Académique Documents
Professionnel Documents
Culture Documents
Je vous en prie.
Merci (beaucoup) De rien.
/ʒəvu zɑɔ pri/
/mɛʀsi boku/ /də ʀjɛɔ/
You're welcome. (formal) / Go
Thank you (very much) You're welcome.
ahead.
Bienvenu(e)
Allons-y! A tout à l'heure
/bjɛɔvəny/
/alɔɔ zi/ /a tu ta lœʀ/
Welcome (also You're welcome in
Let's go! See you in a little while
Quebec)
Pardon ! Excusez-moi !
Je suis désolé(e) /paʀdɔɔ/ /ekskyze mwa/
/dezɔle/ Excuse me! (pushing through a Excuse me! (getting someone's
I'm sorry crowd) / Sorry! (stepped on attention) / I'm sorry! (more formal
someone's foot) apology)
Ça va.
Ça va ? Oui / non
/sa va/
/sa va/ /wi/ /nɔɔ/
I'm fine. (informal response to Ça
How are you? (informal) Yes / no
va ?)
Monsieur, Madame,
Enchanté(e) Mesdames et Messieurs
Mademoiselle
/ɑɔʃɑɔte/ /medam/ /mesjø/
/məsjø/ /madam/ /madwazɛl/
Nice to meet you. Ladies and gentlemen
Mister, Misses, Miss
Vous êtes d'où ? / Vous venez d'où ? Tu es d'où ? / Tu viens d'où ? Je suis de... / Je viens de...
/vu zɛt du/ /vu vəne du/ /ty ɛ du/ /ty vjɛɔ du/ /ʒə sɥi də/ /ʒə vjɛɔ də/
Where are you from? (formal) Where are you from? (informal) I am from...
Comment dit-on ____ en français ? Qu'est-ce que c'est que ça ? Qu'est-ce qu'il y a ?
/kɔmɑɔ di tɔɔ __ ɑɔ fʀɑɔsɛ/ /kɛs kə sɛ kə sa/ /kɛs kil i a/
How do you say ____ in French? What is that? What's the matter?
Je suis fatigué(e) / Je suis malade. J'ai faim / J'ai soif. J'ai chaud / J'ai froid.
/ʒə sɥi fatiɡe/ /ʒə sɥi malad/ /ʒe fɛɔ/ /ʒe swaf/ /ʒe ʃo/ /ʒe fʀwɑ/
I'm tired / I'm sick. I'm hungry / I'm thirsty. I'm hot / I'm cold.
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.
Informal French expressions and slang vocabulary at the Informal French tutorial
2. Pronunciation / la prononciation For a more in-depth look at French pronunciation, try to the French Phonetics
tutorial.
French Vowels
Phonetic General
IPA Sample words
spelling spellings
[i] Ee vie, midi, lit, riz i, y
[y] ee rounded rue, jus, tissu, usine U
é, et, final er
[e] Ay blé, nez, cahier, pied
and ez
[ø] ay rounded jeu, yeux, queue, bleu Eu
[ɛ] Eh lait, aile, balai, reine e, è, ê, ai, ei, ais
[œ] eh rounded sœur, œuf, fleur, beurre œu, eu
[a] Ah chat, ami, papa, salade a, à, â
bas, âne, grâce,
[ɑ] ah longer a, â
château
[u] Oo loup, cou, caillou, outil Ou
eau, dos, escargot,
[o] Oh o, ô
hotel
sol, pomme, cloche,
[ɔ] Aw O
horloge
fenêtre, genou, cheval,
[ə] Uh E
cerise
[ɑ] is disappearing in modern French, being replaced by [a]. Vowels that do not exist in English are marked in blue.
French semi-vowels
Phonetic
IPA Sample words General spelling
spelling
[w] w fois, oui, Louis oi, ou
[ɥ] ew-ee lui, Suisse Ui
[j] yuh oreille, Mireille ill, y
IPA Phonetic spelling Sample words General spelling
[ã] Awn gant, banc, dent en, em, an, am, aon, aen
in, im, yn, ym, ain, aim, ein, eim, un, um,
[ɛɛ] ahn pain, vin, linge
en, eng, oin, oing, oint, ien, yen, éen
[œœ] uhn brun, lundi, parfum Un
[õ] ohn rond, ongle, front on, om
[œœ] is being replaced with [ɛɛ] in modern French
In words beginning with in-, a nasal is only used if the next letter is a consonant. Otherwise, the in- prefix is
pronounce een before a vowel.
French Consonants
ex + vowel egz examen, exercice
ex + consonant eks exceptionnel, expression
ch (Latin origin) sh architecte, archives
ch (Greek origin) k orchestre, archéologie
ti + vowel (except é) see démocratie, nation
c + e, i, y; or ç s cent, ceinture, maçon
c + a, o, u k caillou, car, cube
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g + e, i, y zh genou, gingembre
g + a, o, u g gomme, ganglion
th t maths, thème, thym
j zh jambe, jus, jeune
qu, final q k que, quoi, grecque
h silent haricot, herbe, hazard
vowel + s + vowel z rose, falaise, casino
x + vowel z six ans, beaux arts
final x s six, dix, soixante (these 3 only!)
There are a lot of silent letters in French, and you usually do not pronounce the final consonant, unless that final
consonant is C, R, F or L (except verbs that end in -r).
Liaison: French slurs most words together in a sentence, so if a word ends in a consonant that is not pronounced and
the next word starts with a vowel or silent h, slur the two together as if it were one word. S and x are pronounced as z;
d as t; and f as v in these liaisons. Liaison is always made in the following cases:
after a determiner: un ami, des amis
before or after a pronoun: vous avez, je les ai
after a preceding adjective: bon ami, petits enfants
after one syllable prepositions: en avion, dans un livre
after some one-syllable adverbs (très, plus, bien)
after est
It is optional after pas, trop fort, and the forms of être, but it is never made after et.
Silent e: Sometimes the e is dropped in words and phrases, shortening the syllables and slurring more words.
rapid(e)ment, lent(e)ment, sauv(e)tage /ʀapidmɑɔ/ /ɑɔtmɑɔ/ /sovtaʒ/
sous l(e) bureau, chez l(e) docteur /sul byʀo/ /ʃel dɔktoʀ/
il y a d(e)... , pas d(e)... , plus d(e)... /yad/ /pad/ / plyd/
je n(e), de n(e) /ʒən/ /dən/
j(e) te, c(e) que /ʃt/ /skə/ (note the change of the pronunciation of the j as well)
Stress & Intonation: Stress on syllables is not as heavily pronounced as in English and it generally falls on the last
syllable of the word. Intonation usually only rises for yes/no questions, and all other times, it goes down at the end of
the sentence.
3. Alphabet / l'alphabet
a /a/ j /ʒi/ S /ɛs/
b /be/ k /ka/ T /te/
c /se/ l /ɛl/ U /y/
d /de/ m /ɛm/ V /ve/
e /ə/ n /ɛn/ W /dubləve/
f /ɛf/ o /o/ X /iks/
g /ʒɜ/ p /pe/ Y /igrɛk/
h /aʃ/ q /ky/ Z /zɛd/
i /i/ r /ɛʀ/
4. Nouns, Articles & Demonstratives / les noms, les articles & les demonstratifs
All nouns in French have a gender, either masculine or feminine. For the most part, you must memorize the gender,
but there are some endings of words that will help you decide which gender a noun is. Nouns ending in -age and
-ment are usually masculine, as are nouns ending with a consonant. Nouns ending in -ure, -sion, -tion, -ence, -ance,
-té, and -ette are usually feminine.
Articles and adjectives must agree in number and gender with the nouns they modify. And articles have to be
expressed even though they aren't always in English; and you may have to repeat the article in some cases.
Demonstratives are like strong definite articles.
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The expression il y a is reduced to y a in everyday speech. When il y a is followed by a number, it means ago. Il y a
cinq minutes means five minutes ago. Some common slang words for money include: le fric, le pèze, le pognon, des
sous and for job/work: le boulot.
to say you. Tu is used when speaking to children, animals, or close friends and relatives. Vous is used when speaking
to more than one person, or to someone you don't know or who is older. On can be translated into English as one, the
people, we, they, or you.
Tutoyer and vouvoyer are two verbs that have no direct translation into English. Tutoyer means to use tu or be
informal with someone, while vouvoyer means to use vous or be formal with someone.
Je and any verb form that starts with a vowel (or silent h) combine together for ease of pronunciation.
Future Tense of être - to be
I will be je serai /ʒə səʀe/ We will be nous serons /nu səʀɔɔ/
You will be tu seras /ty səʀa/ You will be vous serez /vu səʀe/
He will be il sera /il səʀa/
They will be ils seront /il səʀɔɔ/
She will be elle sera /ɛl səʀa/
They will be elles seront /ɛl səʀɔɔ/
One will be on sera /ɔɔ səʀa/
Present tense of avoir /avwaʀ/ - to have
I have j'ai /ʒe/ We have nous avons /nu zavɔɔ/
You have tu as /ty ɑ/ You have vous avez /vu zave/
He has il a /il ɑ/
They have ils ont /il zɔɔ/
She has elle a /ɛl ɑ/
They have elles ont /ɛl zɔɔ/
One has on a /ɔɔ nɑ/
Past tense of avoir - to have
I had j'avais /ʒavɛ/ We had nous avions /nu zavjɔɔ/
You had tu avais /ty avɛ/ You had vous aviez /vu zavje/
He had il avait /il avɛ/
ils avaient /il zavɛ/
She had elle avait /ɛl avɛ/ They had
elles avaient /ɛl zavɛ/
One had on avait /ɔɔ navɛ/
Future tense of avoir - to have
I will have j'aurai /ʒoʀe/ We will have nous aurons /nu zoʀɔɔ/
You will have tu auras /ty oʀɑ/ You will have vous aurez /vu zoʀe/
He will have il aura /il oʀa/
They will have ils auront /il zoʀɔɔ/
She will have elle aura /ɛl oʀa/
They will have elles auront /ɛl zoʀɔɔ/
One will have on aura /ɔɔ noʀa/
In spoken French, the tu forms of verbs that begin with a vowel contract with the pronoun: tu es = t'es /tɛ/, tu as =
t'as /tɑ/, etc. In addition, it is very common to use on (plus 3rd person singular conjugation) to mean we instead of
nous.
