- •1. Basic Phrases / les expressions de base
- •Don't forget to check out my video series on informal French expressions:
- •2. Pronunciation / la prononciation
- •[Ɑ] is disappearing in modern French, being replaced by [a]. Vowels that do not exist in English are marked in blue.
- •[Œ̃] is being replaced with [ɛ̃] 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.
- •4. Nouns, Articles & Demonstratives / les noms, les articles & les demonstratifs
- •6. Subject Pronouns / les pronoms sujets
- •7. To Be & To Have / Etre & avoir
- •Note: Je and any verb form that starts with a vowel (or silent h) combine together for ease of pronunciation.
- •Ordinal Numbers / Les nombres ordinaux
- •10. Days of the Week / Les jours de la semaine
- •11. Months of the Year / Les mois de l'annEe
- •14. Colors & Shapes / Les couleurs & les formes
- •15. Weather / Le temps qu'il fait
- •17. Family & Animals / La famille & les animaux
- •Note: Le gendre /ʒɑ̃dʀ/ is another word for son-in-law.
- •18. To Know People & Places / connaitre & savoir
- •19. Formation of Plural Nouns / la formation des noms pluriels
- •20. Possessive Adjectives / les adjectifs possessifs
14. Colors & Shapes / Les couleurs & les formes
Red |
rouge |
/ʀuʒ/ |
square |
le carré |
/kaʀe/ |
Orange |
orange |
/ɔʀɑ̃ʒ/ |
circle |
le cercle |
/sɛʀkl/ |
Yellow |
jaune |
/ʒon/ |
triangle |
le triangle |
/tʀijɑ̃gl/ |
Green |
vert / verte |
/vɛʀ/ /vɛʀt/ |
rectangle |
le rectangle |
/ʀɛktɑ̃gl/ |
Blue |
bleu / bleue |
/blø/ |
oval |
l'ovale |
/ɔval/ |
Purple |
violet / violette |
/vjɔlɛ/ /vjɔlɛt/ |
cube |
le cube |
/kyb/ |
White |
blanc / blanche |
/blɑ̃/ /blɑ̃ʃ/ |
sphere |
la sphère |
/sfɛʀ/ |
Brown |
brun / brune marron |
/bʀõ/ /bʀyn/ /maʀɔ̃/ |
cylinder |
le cylindre |
/silɛ̃dʀ/ |
Black |
noir / noire |
/nwaʀ/ |
cone |
le cône |
/kon/ |
Pink |
rose |
/ʀoz/ |
octagon |
l'octogone |
/ɔktogɔn/ |
Gold |
doré / dorée |
/dɔʀe/ |
box |
la boîte |
/bwat/ |
Silver |
argenté / argentée |
/aʀʒɑ̃te/ |
light |
clair / claire |
/klɛʀ/ |
Gray |
gris / grise |
/gʀi/ /gʀiz/ |
dark |
foncé / foncée |
/fɔ̃se/ |
Some adjectives of color do not change to agree with gender or number, such as adjectives that also exist as nouns: orange, marron, rose; and compound adjectives: bleu clair, noir foncé remain masculine even if they describe a feminine noun. Remember to place the color adjective after the noun.
15. Weather / Le temps qu'il fait
What's the weather like? |
Quel temps fait-il ? |
/kɛl tɑ̃ fɛ til/ |
It's nice |
Il fait bon |
/il fɛ bɔ̃/ |
bad |
Il fait mauvais |
/il fɛ mɔve/ |
cool |
Il fait frais |
/il fɛ fʀɛ/ |
cold |
Il fait froid |
/il fɛ fʀwɑ/ |
warm, hot |
Il fait chaud |
/il fɛ ʃo/ |
cloudy |
Il fait nuageux |
/il fɛ nyaʒ/ |
beautiful |
Il fait beau |
/il fɛ bo/ |
mild |
Il fait doux |
/il fɛ du/ |
stormy |
Il fait orageux |
/il fɛ ɔʀaʒ/ |
sunny |
Il fait soleil |
/il fɛ sɔlɛj/ |
humid |
Il fait humide |
/il fɛ ymid/ |
muggy |
Il fait lourd |
/il fɛ luʀ/ |
windy |
Il fait du vent |
/il fɛ dy vɑ̃/ |
foggy |
Il fait du brouillard |
/il fɛ dy bʀujaʀ/ |
snowing |
Il neige |
/il nɛʒ/ |
raining |
Il pleut |
/il plø/ |
freezing |
Il gèle |
/il ʒɛl/ |
hailing |
Il grêle |
/il gʀɛl/ |
It is ____ degrees. |
Il fait ____ degrés. |
/il fɛ __ dəgʀe/ |
Il pleut des cordes /il plø de koʀd/ is a common expression meaning it's pouring. Il caille /il kaj/ or ça caille /sa kaj/ is slang for it's freezing. And remember that France uses Celcius degrees.
16. Time / Le temps qui passe
What time is it? |
Quelle heure est-il ? |
/kɛl œʀ ɛ til/ |
It is... |
Il est... |
/il ɛ/ |
one o'clock |
une heure |
/yn œʀ/ |
two o'clock |
deux heures |
/dø zœʀ/ |
noon |
midi |
/midi/ |
midnight |
minuit |
/minɥi/ |
a quarter after three |
trois heures et quart |
/tʀwɑ zœʀ e kaʀ/ |
one o'clock sharp |
une heure précise |
/yn œʀ pʀesiz/ |
four o'clock sharp |
quatre heures précises |
/katʀœʀ pʀesiz/ |
twelve thirty |
midi (minuit) et demi |
/midi (minɥi) e dəmi/ |
six thirty |
six heures et demie |
/si zœʀ e dəmi/ |
a quarter to seven |
sept heures moins le quart |
/sɛt œʀ mwɛ̃ lə kaʀ/ |
five twenty |
cinq heures vingt |
/sɛ̃k œʀ vɛ̃/ |
ten fifty |
onze heures moins dix |
/ɔ̃z œʀ mwɛ̃ dis/ |
in the morning/AM |
du matin |
/dy matɛ̃/ |
in the afternoon/PM |
de l'après-midi |
/də lapʀɛmidi/ |
in the evening/PM |
du soir |
/dy swaʀ/ |
Official French time is expressed as military time (24 hour clock.) You can only use regular numbers, and not demi, quart, etc. when reporting time with the 24 hour system. For example, if it is 18h30, you must say dix-huit heures trente. The word pile /pil/ is also a more informal way of saying précise (exactly, sharp).