most of the time after replying you
say Et toi?/Et vous? (and you ?)
T U V A S B I E N ?
C A V A
Ca va is the short way of answering.
I am well, I am okay we could
translate.
J E V A I S M A L
47
49
51
Je suis malade is the phrase for I
am sick.
J E S U I S M A L A D E
If you are not feeling well, you can
reply Ca ne va pas or Je vais mal.
50
3
11

12. YES/NO
AND MORE
52
O U I
Oui is the translation of yes.
53
S I
54
Si means also yes but only when
you are replying to a negative
question. e.g. Tu ne viens pas à la
fête? Si, je viendrai plus tard, (you
are not coming to the party? Yes, I
will come later).
D ' A C C O R D
The French phrase for no problem
is pas de problème.
D'accord = Okay. e.g. Tu fais tes
devoirs et tu vas te coucher.
D'accord? ( You do your homework
and you go to bed. Okay?)
Ç A M A R C H E
Ça marche is a French slang,
literally translated as it walks but
means in fact it works, it's ok.
e.g. Tu me prends des croissants
s'il te plait? Ok, ca marche ! (Can
you get me some croissants? Okay!
Oui, Non, d'accord, ... These are little
words but that mean a lot when you
are able to say them, Let's take a look!
P A S D E P R O B L E M E
A V E C P L A I S I R
Avec plaisir means with pleasure.
Every time you are willing to do
something, you can use this
expression.
P O U R Q U O I P A S ?
55
Pourquoi pas = Why not?
e.g. On va au cinéma ce week-end?
Pourquoi pas? (We go to the
cinema this weekend? Why not?)
P A R F A I T
Perfecto in Spanish, perfect in
English and Parfait in French.
When you totally agree you can
say Parfait. You can also make a
comment, C'est parfait ! (it's
perfect!)
Peut-être means may be.
P E U T - Ê T R E
56
57
58
59
60
3
12

13. DIRECTIONS
61
E X C U S E Z - M O I , J E C H E R C H E . . .
When talking to a stranger, you
can say Excuse me, I am looking
for,...
62
J E V O U D R A I S A L L E R À
L A / A U / A U X
63
à la (feminine place); e.g. Je
voudrais aller à la boulangerie
au (masculine word); e.g. Je
voudrais aller au supermarché.
aux (plural noun); e.g. Je
voudrais aller aux toilettes.
Je voudrais aller à la/au/aux = I
would like to go to. As you can see,
you can use different prepositions.
Here is how to use them :
Generally, if you want to be polite,
you can use s'il vous plait at the
end of your sentence.
C ' E S T O Ù ?
Another way of asking "where is it"
would be où se trouve...? e.g. Où
se trouve la banque?(where is the
bank?)
65
The sentence for "where is it" is
C'est par où? e.g. C'est où le café?
C ' E S T I C I
C'est ici = it's here.
Another important thing to know for a
beginner is how to ask and find your
way. Here are the questions you can ask
if ever you get lost or want to go
somewhere.
O Ù S E T R O U V E . . . ?
C ' E S T L À - B A S
Loin de means far from, while près
de and à côté de = near or close to.
T O U R N E Z À D R O I T E
64
68
72
Tournez à droite = turn right
T O U R N E Z À G A U C H E
Tournez à gauche=turn left
A L L E Z T O U T D R O I T
Allez-tout droit = go straight
E N T R E
E N F A C E D E
En face de = facing
L O I N D E / P R E S D E
C'est là-bas= it's there.
D E V A N T / D E R R I È R E
Devant =in front /derrière = behind
Entre =in between
66
67
70
69
71
73
13

14. DO YOU SPEAK
FRENCH?
74
P A R L E Z - V O U S F R A N Ç A I S ?
Do you speak French? You can also
use the informal way Vous parlez
français?
75
J E P A R L E F R A N Ç A I S
76
Je parle = I speak. The word
"français" can be replaced by any
language you speak. For example
anglais, espagnol, italien, russe,
and so on. e.g. I speak Spanish = Je
parle espagnol.
N O N , J E N E P A R L E P A S
F R A N Ç A I S
Don't feel shy to say that you don't
understand something. Je ne
comprends pas is the perfect
phrase.
78
In case you are asked if you speak
French, and you don't, you can say
non, je ne parle pas français.
V O U S P O U V E Z R É P É T E R ,
S ' I L V O U S P L A Î T ?
When you didn't hear or
understand, use Vous pouvez
répéter, s'il vous plait? (Could you
repeat please?)
When interacting with people, you
might need to tell if you understand or
not what they are saying, ask them to
repeat, and more. Here are some
sentences you can use in that context.
J E N E C O M P R E N D S P A S
V O U S P O U V E Z P A R L E R
P L U S L E N T E M E N T S ’ I L V O U S
P L A Î T ?
This is the sentence for Can you
speak slower please?
V O U S P O U V E Z É P E L E R
S ' I L V O U S P L A Î T ?
77
79
81
Can you spell please? Before
asking this, make sure that you
know your alphabet well!
C O M M E N T O N D I T . . . E N
F R A N C A I S ?
If you are looking for a word, feel
free to ask for help. Comment on
dit = How do we say? e.g.
Comment on dit "to speak" en
français? (how do we say "to speak"
in French?)
80
14