7
Avoir and être are used in many common and idiomatic expressions that should be memorized:
avoir chaud /avwaʀ ʃo/ to be hot être de retour /ɛtʀ də ʀətuʀ/ to be back
avoir froid /avwaʀ fʀwa/ to be cold être en retard /ɛtʀ ɑɔ ʀətaʀ/ to be late
avoir peur /avwaʀ pœʀ/ to be afraid être en avance /ɛtʀ ɑɔ navɑɔs/ to be early
avoir raison /avwaʀ ʀɛzɔɔ/ to be right être d'accord /ɛtʀ dakɔʀ/ to be in agreement
/ɛtʀ syʀ lə pwɛɔ
avoir tort /avwaʀ tɔʀ/ to be wrong être sur le point de to be about to
də/
avoir faim /avwaʀ fɛɔ/ to be hungry être en train de /ɛtʀ ɑɔ tʀɛɔ də/ to be in the act of
avoir soif /avwaʀ swaf/ to be thirsty être enrhumée /ɛtʀ ɑɔʀyme/ to have a cold
nous + être (un
avoir sommeil /avwaʀ sɔmɛj/ to be sleepy /ɛtʀ œ// ʒuʀ/ to be (a day)
jour)
avoir honte /avwaʀ ʽɔɔt/ to be ashamed
avoir besoin de /avwaʀ bəzwɛɔ də/ to need
avoir l'air de /avwaʀ ɛʀ də/ to look like, seem
avoir l'intention
/avwaʀ ɛɔtɑɔsjɔɔ/ to intend to
de
avoir envie de /avwaʀ ɑɔvi də/ to feel like
avoir de la chance /avwaʀ də la ʃɑɔs/ to be lucky
J'ai froid. I'm cold.
Je suis en retard! I'm late!
Tu avais raison. You were right.
Tu étais en avance. You were early.
Il aura sommeil ce soir. He will be tired
Elle sera d'accord. She will agree.
tonight.
Nous sommes lundi. It is Monday.
Elle a de la chance ! She's lucky!
Vous étiez enrhumé. You had a cold.
Nous aurons faim plus tard. We will be
Ils seront en train d'étudier. They will be (in the act of)
hungry later.
studying.
Vous aviez tort. You were wrong.
Elles étaient sur le point de partir. They were about to
Ils ont chaud. They are hot.
leave.
Elles avaient peur hier. They were afraid
On est de retour. We/you/they/the people are back.
yesterday.
French switches the use of commas and periods. 1,00 would be 1.00 in English. Belgian and Swiss French use
septante and nonante in place of the standard French words for 70 and 90 (though some parts of Switzerland use
huitante for 80 and octante is barely used anymore). Also, when the numbers 5, 6, 8, and 10 are used before a word
beginning with a consonant, their final consonants are not pronounced. Phone numbers in France are ten digits,
beginning with 01, 02, 03, 04, or 05 depending on the geographical region, or 06 and 07 for cell phones. They are
written two digits at a time, and pronounced thus: 01 36 55 89 28 = zéro un, trente-six, cinquante-cinq, quatre-vingt-
neuf, vingt-huit.
Listen to the la famille : ma famille mp3 and try the cloze (fill-in-the-blank) exercise from French Listening
Resources.
irregular exceptions: un œil (eye) - des yeux (eyes); le ciel (sky) - les cieux (skies); and un jeune homme (a young
man) - des jeunes gens (young men).
Notice that the only time the pronunciation will change in the plural form is for masculine nouns that change -al or -ail
to -aux and for the irregular forms. All other nouns are pronounced the same in the singular and the plural - it is
only the article that changes pronunciation (le, la, l' to les).
fais /fɛ/ faisons /fəzɔɔ/ faisais /fəzɛ/ faisions /fəzjɔɔ/ ferai /fəʀɛ/ ferons /fəʀɔɔ/
fais /fɛ/ faites /fɛt/ faisais /fəzɛ/ faisiez /fəzje/ feras /fəʀa/ ferez /fəʀe/
fait /fɛ/ font /fɔɔ/ faisait /fəzɛ/ faisaient /fəzɛ/ fera /fəʀa/ feront /fəʀɔɔ/
Another past tense (passé composé) uses the present tense forms of avoir plus the past participle of faire: fait. J'ai
fait translates as I did/madewhereas je faisais translates as I was doing/making, I used to do/make (continuous
action in the past).
Faire is used in expressions of weather (il fait beau) and many other idiomatic expressions:
faire de (a sport) - to play (a sport)
faire le sourd / l'innocent - to act deaf / innocent
faire le (subject in school) - to do / study (subject)
faire le ménage - to do the housework
faire la cuisine - to do the cooking
faire la lessive - to do laundry
faire la vaisselle - to do the dishes
faire une promenade - to take a walk
faire un voyage - to take a trip
faire les courses - to go (grocery) shopping
faire des achats - to go shopping
faire de l'exercice - to exercise
15
business person l'homme d'affaires /ɔm dafɛʀ/ la femme d'affaires /fam dafɛʀ/
police officer l'agent de police /aʒɑɔ də pɔlis/ l'agent de police /aʒɑɔ də pɔlis/
taxi driver le chauffeur de taxi /ʃofœʀ də taksi/ la chauffeur de taxi /ʃofœʀ də taksi/
Qu'est-ce que vous faites dans la vie ? What do you do for a living?
Je suis avocate. I am a lawyer. (fem.)
Je suis professeur. I am a professor.
Je suis étudiant. I am a student (masc.)
Où est-ce que vous faites vos études ? Where do you study?
Je vais à l'université de Michigan. I go to the university of Michigan.
Je fais mes études à l'université de Toronto. I study at the University of Toronto.
Qu'est-ce que vous étudiez ? What do you study?
Quelles matières étudiez-vous ? What subjects do you study?
J'étudie les langues étrangères et la linguistique. I study foreign languages and linguistics.
Je fais des mathématiques. I study/do math.
Ma spécialisation est la biologie. My major is biology.
Slang words/abbreviations for school:
dictionary un dico /diko/ student un potache /potaʃ/
to have detention être collé(e) /kɔle/ to skip (a class) sécher (un cours) /seʃe/
avoir une colle /kol/
Listen to the le travail : carrossier / vendeur mp3s and try the cloze (fill-in-the-blank) exercises from
French Listening Resources.
à + le = au /o/ at / to / in the
Brazilian brésilien/ne /bʀeziljɛɔ/ / ɛn/ Dutch (person) hollandais/e /'ɔlɑɔ dɛ/ /ɛz/
Masc. Au du à de au du
Fem. à la de la à de en de
To / In From
Feminine En De
Islands À de / d'
In general, if a region, province or state ends in -e, it is feminine. Californie, Caroline du Nord / Sud, Floride,
Géorgie, Louisiane, Pennsylvanie, and Virginie are the feminine American states; while Maine is masculine. For
French régions or départements that begin with Haut(e), the h is an aspirate h, and therefore, there is no elision with
preceding words, i.e. de Haut-Rhin, la Haute-Normandie, etc.
Elles habitent en Californie. They live in California.
Il est de Haute-Savoie. He is from Haute-Savoie.
Ce fromage vient du Nord. This cheese comes from Nord.
Je veux voyager dans le Texas. I want to travel in Texas.
Aller-to go /ale/
vais /vɛ/ allons /alɔɔ/ j'allais /ʒalɛ/ Allions /alijɔɔ/ j'irai /ʒiʀɛ/ irons /iʀɔɔ/
vas /va/ allez /ale/ allais /alɛ/ Allies /alije/ iras /iʀa/ irez /iʀe/
va /va/ vont /vɔɔ/ allait /alɛ/ allaient /alɛ/ ira /iʀa/ iront /iʀɔɔ/
Other verbs that are conjugated like venir: tenir - to hold, devenir - to become, obtenir - to get, revenir - to come
back.
Je viens des Etats-Unis. I come from the United States.
Il tient un crayon. He's holding a pencil.
Nous allons en Espagne. We're going to Spain.
Tu ne vas pas au Brésil cet été. You're not going to Brazil this summer.
► Aller + an infinitive means "going to do something."
Ils vont aller en Angleterre. They are going to go to England.
Elle va parler russe. She's going to speak Russian.
Je vais devenir professeur. I'm going to become a professor.
► Aller is also used idiomatically when talking about health.
Comment vas-tu ? How are you?
Je vais bien. I'm fine.
► Venir de + an infinitive means "to have just done something."
Il vient d'aller en Finlande. He just went to Finland.
Vous venez de manger une pomme. You just ate an apple.
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To conjugate verbs in the present tense, use the stem and add the following endings.
Se /sə/ Se /sə/
se laver /səlave/ to wash (oneself) se casser /səkase/ to break (arm, leg, etc.)
When used in the infinitive, such as after another verb, the reflexive pronoun agrees with the subject of the
sentence.
Je vais me coucher maintenant. I'm going to go to bed.
Tu veux t'asseoir ? Do you want to sit down?
25
2. Verbs that add or change to an accent grave : Some verbs add or change to an accent grave (è) in all the forms
except the nous and vous.
acheter-to buy /aʃte/ espérer-to hope /ɛspeʀe/
3. Verbs that are conjugated as -er verbs : Some -ir verbs are conjugated with -er endings. Examples: ouvrir-to
open /uvʀiʀ/, couvrir-to cover /kuvʀiʀ/, découvrir-to discover /dekuvʀi ʀ/ and souffrir-to suffer /sufʀiʀ/
offrir-to offer /ɔfʀiʀ/
4. Verbs that end in -yer: Change the y to an i in all forms except the nous and vous. Examples: nettoyer-to
clean /netwaje/, payer-to pay /peje/, and essayer-to try /eseje/
envoyer-to send /ɑɔvwaje/
5. Verbs that double the consonant : Some verbs, including jeter-to throw /ʒəte/, double the consonant in all forms
except the nous and vous.
appeler-to call /aple/
You have learned the present indicative so far, which expresses what happens, is happening, or does happen now;
but if you want to say something happened, or has happened, you use the passé composé. The passé composé is
used for actions that happened only once, a specified number of times or during a specified period of time, and as a
result or consequence of another action. All you need to learn are the past participles of the verbs.
Regular Verbs: Formation of the Past Participle
-er -é
-re -u
-ir -i
Nous avons fini le projet. We finished (or have finished) the project.
Elles ont rempli les They filled (or have filled) the cups.
tasses.
To make it negative, put the ne and pas around the conjugated form of avoir.
Je n'ai pas aimé le concert. I didn't like the concert.
Elles n'ont pas rempli les They didn't fill (or haven't filled) the
tasses. glasses.
To form the negative of pronominal verbs, place ne before the reflexive pronoun, and pas after the auxiliary verb:
Je ne me suis pas amusé.
There are only two cases with pronominal verbs where the past participle does not agree with the subject:
2. With verbs where the reflexive pronoun is an indirect object, such as se parler, se demander, se dire, s'écrire,
se sourire, and se téléphoner.
Ils se sont téléphoné.
Ice cream la glace /glas/ French fries les frites (f) /fʀit/
Listen to the les repas : le petit déjeuner mp3 and try the cloze (fill-in-the-blank) exercise from French
Listening Resources.
Other verbs that are conjugated like prendre: apprendre /apʀɑɔdʀ/ - to learn, comprendre /kɔɔpʀɑɔdʀ/ - to
understand and surprendre /syʀpʀɑɔdʀ/ - to surprise
When you want to say "I am having wine," the French translation is "Je prends du vin." You must use de and le, la,
l', or les and the propercontractions (called partitives) because in French you must always express some. So "je
prends de la bière" literally means "I am having somebeer" even though in English we would usually only say I am
having beer.
Manger is a regular verb meaning "to eat," but manger is used in a general sense, such as Je mange du poulet tous
les samedis. I eat chicken every Saturday. Boire is literally the verb to drink and is also used in a general sense
only. Je bois du vin tout le temps. I drink wine all the time.
37. Quantities
assez de enough (of) un morceau de a piece of une douzaine de a dozen of
With quantities and negatives, you never use partitives. The construction is always de or d' + noun.
Je voudrais prendre du fromage, mais pas de fruit. I would like to have some cheese, but no fruit.
Il prend de la viande. He is eating some meat.
Nous prenons du riz et des brocolis. We are having some rice and broccoli.
Il y a trop de lait dans la tasse. There is too much milk in the cup.
Je voudrais un morceau de tarte. I would like one piece of pie.
Est-ce que je peux prendre un verre de vin ? May I have a glass of wine?
Je prends du vin. I'm drinking some wine.
Je ne prends pas de vin. I am not drinking any wine.
38. Commands
Use the vous, tu and nous forms for commands.
Vous form Polite and Plural Same as verb form Restez ! Stay!
The que in ne...que is placed directly before the noun it limits. Rien and personne may be used as subjects:
Personne n'est ici. Aucun(e) by definition is singular, so the verb and nouns must also be changed to the singular.
With ni...ni, all articles are dropped except definite articles. Je n'ai ni caméra ni caméscope, but Je n'aime ni les
chats ni les chiens.
Il n'aime plus travailler. He no longer likes to work. (Or: He doesn't like to work anymore)
Nous ne voulons faire des achats que lundi. We want to go shopping only on Monday.
Elle ne déteste personne. She hates no one. (Or: She doesn't hate anyone.)
Negatives with Passé Composé
1. Ne...pas, ne...plus, ne...jamais, and ne...rien
Ne comes before auxiliary verb, and the other part is between auxiliary and past participle.
Nous n'avons rien fait. We did nothing.
Vous ne vous êtes pas ennuyés. You were not bored.
2. Ne...personne, ne...aucun, ne...ni...ni, ne...nulle part, and ne... que
Ne comes before the auxiliary verb, but the other part is after the past participle.
Il n'a écouté personne. He listened to no one.
Il n'a fait aucune faute. He made not a single mistake.
* Use of ne ... pas de: In negative sentences, the partitives and indefinite articles become de before the noun
(unless the verb is être, then nothing changes.)
Partitive: Je prends du pain et du beurre. I'm having some bread and butter.
Negative: Je ne prends pas de pain ou de beurre. I am not having any bread or butter.
If someone is named after a saint, you can wish them bonne fête on that saint's feast day. In Quebec, bonne fête is
used for Happy Birthday.
Listen to the les fêtes : Noël en France mp3 and try the cloze (fill-in-the-blank) exercises from French
Listening Resources.
by Charles Chatelanat
Sur nos monts, quand le soleil
Annonce un brillant réveil,
Et prédit d'un plus beau jour le retour,
Les beautés de la patrie
Parlent à l'âme attendrie;
Au ciel montent plus joyeux
Les accents d'un cœur pieux,
Les accents émus d'un cœur pieux.
Lorsqu'un doux rayon du soir
Joue encore dans le bois noir,
Le cœur se sent plus heureux près de Dieu.
Loin des vains bruits de la plaine,
L'âme en paix est plus sereine,
Au ciel montent plus joyeux
Les accents d'un cœur pieux,
Les accents émus d'un cœur pieux.
Lorsque dans la sombre nuit
La foudre éclate avec bruit,
Notre cœur pressent encore le Dieu fort;
Dans l'orage et la détresse
Il est notre forteresse;
Offrons-lui des coeurs pieux:
Dieu nous bénira des cieux,
Dieu nous bénira du haut des cieux.
Des grands monts vient le secours;
Suisse, espère en Dieu toujours!
Garde la foi des aïeux, Vis comme eux!
Sur l'autel de la patrie
Mets tes biens, ton cœur, ta vie!
C'est le trésor précieux
Que Dieu bénira des cieux,
Que Dieu bénira du haut des cieux
commencer manger
devoir je devais I was supposed to j'ai dû I must have, I had to (and did)
pouvoir je pouvais I was capable j'ai pu I was able to (and did), succeeded
je n'ai pas pu I couldn't, failed
J'étais en train d'étudier quand vous êtes arrivés. I was (in the process of ) studying when you
arrived.
J'étais sur le point de vous rappeler. I was just about to call you back.
J'allais sortir quand le téléphone a sonné. I was going to leave when the phone rang.
Je venais de manger, alors je n'avais plus faim. I had just eaten, so I wasn't hungry anymore.
Nowadays, la médiathèque /medjatɛk/ is replacing bibliothèque because most libraries also have DVDs and CDs to
lend, not just books. You may also hear la cantine /kɑɔtin/ to refer to the cafeteria in a school.
Listen to the les magasins : à la boulangerie mp3 and try the cloze (fill-in-the-blank) exercise from
French Listening Resources.
43. Transportation
by bike en vélo (m) /ɑɔ velo/
Instead of using a specific verb of movement (drive, fly, walk) before a location, French actually uses a more
general verb + the location + the manner of movement.
peut / peuvent /pœv/ pouvai / pouvaien /puvɛ/ pourra /puʀa/ pourron /puʀɔɔ/
pø/ t puvɛ/ t t
Voulez-vous? can mean Do you want? or Will you? The past participles are voulu and pu and both are conjugated
with avoir. The conditional forms of vouloir are used in the expression "would like" i.e. I'd like = je voudrais, you'd
like = tu voudrais, he'd/she'd like = il/elle voudrait, we'd like = nous voudrions, you'd like = vous voudriez,
they'd like = ils/elles voudraient.
► You do not need to use pouvoir after verbs that involve the senses, such as voir (to see) and entendre (to hear). Je
ne vois pas / Je n'entends pas can mean I don't see or I can't see / I don't hear or I can't hear depending on the
context.
You may also see the words la loggia /lɔdʒja/ (small room off a large room - sometimes like a pantry) and la
veranda /veʀɑɔda/ (enclosed porch/balcony), as well as les toilettes /twalɛt/ (a separate room just for the toilet), for
parts of a house or apartment.
Listen to the le logement : décrire son appartement mp3 and try the cloze (fill-in-the-blank) exercise
from French Listening Resources.
Bed le lit / le plumard /li/ /plymaʀ/ Can opener l'ouvre-boîtes (m) /uvʀəbwat/
(Coffee) la table (basse) /tabl bas/ Laundry le panier à linge /panje a lɛɔʒ/
Table basket
ondes
Futon couch le clic-clac /klik klak/ Couch/Sofa le canapé / le sofa /kanape/ /sɔfa/
Sample Sentences
She is taller than Colette. Elle est plus grande que Colette.
Peter runs less quickly than me. Pierre court moins rapidement
que moi.
The kitchen is as big as the living La cuisine est aussi grande que le
room. salon.
It's the biggest city in the world. C'est la plus grande ville du
monde.
She is the most beautiful woman in Elle est la plus belle femme de
this room. cette salle.
Only use the irregular forms of mauvais in the abstract sense. If the idea is concrete, you may use plus/moins
mauvais and le/la mauvais.
Les bas (stockings) and les collants (tights) are popular in France. Chaussures à talons hauts are high-heeled
shoes, while chaussures à talons plats are flat shoes. Chaussures de ville are dress shoes. A slang word
for clothes is les fringues.
50. To Wear
Mettre /mɛtʀ/ - to put, to put on, wear
Other verbs that are conjugated like mettre: promettre - to promise and permettre - to permit. The past participle
of mettre is mis and it is conjugated with avoir.
Porter is actually the verb to wear, but the French use mettre also.
Il / Elle te va bien. It looks good on you. (informal)
Ils / Elles vous vont bien. They look good on you. (formal)
And of course, there are exceptions. Here are the irregular stems for the future tense (these will also be used in the
conditional tense):
Irregular Stems
être aller
Other exceptions: For appeler and jeter, double the consonant. For nettoyer and payer, change the y to i. For
acheter, add an accent grave. For préférer, the accents all remain the same.
jeter payer acheter préférer
To form the futur antérieur (will have + past participle), use the future of either avoir or être (whichever the main
verb takes) and the past participle of the main verb.
Quand ils reviendront, ils auront changé. When they come back, they will have changed.
Dès qu'ils seront revenus, ils voudront repartir. As soon as they have returned, they will want to leave again.
The masculine singular and plural are pronounced the same, as are the feminine singular and plural. These are the
most common adjectives that go before the noun. An acronym to remember which ones go before the noun is
BRAGS: Beauty, Resemblance (même and autre), Age/Order (premier and dernier), Goodness, and Size. All other
adjectives, except numbers, go after the noun. The five words in parentheses (bel, fol, mol, nouvel, and vieil) are
used before masculine singular words beginning with a vowel or a silent h.
A few adjectives can be used before or after the noun, and the meaning changes accordingly. When used before the
noun, they take a figurative meaning; and when used after, they take a literal meaning.
Before plural adjectives preceding plural nouns , you use de instead of des to mean some. Ex: Some old
monuments. De vieux monuments.
Almost all adjectives must agree in number and gender with the noun they modify. Most adjectives are given in the
masculine form, so to change to the feminine forms, follow these rules:
Masculine Feminine Adjective
To form the feminine plural, just add an -s, unless it already ends in an s, then add nothing. To form the masculine
plural, just add an -s, except in these cases: -al becomes -aux (exceptions: banal - banals; final - finals); and if it
ends in an x or s already, add nothing.