15. GIVING
COMPLIMENTS
82
C ' E S T B O N
C'est bon means it's good or it's al
right. e.g. C'est bon, j'ai retrouvé
mes clés. It's all right, i found my
keys.
83
C ' E S T B I E N
85
C'est bien means it's good as well.
Bon (good) is an adjective and bien
is an adverb (well). e.g. C'est bien
ce que tu as fait. What you have
done is good !
P A S M A L
To comment on food, C'est
délicieux is the magic word. It
means it is delicious.
89
Pas mal stands for not bad. You'll
use it to make an appreciation on
something. e.g. Comment tu
trouves ma robe? Pas mal! (How do
you find my dress? Not bad!)
C ' E S T M A G N I F I Q U E
C'est magnifique means that
something is wonderful. It can be
used to comment on landscape,
clothes, ...
These words and prhases are useful in
the sense that they will help you make
little comments. For example after
eating food you can say that it was
delicious...
C ' E S T D É L I C I E U X
C ' E S T G E N T I L
To compliment someone who acts
with courteousy or who gives you
something or offer you his/her help,
you can say it is kind, c'est gentil.
C'est gentil de ta/votre part (It's
kind of you) is a common sentence
you'll hear in daily conversations.
C ' E S T S Y M P A
88
87
86
C'est sympa = That's nice. e.g.
C'est sympa d'être venue à ma fête.
(That's nice that you have come to
my party).
C ' E S T J O L I
C'est joli = It's nice. Another way to
make a positive comment and
sound like a French.
84
15

16. USEFUL
QUESTIONS
90 À Q U E L L E H E U R E . . . ?
À quelle heure = at what time. For
example if you want to know the
arrival time of the train, you can
formulate your question like this : À
quelle heure arrive le train en
provenance de Paris?
91
I L E S T Q U E L L E H E U R E ?
92
If you don't want to be late, or are
experiencing problems with your
watch, knowing how to ask time
can be really helpful. Il est quelle
heure is the translation of what
time is it. You can also use the more
formal expression quelle heure est
-il?
C O M B I E N C O Û T E . . . ?
When you don't know what
something is, just say Qu'est ce
que c'est =What is this.
At the market or in any buying
situation, you would want to ask
How much something costs. e.g.
Combien coûte ce sac (How much
is this bag?). You can also say
Combien ça coûte? This means
how much does it cost?
How to get yourself out of a difficult
situation? My answer will be "Learn
how to ask some basic questions". It
can come handy at some moments.
Q U ' E S T - C E - Q U E C ' E S T ?
Q U E V O U L E Z - V O U S . . . ?
Que voulez-vous is the formal way
to say what do you want. The
informal way is "Qu'est-ce que tu
veux?"
The reply would be je veux (I want)
or je voudrais (I would like).
Q U E L E S T V O T R E N U M É R O
D E T É L É P H O N E ?
93
94
96
What is your phone number? To be
able to reply to this question, you
must make sure that you Know how
to count till 100.
Q U E L L E E S T V O T R E A D R E S S E ?
What is your address? To this
question you can reply J'habite au
30 rue du Chalet. You can also give
your address directly.
95
1
16

17. FRENCH
LEARNING
RESOURCES 1
I T A L K I
Italki can be one of the best
choices. It’s a platform where you
can find tutors at an affordable rate.
You can find rates as low as $7-$8
per hour for regular lessons and 1
to $4 for trial lessons. And you can
have up to 3 trials in case you
might want to try several teaching
approaches.
The classes are done on Skype,
Italki classroom or any
communication tool you would be
comfortable with. The tutor will
generally make some adjustments
in order to design a customized
lesson tailored to your needs. You
can improve your speaking skills by
discussing about your subject of
interests. Italki also has a partner
program where you can make
language exchange for free. You
can find a friend who will teach you
French and in return you can teach
him/her your own language for
example. Click here to learn more !
L I N G O D A
Lingoda is an online language
learning school where you can
learn French and other languages
like English, German and Spanish.
They give you the opportunity to
learn French with native speakers.
The learning material are designed
by Lingoda and the teachers follow
the curriculum. That guarantees
that all you need to know about
French is covered: reading,
speaking, writing, listening. The
best part of learning with Lingoda
is that you won’t have the same
teacher every time. You can have a
different teacher at each lesson and
that exposes you better to the
language and to its different
accents. Rather than recorded
audios, you have live teachers to
help you learn French and you can
see your progress as you go. Click
here to learn more !
If you want to learn with native
teachers without breaking your bank,
my recommendation will be Italki, ,
Lingoda or Preply. For learning apps, I
my favourites are Busuu and Rocket
Languages. For more reviews and
details check the resources section of
my website.
Affiliate disclosure : This might contain affiliate links. That means that if you make a purchase using my link, I will earn a
commission at no extra cost for you. That helps me support the running of the website and preparation of material for you.
Thanks in advance for your support!
17

18. FRENCH
LEARNING
RESOURCES 2
L E P O I N T D U F L E
Le point du FLE is an online
directory where you can find most
of the best resources classified
per topic, with more than 7400
links. Before you click to open a
resource, you have the
information about the type of
resource it is : article, video,
audio, exercise, …. And you don’t
have to pay a dime for this!
F R A N C A I S I N T E R A C T I F
This is a web-based French
program developed and used at the
University of Texas since 2004. It is
is an open educational resource
totally free and you can find for
each chapter a vocabulary list,
grammar lesson, phonetics and
online activities. All for free.
On BBC's website, you’ll find for
free a French introductory video
course divided into 10 parts with
transcripts and worksheets which
are perfect for beginners.
T V 5 M O N D E
B B C
TV5 Monde is a French TV channel.
On their website, depending on
your level, you can find a lot of
interesting resources to learn
French : from articles, video,
followed with comprehension
questions, quizzes, games,
dictation, and all for free!
18
Duolingo is a free app for those
who want to develop their
vocabulary through a gamified
style app. They also have a paid
version.
D U O L I N G O
Tough.co is an online language
learning platform for educators and
learners. They post regular articles
related to French grammar,
vocabulary and pronunciation.
T O U G H T . C O

19. Conclusion
19