Masculine Singular Masculine Plural
And of course there are more exceptions... some adjectives are invariable and do not have feminine or plural forms.
Compound adjectives, such as bleu clair (light blue) and vert foncé (dark green), adjectives that are also nouns,
such as or (gold), argent (silver), marron (chestnut), and the words chic (stylish), bon marché or meilleur
marché (inexpensive) never change.
Remember the first word is the masculine and the second is the feminine. The addition of an e for the feminine
form allows the last consonant to be voiced. These adjectives go after the noun.
Normally, the verb rendre means to give something that you owe to someone, such as On rend ses devoirs au
professeur. It can also be used in the sense of to represent. But rendre + adjective means to make someone or
something + adjective.
Tu me rends si heureuse ! You make me so happy!
Le fait qu'il ne possède pas de voiture le rend triste. The fact that he doesn't have a car makes him sad.
Some common slang adjectives that are used constantly in everyday speech:
chouette great, good minable mediocre
The intensifiers vachement and drôlement are also used often, meaning very or really.
Il est facile d'apprendre l'italien. It is easy to learn Italian. (The idea has not already been mentioned, and the
direct object is used.)
► Adjectives that express a certain emotion require de before the infinitive: content, désolé, furieux, heureux,
triste
Je suis contente de vous voir. I am happy to see you.
► Other adjectives require à before the infinitive: agréable, pénible, terrible, amusant, intéressant, ennuyeux,
léger, lourd, lent, rapide, premier, dernier, prêt, seul
Il est prêt à partir. He is ready to leave.
A longer list of adjectives that require à or de before an infinitive can be found at 91. on French V.
► In addition, when quelque chose is followed by an adjective, de is inserted between the two.
quelque chose d'intéressant = something interesting
59. Nature
air l'air (m) frost la gelée rose la rose
60. To Live
vivre - to live, be alive (vee-vruh)
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The past participle of vivre is vécu and it is conjugated with avoir. Habiter is another verb that means to live, but it
means to live in a place. Vivre is used to mean the state of being alive. A subjunctive form of vivre, vive, is often
used in exclamations.
Vive la France ! Long live France!
je I me me me to me moi me
Nous ne l'avons pas fini. We didn't finish (or haven't finished) it.
In the passé composé with avoir, direct object pronouns only must agree in gender and number with the past
participle.
Je les ai aimés. I liked them.
forehead le front
cheek la joue
mustache la moustache
lip la lèvre
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tongue la langue
neck le cou
chin le menton
throat la gorge
skin la peau
blood le sang
bone l'os
shoulder l'épaule
chest la poitrine
waist la taille
back le dos
heart le cœur
brain le cerveau
liver le foie
kidney le rein
bladder la vessie
rib la côte
arm le bras
elbow le coude
wrist le poignet
fist le poing
hand la main
body le corps
hip la hanche
leg la jambe
knee le genou
ankle la cheville
thigh la cuisse
shin le tibia
calf le mollet
thumb le pouce
tattoo le tatouage
piercing le piercing
blond blond/e
brunette brun/e
red-head roux/rousse
► To say something hurts or that you have an ache, you can use avoir mal à (body part):
J'ai mal à la tête. I have a headache.
J'ai mal à l'estomac. I have a stomach ache.
Elle a mal au bras. Her arm hurts.
Tu as mal au genou? Your knee hurts?
Il a mal aux orteils. His toes hurt.
However, if someone is causing you pain, use faire mal (to hurt) plus the indirect pronoun.
Tu me fais mal. You're hurting me.
Ne lui faites pas mal. Don't hurt him / her.
► When describing hair color or eye color, you use blonds, châtain, bruns, roux for hair; and bleus, verts,
marron, noirs for eyes. Notice that châtain and marron do not agree in gender or number.
Elle a les cheveux roux. Elle est rousse. She has red hair. She is a red-head.
Il a les yeux marron. He has brown eyes.
Combien mésures-tu ? / Combien fais-tu ? How tall are you?
Combien pèses-tu ? How much do you weigh?
Je fais 1m60. I am 1 m 60 cm.
Je pèse 50 kilos. I weigh 50 kilos.
Listen to the l'apparence physique : un copain à moi mp3 and try the cloze (fill-in-the-blank) exercise
from French Listening Resources.
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Direct Object Qui est-ce que Qui Whom did you see?
Qui est-ce que tu as vu? Qui as-tu vu?
Object of Preposition + qui est-ce que Preposition + qui Whom did you speak
Preposition A qui est-ce que tu as parlé? A qui as-tu parlé? to?
Object of Preposition + quoi est-ce Preposition + quoi What did you talk
Preposition que De quoi as-tu about?
De quoi est-ce que tu as parlé?
parlé?
c. However, if the sentence contains more than a subject and verb, or if the verb is in a compound tense (such as
the passé composé), the short form is not used.
Qu'est-ce que Luc veut faire aujourd'hui? What does Luc want to do today?
Qu'est-ce que les autres ont fait? What did the others do?
► Verb Agreement:
a. Interrogative pronouns are usually masculine singular.
Les voitures font du bruit. Qu'est-ce qui fait du bruit? Cars make noise. What makes noise?
Les enfants sont arrivés. Qui est arrivé? The children arrived. Who arrived?
b. Exception: when qui is followed by a conjugated form of être, the verbs agrees with the noun that follows.
Qui étaient Les Trois Mousquetaires? Who were the three Musketeers?
► Qu'est-ce que (or qui) vs. Quel:
a. Qu'est-ce que c'est que is used to ask for a definition, and quel asks for specific information.
Qu'est-ce que c'est que le camembert? What is "camembert"?
Quel est le problème? What is the problem?
b. When followed by a conjugated form of être, quel is used if être is followed by a noun and qu'est-ce qui is used if
être is followed by anything other than a noun.
Quelle est la date? What is the date?
Qu'est-ce qui est bon? What is good?
► Written vs. Spoken French with Questions
In spoken French, inversion and the use of est-ce que are usually dropped, but they must be used in written French.
Additionally, some forms are contracted or the word order may differ. It's also very common to use qui c'est qui in
place of qui or qui est-ce qui.
Written forms Spoken forms Translation
Comment l'avez-vous appris ? Vous l'avez appris comment ? How did you learn it?
Comment est-ce que vous l'avez
appris ?
Quand es-tu arrivé ? Quand t'es arrivé ? When did you arrive?
Quand est-ce que tu es arrivé ? T 'es arrivé quand ?
Qui t'a dit ça ? Qui c'est qui t'a dit ça? Who told you that?
Qui est-ce qui t'a dit ça ?
Lequel is a pronoun that replaces the adjective quel and the noun it modifies. It expresses Which one? as a
question, but which in a statement (usually preceded by a preposition).
Adjective Pronoun
Masculine Quel livre lis-tu? Quels livres lis-tu? Lequel lis-tu? Lesquels lis-tu?
Feminine Quelle page lis- Quelles pages lis- Laquelle lis- Lesquelles lis-
tu? tu? tu? tu?
Lequel contracts with à and de in the plural and masculine singular forms:
Singular Plural
Voilà le portrait sans retouche de l'homme auquel j'appartiens. - That's the unaltered portrait of the man to which I
belong. [Edith Piaf - La Vie en Rose]
Et des amours desquelles nous parlons. - And the loves about which we talk. [by Jean-Denis Bredin]
► You can also use another preposition + form of lequel to translate preposition + which: on which, to which, in
which, etc.
La table sur laquelle j'ai mis la bouteille est là-bas. - The table on which I put the bottle is over there.
Le bâtiment dans lequel j'habite est très vieux. - The building in which I live is very old.
Je mange des choses que j'aime. I eat things that I like. que is object
La femme dont le mari est mort... The woman whose husband is whose
dead...
Voici ce dont j'ai besoin. Here is what I need. avoir besoin is followed by
de
C'est un restaurant où on sert du It's a restaurant where they serve restaurant is a place
poisson. fish.
Dont can also be translated as including or of which. Sept morts, dont 6 civils, dans l'attentat. Seven dead,
including six civilians, in the attack.
► After verbs of declaration or opinion (dire, affirmer, prétendre, jurer, déclarer, reconnaître, avouer, penser,
croire), you do not need to use a relative pronoun or to repeat the subject. As long as the subject is the same in both
clauses, you can replace que + subject + conjugated verb with the infinitive.
Je pense que je peux le faire. = Je pense pouvoir le faire. I think that I can do it.
Elle dit qu'elle le connais. = Elle dit le connaître. She says that she knows him.
Vous avouez que vous avez menti. = Vous avouez avoir menti. You admit that you lied.
Demonstrative pronouns translate to the one(s), or that/those when replacing a noun. There are four forms, but they
are not often used alone. De, qui, que, dont and -ci or -là usually follow them.
Masc. Fem.
Donnez-moi mon billet et celui de Guillaume. Give me my ticket and William's. (or: the one of William)
Il porte ses propres livres et ceux de sa sœur. He is carrying his own books and his sister's. (or: those of his sister)
Quelles fleurs aimes-tu, celles-ci ou celles-là? Which flowers do you like, these (ones) or those (ones)?
Ceux qui travaillent dur réussissent. Those who work hard succeed.
C'est celui dont je parle. That's the one I'm talking about.
The indefinite demonstrative pronouns ceci (this), cela (that) and ça (this/that) refer to indefinite things or ideas.
J'aime ça. I like that.
Prenez ceci. Take this.
s'intéresser à to be interested in
70. Y & En
Y and en are both pronouns that go before the verb. Y (ee) means it or there. En (awn) means some or some (of
them), or of it. They replace prepositional phrases. In French, the phrases will begin with à (or any contraction of
it), en, sur, sous, chez, devant, derrière, dans, etc. for y; andde (or any contraction of it) or a number for en.
They cannot replace people unless the person is introduced with an indefinite article, partitive, number or quantity.
60
Sometimes y and en have no direct translation in English. Remember that they go before the verb, except in a
command, in which they follow the verb and are connected with a hyphen. The -er verbs also add the -s they lost
when forming the you (familiar) command.
Sample Sentences
It is there. Il y est.
Y and en can also replace a phrase or clause, especially with verbs that require à or de after them:
I think a lot about these stories. Je réfléchis beaucoup à ces histoires.
Notice y and en don't go after the verb in negative commands. Treat them like pronouns. Ne or Je plus y or en all
contract to N'y, J'y, N'en, andJ'en. When you have a conjugated verb plus an infinitive (vais and aller), the y or en
go in between the two verbs.
Verbs take a direct object if they do not need a preposition to connect it to the noun. Verbs that take indirect objects
use prepositions after the verb. Voir-to see (vwahr) and croire-to believe (krwahr) take a direct and écrire-to
write (ay-kreer) takes an indirect.
voir-to see croire-to believe écrire-to write
vois (vwah voyons (vwah- crois (krwah croyons (krwah- écris (ay- écrivons (ay-kree-
) yohn) ) yohn) kree) vohn)
72. Animals
ant la fourmi giraffe la girafe pig le cochon
Je n'avais pas fini mon travail quand il est arrivé. I had not finished my work when he arrived.
Vous aviez faim parce que vous n'aviez pas du tout mangé. You were hungry because you hadn't eaten at all.
64
Nous avions manqué le rendez-vous parce que le bus était en retard. We had missed the meeting because the
bus was late.
-e -ions
-es -iez
-e -ent
penser/croire/trouver
(negative and interrogative forms only)
Je veux que tu viennes avec moi. I want you to come with me.
Il est content que nous soyons là. He's happy that we are here.
Est-ce que vous pensez qu'elle puisse le faire ? Do you think that she can do it?
Il faut que je fasse la vaisselle. I have to do the dishes.
Elle sera là jusqu'à ce que vous partiez. She will be there until you leave.
► However, douter, jusqu'à ce que, à moins que, and bien que / quoique use the subjunctive whether there is a
change in subject or not. And when using avant before an infinitive, the construction is avant de + infinitive.
Note, also, that the subjunctive is not used with espérer or il est probable, although the subjunctive may be used
with these words in other Romance languages.
► The word ne is used after certain conjunctions (most notably avant que and à moins que) that take the
subjunctive, but this does not make the phrase negative:
Finissez le travail avant que la classe ne se termine. Finish the work before class ends.
78. Adverbs
66
vrai vraiment
gentil gentiment
profond profondément
bref brièvement
précis précisément
Adverbs are placed right after the verb in a simple tense. Adverbs of opinion and time usually go at the beginning
or end of the sentence. Whenpeut-être and sans doute begin a sentence or clause, they are usually followed
by que. With the passé composé, most adverbs are placedbetween the auxiliary verb and past participle. In
67
negative sentences, pas precedes the adverb, except with peut-être, sans doute, sûrement, andprobablement.
Adverbs of time and place generally follow the past participle.
Les faux-amis or false cognates are a common pitfall among language students. The following are some common
words that you may be deceived by:
Abus is used to mean excess or overindulgence, and usually not abuse.
Disposer means to arrange or to have available, not to dispose of.
Une injure is an insult, not an injury.
Actuel and actuellement mean current and currently.
Avertissement is a warning, not an advertisement.
Une recette is a recipe, not a receipt.
Fournitures refers to supplies, not furniture.
Original means new or innovative.
Humeur means mood, not humor.
Formel is used to mean strict, not formal.
Non, ça me dit rien. No, that doesn't ring a bell. / That doesn't remind me of anything.
Ça ne me dit pas grande chose. That does nothing for me.
Ça parle de quoi / qui ? (What / Who is it about?)
Ça parle de quoi, le livre que tu écris ? What's the book about that you're writing?
Ça y est ! ( There! That's it ! It's done!)
Ça a été (How did it go? / It went well.)
Ton examen, ça a été ? How did your exam go?
Oui, ça a été. It went well.
On dirait... [ça ressemble à] (It seems / it looks like / it tastes like / it smells like / it feels like / it sounds like)
On dirait un chat. It looks like a cat.
pas terrible (terrible actually means terrific in this phrase)
C'est pas terrible, ce film. This movie is not very good.
pas mal de (a lot of, lots of, tons of - synonym of beaucoup)
J'ai pas mal de trucs à faire aujourd'hui. I have lots of things to do today.
The word soit has several meanings. It is also the third person singular form of être in the present subjunctive. Je
veux qu'il soit là. I want him to be here. It can also be used to mean i.e. or that is when introducing a clause. Le
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contenu du CD est bilingue, soit français et anglais. The contents of the CD are bilingual, i.e. French and
English.
► As a pronoun, tout can be used alone; it then means everything and is invariable.
Tout va bien. Everything's fine.
Je ne peux pas tout faire. I can't do everything.
► It can also reinforce the subject. (The s of tous is pronounced when tous is a pronoun.)
Ils sont tous là. They are all here.
► Tout can also be used with direct object pronouns. The forms of tout follow the verb in a simple tense and go
between the auxiliary and past participle in a compound tense.
Je les ai toutes. I have them all.
Je ne les ai pas tous eu. I didn't have them all.
J'ai appris à conduire il y a deux ans. I learned to drive two years ago.
89. To Receive
Recevoir-to receive
reçois recevons
reçois recevez
reçoit reçoivent
The past participle of recevoir is reçu.
► Venir de + infinitive means "to have just" + past participle in English. Je viens de manger. I just ate.
Some verbs require à or de before nouns:
rb + à + noun Verb + de + noun
And some verbs require no prepositions in French, while others use different prepositions from English:
No prepositions in French Different prepositions from
English
écouter to listen to
rappeler to remind of
regarder to look at
sentir to smell
of/like
viser to aim at
Tu me rappelle mon père. You remind me of my father.
Ça sent la pluie. It smells like rain.
utile à useful
92. To Follow
Suivre-to follow
suis suivons
suis suivez
suit suivent
The past participle of suivre is suivi. Suivre can also be used with school subjects to mean "to take a course."
Main verb is present Il me dit: <<Je pars en vacances Il me dit qu'il part en vacances et
et ma famille a loué une villa.>> que sa famille a loué une villa.
Main verb in past Il m'a dit: <<Je pars en vacances Il m'a dit qu'il partait en vacances et
et ma famille a loué une villa.>> que sa famille avait loué une villa.
Note that if the main verb is in the present tense, no tense changes occur when using indirect discourse. However,
if the main verb is in a past tense, the following tense changes occur:
Present → Imperfect
Passé Composé → Pluperfect
The Imperfect and Pluperfect do not change. Remember to use que to introduce each dependent clause, and adjust
personal pronouns and possessive adjectives.
In questions, the following (rather uncomplicated) changes occur:
1. Yes/no questions = si + declarative sentence
Je t'ai demandé si tu avais faim.
2. Où, quand, comment, etc. = interrogative word + declarative sentence
Il m'a demandé à quelle heure j'allais revenir.
3. Interrogative pronouns are a little trickier:
qui est-ce qui qui Il m'a demandé qui était resté.
qui est-ce que Elle m'a demandé qui j'avais vu.
96. Ne Expletif
Sometimes ne must be inserted in a phrase even when it is not expressing the negative. (However, do not confuse
the use of ne explétif with the verbs that can exist in the negative with only using ne and not pas in formal, written
language: cesser, daigner, oser, pouvoir, savoir).
It is used 1) after certain conunctions: avant que, à moins que; 2) after expressions and verbs of fear: de crainte
que, de peur que, craindre que, avoir peur que, redouter que, trembler que, empêcher que, éviter que; 3)
before a verb that follows a comparison of inequality: plus, moins, autre; and 4) after adverbs of doubt and
negation used in the negative to express a positive idea.
Je sors ce soir à moins qu'il ne pleuve. I'll go out this evening unless it rains.
Il craint que tu ne sois fatigué après le voyage. He's afraid that you'll be tired after the trip.
Nous sommes plus forts qu'elle ne pense. We are stronger than she thinks.
Je ne doute pas que vous ne fassiez des progrès. I don't doubt that you are making progress.
-ais -iez
-ait -aient
The past conditional is formed by using the conditional of avoir or être and a past participle. It corresponds to
"would have" and is used in hypothetical sentences.
Il n'aurait jamais dit ça ! He would have never said that!
► If... sentences: When si (if) is used in sentences of condition, the verb tenses change. These pretty much
correspond to English usage.
1. Si + present tense + present, imperative, or future
Si je suis fatiguée, je me repose. If I'm tired, I rest.
Repose-toi si tu es fatigué. Rest if you're tired.
Si je suis fatigué demain, je me reposerai. If I am tired tomorrow, I will rest.
2. Si + imperfect + present conditional
Si j'étais riche, je pourrais acheter un château. If I were rich, I would buy a castle.
Il deviendrait roi s'il avait plus de courage. He would become king if he had more courage.
3. Si + pluperfect + past conditional
Si j'avais su, j'aurais compris. If I had known, I would have understood.
It is possible to have past conditional with the imperfect, and it is also possible to have present conditional with
pluperfect. However, you can never have the future or conditional tenses directly following si. They must be in the
other clause.
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would have past conditional of verb il aurait dit he would have said
could have past conditional of pouvoir + infinitive il aurait pu dire he could have said
should have past conditional of devoir + infinitive il aurait dû dire he should have said
"You shouldn't have" or "that wasn't necessary" when someone gives you a gift is il ne fallait pas.
Listen to the le conditionnel : si tu gagnais au loto mp3 and try the cloze (fill-in-the-blank) exercise
from French Listening Resources.
The most common types of cars in France are Peugeot, Clio, Renault, and Fiat, and the majority are manual drive.
Automatic cars in Europe are generally reserved for handicapped people. The driving age in France is 18, and
young drivers who have just gotten their licenses have a red A sticker on their car.
99. To Drive
Conduire-to drive
conduis conduisons
conduis conduisez
conduit conduisent
The past participle of conduire is conduit. Other verbs conjugated like conduire are: traduire - to
translate, produire - to produce, and construire - to construct.
passport le passeport
diary le journal
dictionary le dictionnaire
flight le vol
Euro l'euro
bill le billet
coin la pièce
change la monnaie
cent le centime
arrival l'arrivée
departure le départ
customs la douane
entrance l'entrée
exit la sortie
right there juste là zhoost lah across from en face de awn fawz duh
to the left of à gauche de ah gohsh duh far (from) loin de lwahn duh
straight ahead tout droit too dwah at the end of au fond de oh fohn duh
101. Camping
camping le camping axe la hache
Imperfect was supposed to, Elle devait chanter ce soir. She was supposed to sing tonight.
used to have to
Future will have to Tu devras payer l'argent. You will have to pay money.
Conditional should Vous devriez manger les fruits. You should eat fruits.
Past Conditional should have Ils auraient dû jouer. They should have played.
In the present tense, you can also express I am supposed to with Je suis censé + infinitive. To express you don't
have to instead of you must not, use vous n’êtes pas obligé de instead of vous ne devez pas or il ne faut pas.
dental floss le fil dentaire nail le vernis à eye liner l'eye liner
polish ongles
106. Abbreviations
In everyday speech, it is common to shorten some words:
advertisement la publicité la pub
Excusez-moi d'être arrivé(e) en retard. Excuse me for arriving (or having arrived) late.
Après avoir fini mes études, je veux After finishing (or having finished) my studies,
devenir professeur. I want to become a teacher.
Elle regrette de ne pas avoir posé de questions. She regrets not asking (or having asked) any
questions.
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crab le crabe
109. To Die
Mourir-to die
meurs mourons
meurs mourez
meurt meurent
The past participle is mort / morte and it is conjugated with être. You will most likely use this verb in the past
tense, but it is used in some present tense sayings.
110. In Space
alien l'extra-terrestre (m) nebula la nébuleuse
eu eûm cru crûm lus lûmes di dîm dor dormî d dû reç reçû véc vécû
s es s es s es mis mes us mes us mes us mes
eu eûte cru crûte lus lûtes di dîte dor dormît d dûte reç reçût véc vécût
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s s s s s s mis es us s us es us es
eu eure cru crure lut lurent di dire dor dormir d dur reç reçur véc vécur
t nt t nt t nt mit ent ut ent ut ent ut ent
pr prî sor sortî voul voulû m mî con connû su sûm pus pûme
is mes tis mes us mes is mes nus mes s es s
pr prît sor sortît voul voulût m mîte con connût su sûte pus pûtes
is es tis es us es is s nus es s s
pr prir sor sortir voul voulur m mir con connu su sure put pure
it ent tit ent ut ent it ent nut rent t nt nt
Other verbs do not use their past participles as stems (but they still take the same endings), so you should memorize
these forms.
être faire écrire venir voir conduire
fus fûmes fis fîmes écriv écrivîm vins vînmes vis vîmes condui conduisî
is es sis mes
fus fûtes fis fîtes écriv écrivîte vins vîntes vis vîtes condui conduisît
is s sis es
fut furent fit firent écriv écrivire vint vinrent vit virent condui conduisir
it nt sit ent
mour mourû naqu naquîm ouvri ouvrîm craign craignî batt battîm
us mes is es s es is mes is es
mour mourûte naqu naquîte ouvri ouvrîte craign craignît batt battîte
us s is s s s is es is s
mour mourur naqu naquire ouvri ouvrire craign craignir batt battire
ut ent it nt t nt it ent it nt
114. Religion
altar l'autel (m) Judaism le judaïsme
Imperfect Subjunctive
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break down tomber en panne / enfoncer mouth off se vanter / parler à tort et à travers
clear off dégager / filer pull over se ranger / se garer sur la côté
come down descendre / baisser put off remettre à plus tard / dissuader /
dégoûter / déranger / éteindre
fall apart s'effondrer set off partir / se mettre en route / faire partir /
faire exploser / déclencher
find out se renseigner / découvrir sleep over passer la nuit chez quelqu'un
get away s'échapper / partir / s'en aller spin around tourner / se retourner
leave aside laisser de côté turn around se retourner / faire demi-tour / tourner
(dans l'autre sens)
let off ne pas punir / faire partir, tirer turn off éteindre
look attendre avec impatience well up avoir les larmes aux yeux
forward to
look round se retourner / regarder / visiter work out trouver / résoudre / calculer /
comprendre / se passer / faire de
l'exercice
do nothing but ne faire que let's just hope that pourvu que
forgive somebody for excuser quelqu'un de + let's [verb] / how about Et si on...?
[verb]-ing infinitive we [verb]?
I can't help [verb]-ing Je ne peux pas m'empêcher no sooner... n'avoir pas si tôt
de + infinitive
I was going to / I had J'avais prévu de The way + subject + La façon dont +
planned to verb subject + verb
I wish + past perfect J'aurais aimé que + to sit, stand, lie être assis, debout,
subjunctive allongé
I'd rather that J'aimerais mieux que + What / How about + Que dirais tu de +
subjunctive [verb]-ing? infinitive ?
It's about time il serait grand temps whatever quel que soit
it's no use / you needn't il est inutile que whatever quoi que
just because... doesn't le simple fait que... ne veut Whether you like it or Que ça te plaise ou
mean pas dire not non.
une broue une bière avoir les yeux dans la graisse de avoir l'air fatigué
binnes
une buanderie une blanchisserie câlisser une volée donner une raclée
une canneberge une airelle c'est pas fort c'est pas terrible
une chicane une dispute débarquer (d'un char) descendre (d'une voiture)
le déjeuner le petit déjeuner embarquer (dans un char) monter (dans une voiture)
Confusions
The following are sentences that initially confused me because I was translating them literally into English.
C'est pas du français. It's not grammatically correct, formal French. [not the French language in general]
La Norvège n'est pas en Europe. Norway is not in the European Union. [not Europe as a continent]
J'ai laissé un petit mot pour toi. I left a little note for you. [not word]
Tu déjeunes pas ? You aren't eating breakfast? [not lunch]
Normalement, elle arrive à 15h. If everything goes as planned, she will arrive at 3 PM. [not normally or usually]
Tes parents s'ennuient de toi ? Do your parents miss you? [not get bored with]
Tu veux te baigner aujourd'hui ? Do you want to go swimming today? [not take a bath]
J'ai mal aux reins. My lower back hurts. [not kidneys]
On a déjà donné à manger au chat. We've already fed the cat. [not give to eat]
Elle l'a connu en Italie. She met him in Italy. [not known]
Signed [city] ... date Fait à ... le to apply (for a job) postuler
Remember the date format in France is day/month/year instead of month/day/year and that you generally capitalize
your last name, but not your first name: Jean-Paul BOUCHER.
salad (with bacon) une salade (avec des chicken in red wine du coq au vin
lardons)
melted cheese (w/ potatoes & la raclette potatoes au gratin le gratin dauphinois
cold cuts)
cheese, ham & potato la tartiflette ham & cheese quiche la quiche lorraine
casserole
Qu'est-ce que je vous offre ? / Qu'est-ce que je vous sers ? What can I get you?
Quelque chose à boire ? Something to drink?
J'ai la dalle ! J'ai les crocs ! Je meurs de faim ! I'm starving!
J'ai trop mangé. / J'ai trop bouffé. I ate too much.
to recharge your account recharger votre compte call waiting le double appel
Est-ce que je peux vous aider ? / Je peux vous renseigner ? / Vous désirez ? Can I help you?
Non, je regarde seulement. No, I'm just looking.
Je vais réfléchir. I'll think about it.
Quelle est votre taille ? Vous faites du combien ? What is your size? What size do you wear?
Quelle est votre pointure ? Vous chaussez du combien ? What is your shoe size? What size shoe do you wear?
Ça va, la taille ? C’est la bonne taille ? Is the size right?
C’est trop grand. / C'est trop serré. It’s too big / too small.
Ça coûte combien ? How much does this cost?
C'est en solde ? Is it on sale?
Quelle escroquerie ! / Quelle arnaque ! What a rip-off!
Avez-vous une carte de fidélité ? Do you have a club card?
Vous réglez comment ? / Vous payez comment ? How are you paying?
En espèces/par carte bleue. Cash/with a bank card.
A good way to increase your vocabulary is to look at ads for stores that are available online, such
as Carrefour, Géant, Monoprix, etc.
Listen to the le shopping: les soldes mp3 and try the cloze (fill-in-the-blank) exercise from French
Listening Resources.
Je voudrais prendre rendez-vous, s'il vous plaît. I'd like to make an appointment, please.
Où est-ce que vous avez mal ? Where does it hurt?
Est-ce que vous êtes allergique à quelque chose ? Are you allergic to anything?
Je me suis écorché la main en tombant. I skinned my hand by falling.
Je me suis fait mal. I hurt myself.
The French health care system (called la Sécurité Sociale) generally reimburses 70% of your health costs
(including dentist and eye doctor visits). If you want to be reimbursed for the other 30%, you have to join
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a mutuelle and pay a monthly fee. Everyone covered by la Sécu receives aCarte Vitale to use at the doctor's
consultation and when filling prescriptions at any pharmacie. If you are a recent immigrant to France and have not
yet received your Carte Vitale, you will receive feuille de soins forms to fill out in order to be reimbursed.
The emergency medical service in France is called SAMU (Service d'aide médicale d'urgence) and the phone
number is 15. You can dial 17 to reach the police, and 18 to reach the pompiers (firefighters). The general
emergency number used throughout the European Union is 112. In Belgium, you can also dial 100 for emergency
services; in Switzerland, it's 144, and in Canada, it's 911.
rent receipt la quittance de loyer conditions / evaluation of l'état des lieux (m)
apt.
utilities / fees les charges / les frais taxes les impôts (m)
Apartments are generally listed as F1/T1, F2/T2, F3/T3, etc. regarding the number of rooms. This number does not
include the kitchen or bathroom, but it does include the living room. If a kitchen is équipée, it will probably have a
refrigerator and burners, but may or may not have an oven. If a kitchen is non-équipée, there will be no appliances
at all. Some apartments do not have ovens, but they might have plaques électriques / plaquettes (burners, similar
to a stove). A cuisinière is also electric burners without an oven.
J'habite en colocation. I live with roommates.
Je cherche un colocataire pour un appartement avec 2 chambres. I'm looking for a roommate for a 2 bedroom
apartment.
Le bail sera signé dès votre arrivée à la résidence. The lease will be signed as soon as you arrive at the dorms.
Les charges sont comprises dans le prix (eau, éléctricité, chauffage). Utilities are included in the price (water,
electricity, heat).
You can download a sample contrat de location, état des lieux, and quittance de loyer at this site.
For verbs that involve cooking methods, you add faire before them when they are transitive verbs (when they take a
direct object). So to cook something is faire cuire, to fry something is faire frire, to boil something is faire
bouillir, etc. If you bake American foods in France, you will most likely need to look for certain ingredients that
are not used very often in French cooking: condensed milk - lait concentré sucré; evaporated milk -lait concentré
non-sucré; baking soda - bicarbonate alimentaire; baking powder - levure chimique and yeast - levure du
boulanger. It is also very common to use le sopalin instead of essui-tout for paper towel.
Christmas Vocabulary
Merry Christmas! Joyeux Noël !
bow le nœud
bulb la boule
chimney la cheminée
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elf le lutin
garland la guirlande
holly le houx
mistletoe le gui
present le cadeau
reindeer le renne
sleigh le traineau
snow la neige
toy le jouet
wreath la couronne
Transportation
connection la correspondance subway map le plan de métro
Premier degré = maternelle & élémentaire Second degré = collège & lycée
News
news les informations / le journal poverty la pauvreté
Politics
prime minister le premier ministre citizen le citoyen
Television
the news les infos to be on (TV) passer
Soccer
ball le ballon pass une passe
out of bounds (behind the une sortie de but What's the score? Quel est le score?
goals)
out of bounds (on the sides) en touche yellow card carton jaune
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Zodiac Signs
signs of the Zodiac les signes du zodiaque
Aries Bélier
Taurus Taureau
Gemini Gémeaux
Cancer Cancer
Leo Lion
Virgo Vierge
Libra Balance
Scorpio Scorpion
Sagittarius Sagittaire
Capricorn Capricorne
Aquarius Verseau
Pisces Poisson
civil union le PACS (Pacte Civile de Solidarité) to break up / leave rompre / quitter
Acronyms
Those marked in color are pronounced as a word, rather than each letter individually.
ANAEM Agence Nationale de l'Accueil des Etrangers et PC Parti communiste
des Migrations
FNAC Fédération nationale des achats de cadres TGB Très grande bibliothèque
INSEE Institut National de la Statistique et des Etudes TVA taxe à la valeur ajoutée
Economiques
MJC Maison des Jeunes et de la Culture UDF Union pour la démocratie française
MLF Mouvement pour la libération de la femme UMP Union pour un Mouvement Populaire
PV procès-verbal
* ANPE and ASSEDIC no longer exist. They were merged together in 2009 to form Pôle Emploi.
Alsace Alsace
Aquitaine Aquitaine
Auvergne Auvergne
Basse-Normandie Lower-Normandy
Bretagne Brittany
Bourgogne Burgundy
Centre Center
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Champagne-Ardenne Champagne-Ardenne
Corse Corsica
Franche-Comté Franche-Comte
Haute-Normandie Upper-Normandy
Ille-de-France Paris-Isle-of-France
Languedoc-Roussillon Languedoc-Roussillon
Limousin Limousin
Lorraine Lorraine
Midi-Pyrénées Midi-Pyrenees
Nord-Pas-de-Calais North-Calais
Pays-de-la-Loire Pays-de-la-Loire
Picardie Picardy
Poitou-Charentes Poitou-Charentes
Rhône-Alpes Rhone-Alps
Guadeloupe Guadeloupe
Martinique Martinique
La Réunion Reunion
Each région is divided into départements, except for the overseas regions (they exist as régions as well as
départements.) Each département is assigned a two-digit number that begins the zip code (the numbers somewhat
correspond to alphabetical order). For example, the département of Ain is 01 and the département of Vosges is 88.
DOM-TOM means départements d'outre-mer and térritoires d'outre-mer. French territories (also called
collectivities) include Polynésie française, Mayotte, Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon, Wallis-et-Futuna, Saint-
Martin and Saint-Barthélemy. Nouvelle Calédonie has a special status (sui generis) and will vote for
independence from France in the next ten years.
Haut-Rhin 30 Gard
34 Hérault
Gironde 66 Pyrénées-Orientales
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Landes
Pyrénées-Atlantiques 23 Creuse
87 Haute-Vienne
Allier Auvergne
Haute-Loire 55 Meuse
Puy-de-Dôme 57 Moselle
88 Vosges
Calvados Basse-Normandie
Orne 12 Aveyron
31 Haute-Garonne
Nièvre 46 Lot
Saône-et-Loire 65 Hautes-Pyrénées
Yonne 81 Tarn
82 Tarn-et-Garonne
Côtes-d'Armor Bretagne
Ille-et-Vilaine 62 Pas-de-Calais
Morbihan
Eure-et-Loir 53 Mayenne
Indre 72 Sarthe
Indre-et-Loire 85 Vendée
Loir-et-Cher
60 Oise
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Aube
Haute-Marne 17 Charente-Maritime
79 Deux-Sèvres
Haute-Corse
04 Alpes-de-Haute-Provence Provence-Alpes-
Côte d'Azur
Doubs Franche-Comté 05 Hautes-Alpes
Jura 06 Alpes-Maritimes
Haute-Saône 13 Bouches-du-Rhône
84 Vaucluse
Eure Haute-Normandie
07 Ardèche
Seine-et-Marne 38 Isère
Yvelines 42 Loire
Essonne 69 Rhône
Hauts-de-Seine 73 Savoie
Seine-Saint-Denis 74 Haute-Savoie
Val-de-Marne
Val-d'Oise
Listen to the la géographie : les DOM-TOMs mp3 and try the cloze (fill-in-the-blank) exercise from
French Listening Resources.
Writing Letters
Your name and address should be placed in the top left corner. The receiver's address is placed below yours, on the
right. The city you are in and the date is placed below the addresses, and on the left. (Remember to use French date
formats: le 7 octobre 2008).
Your name
Your address
Zip Code & City
Receiver's Name
Receiver's Address
Zip Code & City
City, le # mois 2009
Madame ou Monsieur,
Common formal endings:
Dans l’attente de votre réponse, je vous prie d’agréer, Monsieur, l’expression de mes sentiments respectueux.
Veuillez agréer, Madame, Monsieur, l’expression de mes salutations distinguées.
Je vous prie de croire, Monsieur, à l'assurance de mes sentiments distingués.
Notice that you should not use sentiments with Madame because it's considered rude.
In less formal situations, such as in certain e-mails, you can just use cordialement
Informal French and French Slang Tutorial
Learn to understand colloquial / familiar French, verlan, and swearing in French
This page is designed to teach the real spoken form of French, which is very different from the formal way of
writing, as well as common French slang words. Sentences marked with → were taken from a random search online
to give you authentic examples of slang usage. When you click they will open in a new window. Click
here to skip to the list of all the exercises. Also check out Informal French Videos.
Fillers in Speech
Fillers in speech are words that don't add any real meaning to the sentence, except for maybe emphasis. Examples
in English include uh, um, well, I mean, I guess, you know?, so, ok, etc. You should get used to just ignoring these
words when you hear them, so that you can focus on the key words in the sentence.
Quoi is the most common filler that I hear in everyday speech. It can be used to add emphasis to emotions or
thoughts or to show impatience. It is usually said at the very end of the sentence.
Voilà is often used with quoi at the end of the sentence.
A la limite is mostly used by young people, and can be translated as I suppose or I mean.
Tu vois ? is the closest approximation for you know?
Bon begins or ends a thought, similar to ok. It also can express anger or impatience, similar to fine! (Ah,
bon ? actually means "really?" and not "good.")
Ben (pronounced liked bain) adds emphasis to questions, statements, commands and yes or no.
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Interjections
Aïe ! / Ouïe ! / Ouille ! Ouch !
Beurk ! Berk ! Yuck!
Boum ! Boom! Bang!
Chiche ! I dare you! Go ahead!
Chut ! Shush! Be quiet!
Gla gla! Brrrrrrr!
Ho ! / Hé ! Wow! or Hey!
Holà ! Hey! Whoa!
Hop là ! Got it! There ya go! Whoopsie-daisy!
Merde ! Shit! [not as strong as in English] / Break a leg!
Miam miam ! Yum yum!
Mince ! / Zut ! Darn! Dang it!
Ouf ! Phew!
Oups ! Oops!
Pan ! Bang!
Putain ! [the general all-purpose swear word in French]
Toc, toc ! Knock knock!
Vlan ! Slam!
Youpi ! Yay!
Common Expressions
Je n'en reviens pas - I can't believe it
C'est du gâteau ! - It's a piece of cake!
Revenons à nos moutons - Let's get back to the subject
Ça saute aux yeux - That's obvious
C'est dans la poche - It's a sure thing
Quand les poules auront des dents - When pigs fly
Ça ne tourne pas rond - Something's wrong
C'est pas vrai ! - You're kidding!
Ce n'est pas la mer à boire - It's not the end of the world
C'est pas sorcier - It's not rocket science
Je vais jeter un œil - I'll take a look
Ça n'a rien à voir avec... - That has nothing to do with...
Ça vaut le coup - It's worth it
On voit que dalle - You can't see anything
Ça va être chaud ! It's going to be tough!
Tu dois me tirer de là ! - You gotta help me out!
Ç'est parti ! Here we go / we're off !
Ça gaze ? How are things? What's up?
Oh purée ! Oh my goodness!
Ça fait un bail ! It's been a long time !
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If you can't remember the name of a thing, you can use ce truc, ce machin, ce bidule or cet engin similarly to the
English thingy, thingamajig, whatchamacallit, etc.
What's-his-name is Monsieur Untel and what's-her-name is Madame Unetelle. You can also use Machin but it has
a more derogative meaning, as if you are saying the person is merely an object.
Common Verbs
balancer - to throw (away)
en baver - to have a hard time
bosser - to work
bouffer - to eat
bourrer - to stuff, cram
bousiller - to break, damage
chialer - to cry
chopper - to get, to catch
débarquer - to arrive without notice
dégoter - to find, come up with, dig up
encarrer - to enter
engueuler - to tell someone off / chew someone out / give someone hell
épater / scier - to astonish, surprise
être à deux doigts (de faire quelque chose) - to be on the verge (of doing something)
être à la bourre - to be in a hurry
être à mourir d'ennui - to be very boring
faire gaffe - be careful, pay attention
farfouiller - to rummage
filer - to give, hand over
filer à l'anglaise - to leave without saying goodbye / to take a French leave
flipper - to go crazy, flip out
fourrer - to cram, stick, shove
foutre - to put, throw / to give / to do
foutre le bordel - to make a mess
gaver - to be sick of
gerber - to puke
gober - to believe naively / to fall for
gonfler - to annoy
louper - to miss
mater / zieuter - to look
papoter - to chatter, gossip
paumer - to lose
piger - to understand
piquer - to steal
planquer - to hide
poireauter - to wait
repêcher - to find
rigoler / se marrer - to laugh
roupiller - to sleep
schlinguer - to stink
se planter - to make a mistake
se pointer / radiner - to show up
se tirer / se barrer / se casser - to leave
vadrouiller - to rove around
means screwed/screwed up. Fiche is a milder verb that is very common too. It is conjugated: fiche - fiches - fiche -
fichons - fichez - fichent and the past participle is fichu(e).
Je m'en fous / Je m'en fiche. I don't care.
Qu'est-ce qu'il fout là-bas ? What's he doing over there? / What the hell is he doing over there??
J'en ai rien à foutre. I don't care. [stronger] / I don't give a damn.
Je m'en fous de tes problèmes. I don't care about your problems.
Tu t'en fous de ce que les autres pensent. You don't care about what others think.
On s'en fout de foot ! We don't care about soccer!
Ils s'en foutent des jeunes. They don't care about young people.
Fous-moi la paix ! Leave me alone! / Give me a break!
Fous le camp ! F you!
Va te faire foutre ! Go to hell!
The adjective foutu does not always have a negative connotation, however:
un mec bien foutu a well-built/muscular guy
For more on the verb foutre, read my blog post on Swearing in French and Degrees of Vulgarity .
Common Adjectives
bidon - phoney, fake
chapeau - bravo, hats off!
chelou - shady, suspicious
chiant - annoying
collant - clingy
cradingue / crado - filthy
débile - pathetic, stupid
dégueulasse - disgusting
déjanté - oddball
dingue / cinglé / timbré / givré / barjo / loufoque - crazy
farfelu - eccentric
futé - cunning, crafty, sly
génial / chouette - great
godiche - silly, awkward
gratos- free
impec - great, terrific
kif-kif - same difference; it's the same
mal barré / mal foutu - "in dire straits" / screwed
marrant / rigolo - funny
moche - ugly
nickel - very clean
nunuche - silly, stupid
pas terrible - not good
radin - cheap
roublard - devious, cunning
salé - expensive
sympa - nice, likable
vache - mean
zinzin - nuts
Verlan
Verlan is a popular form of slang that involves reversing the syllables in regular words.
mère - reum
père - reup
femme - meuf
mec - keum
fête - teuf
flic - keuf
louche - chelou
cher - reuch
énervé - vénère
boudin - doubin
capote - poteca
toi - ouat
moi - ouam
crevé / lessivé / nase / mort / cassé / vanné / HS [hors-service] - really tired, exhausted
avoir le cafard / le blues / le spleen - to be sad, depressed
être de mauvais poil - to be in a bad mood
en avoir marre / en avoir ras-le-bol / en avoir soupé - to be fed up, angry
→ J'en ai marre de ces pubs ! I'm so sick of these ads!
avoir les boules / les glandes / les nerfs / la haine - to be really angry
raffoler de quelque chose - to be crazy about something
être accro à quelque chose - to be addicted to something
avoir le mal du pays - to be homesick
se barber - to get bored
avoir la trouille / la frousse / le trac - to be scared
fiche la trouille / frousse à quelqu'un - to scare somebody
→ C'est la première fois qu'une BD me fiche la frousse. That's the first time a comic book scared me.
déconner - to joke / mess around
se planter - to make a mistake / to fall
péter les plombs / péter un cable - to go crazy
perdre la boule / les pédales - to lose one's mind
School
bahut (m) - school (also truck, taxi)
→ Mon bahut est en grève ! My school is on strike!
bizut (m) - freshman / pledge (to a fraternity/sorority)
bizutage (m) - hazing
bouquin (m) - book
bûcher / potasser - to study hard, to cram
calé en - good/smart in
cartonner à un examen - to ace an exam
chouchou (m) - teacher's pet
colle (f) - difficult question
coller un élève - to punish a student / give a student detention
→ Mon fils est collé deux heures par son prof de math. My son got two hours of detention from his math teacher.
être collé - to have detention
fac (f) - university
piger - to understand, to get (it)
plancher - to be grilled/interrogated by a teacher
potache (m) - student
se faire étendre / coller à un examen - to flunk a test
sécher un cours - to skip class
→ Je suis frileuse et je me pèle les miches été comme hiver. I'm always cold and I freeze my ass off in summer
like in winter.
entre chien et loup - at dusk, sunset
il y a des lustres - a long time ago
pige (f) - year
un de ces quat' - one of these days
Baby Talk
faire dodo - to go beddy-bye
avoir un bobo - to have a booboo
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Proper Names
A la tienne, Etienne ! Cheers!
Ça glisse, Alice ! It's slippery!
Tu parles, Charles ! You bet!
Tranquille, Emile ! Calm down!
Animals
avoir d'autres chats à fouetter - to have better things to do; other fish to fry
avoir un chat dans la gorge - to have a frog in your throat
doux comme un agneau - soft/gentle like a lamb
un froid de canard - very cold
appeler un chat un chat - to call a spade a spade
s'entendre comme chien et chat - to get along like cats and dogs
un mal de chien - difficulties
une vie de chien - difficult life
passer du coq à l'âne - to change subjects quickly
avoir une mémoire d'éléphant - to have a good memory
avoir une faim de loup - to be starving
marcher à pas de loup - to walk silently
revenir à ses moutons - to get back to the subject
avoir la chair de poule - to have goosebumps
quand les poules auront les dents - when pigs fly
une peau de vache - a mean person
une langue de vipère - a person who often speaks badly of others
chercher la petite bête - to nitpick, split hairs
avoir le cafard - to be down, depressed
entre chien et loup - at dusk, sundown
avaler des couleuvres - to swallow one's pride
la brebis galeuse de la famille - black sheep of the family
le bouc émissaire / le dindon de la farce - scapegoat
avoir une araignée au plafond - to have bats in the belfry
être heureux comme un poisson dans l'eau - to be as happy as a clam at high tide
il y a anguille sous la roche - I smell a rat
il faut ménager la chèvre et le chou - you have to run with the hare and hunt with the hounds
jetter quelqu'un dans la fosse aux lions - to throw someone to the wolves
se jeter dans la gueule du loup - to put one's hand in the lion's mouth
courir deux lièvres à la fois - to ride two horses at the same time
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mettre la charue avant les bœufs - to put the cart before the horse
ce n'est pas à un vieux singe qu'on apprend à faire des grimaces - you can't teach an old dog new tricks
être hardi comme un coq sur son fumier - to be a showoff
avoir une fièvre de cheval - to have a high fever
Body Parts
se creuser la tête - to think really hard
se croire sorti de la cuisse de Jupiter - to think oneself is better than everyone else
se mettre le doigt dans l'œil - to make a mistake
rester bouche cousue - to not say anything; keep a secret
avoir le coeur sur la main - to wear one's heart on one's sleeve
avoir un cheveu sur la langue - to lisp
ne pas avoir la langue dans sa poche - to be talkative
avoir la langue bien pendue - to know how to answer/talk
faire la tête - to pout
garder la tête froide - to keep one's calm
ne pas avoir froid aux yeux - to not be scared
avoir/mettre l'eau à la bouche - to want/drool over something
rester bouche bée - to be speechless
ne rien faire de ses dix doigts - to be lazy
avoir l'estomac dans les talons - to be hungry
prendre ses jambes à son cou - to leave quickly
ne pas lever le nez - to concentrate on something
à l'œil - without paying, for free
faire la sourde oreille - to not listen/hear
être bête comme ses pieds - to be stupid
mettre les pieds dans le plat - to say/do something stupid
coûter les yeux de la tête - to cost an arm and a leg
se payer la tête de quelqu-'un - to pull someone's leg
donner sa langue au chat - to give up
avoir les dents longues - to be ambitious
avoir le bras long - to have influence, connections
être au bout de la langue - to be at the tip of your tongue
avoir un poil dans la main - to be lazy, to avoid work
casser les pieds à quelqu'un - to get on someone's nerves
manger sur le pouce - to grab a bite to eat
enlever une épine du pied à quelqu'un - to help someone out
dormir sur les deux oreilles - to sleep soundly
prendre la lune avec les dents - to try to do the impossible
rebattre les oreilles - to repeat the same story over and over
Numbers
en moins de deux - very quickly
chercher midi à quatorze heures - to make things complicated
comme deux et deux font quatre - sure, certain
les deux font la paire - both are the same
jamais deux sans trois - something that's happened twice, will happen a third time
ni une ni deux - without hesitating, very fast
quatre à quatre - quickly
dire des quatre vérités à quelqu'un - to say what you think of someone
se mettre en quatre - to give oneself a hard task
un de ces quatre - one of these days
être tiré à quatre épingles - to be dressed well
tourner sept fois sa langue dans sa bouche - to take time to think before speaking
voir trente-six chandelles - to see stars
faire les cent pas - to pace back and forth, come and go
faire les quatre cents coups - to have a hectic and chaotic life; to sow one's wild oats
se mettre sur son trente et un - to be dressed to kill
Colors
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Food
appuyer sur le champignon - to go very fast, accelerate
être haut comme trois pommes - to be small
ne pas être dans son assiette - to not feel yourself
sucrer les fraises - to be senile, crazy
tomber dans les pommes - to faint, pass out
couper la poire en deux - to meet halfway
jeter de l'huile sur le feu - to add fuel to the fire
tondre des œufs - to be cheap, a skinflint
pédaler dans la semoule - to become insane, senile
c'est la goutte d'eau qui fait déborder la vase - it's the straw that broke the camel's back
mettre du beurre dans les épinards - to help financially
casser du sucre sur son dos - to spread lies about someone, talk about someone behind his/her back
être dans le pétrin - to be in a jam
Other
être dans ses petits souliers - to not feel comfortable
avoir des oursins dans la poche - to be stingy, cheap
faire d'une pierre deux coups - to kill two birds with one stone
ne pas être de la dernière pluie - to not be born yesterday
pendre la crémaillère - to have a house-warming party
vendre la mèche - to let the cat out of the bag, to tell a secret
n'y voir que du feu - to be taken in / to be had
ne pas y aller avec le dos de la cuillière - to not be subtle about something
faire un chèque en bois - to write a bad check
manger les pissenlits par la racine - to push up daisies, to be dead and buried
tourner autour du pot - to beat around the bush
se mettre à table - to confess, come clean
mettre des bâtons dans les roues de quelqu'un - to throw a monkey wrench in someone's business
reprendre ses billes - to renege on a deal
un coup d'épée dans l'eau - a wasted effort
être au four et au moulin - to be in two places at once
faire le pont - to take a long weekend
tirer les plans sur la comète - to count one's chickens before they have hatched
ce n'est pas la mer à boire - it's not as bad as all that
c'est au bout du monde - it's halfway around the world
ce n'est pas le Pérou - it's nothing to write home about / it's no great fortune
tirer le diable par la queue - to barely get by, have a hard time
il ne faut pas déshabiller Pierre pour payer Paul - you shouldn't rob Paul to pay Peter
parler à quelqu'un à brûle-pourpoint - to ask someone point-blank
raconter des histoires à dormir debout - to tell tall tales
prendre la poudre d'escampette - to leave quickly
tirer son épingle du jeu - to get out of a difficult situation
mener en bateau - to lead someone on, to lie