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    Easy French Phrase Book: Over 1500 Common Phrases For Everyday Use And Travel
    Easy French Phrase Book: Over 1500 Common Phrases For Everyday Use And Travel
    Easy French Phrase Book: Over 1500 Common Phrases For Everyday Use And Travel
    Ebook209 pages3 hours

    Easy French Phrase Book: Over 1500 Common Phrases For Everyday Use And Travel

    By Lingo Mastery

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    About this ebook

    What is the hardest challenge you’ve faced as a student of the French language?


    You can work hard on your grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation, but being able to communicate naturally isn’t easy.


    In fact, the toughest part of learning French is knowing how to speak like a native.



    Most textbooks are made to teach you the traditional rules and structures of a language and are great for getting around the grammar and spelling questions you may have.


    However, how many of them provide you the tools necessary to have a common conversation with a best friend or someone you’ve just met? Not many at all.


    Language learners often complain about this – a lack of material that can help you familiarize yourself with the most common phrases used in everyday conversation and in native surroundings.


    For this reason, we at Lingo Mastery have developed Easy French Phrase Book: Over 1500 Common Phrases for Everyday Use and Travel for you, our favorite language-learner, so that you may find the best expressions for common usage in France and communicate with your French friends, colleagues and client without any issue!


    In this book:


    - An introduction with a detailed guide on how to pronounce vowels and consonants (as well as their combinations) in the French tongue.


    - A list of over 1500 common phrases in French, with an accurate translation in English for your understanding.


    - A phonetics pronunciation guide of each and every word in the phrases, included after every translation.


    - Finally, a conclusion to make sure you’ve learned and supply you with a final list of tips.


    Your days struggling with natural communication with natives is finally over. Our Easy French Phrase Book is here.


    It’s time for you to take your French to the next level.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherLingo Mastery
    Release dateAug 11, 2021
    ISBN1951949080
    Easy French Phrase Book: Over 1500 Common Phrases For Everyday Use And Travel

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      Book preview

      Easy French Phrase Book - Lingo Mastery

      Introduction

      If you have finally decided to visit France, one of the richest countries in history and culture, then you can't help but consider the words, phrases, and ways of saying things that you will use in certain situations, which you must know before leaving. This is all the more important since the average awareness of English in France is not that good, compared to other countries.

      Thanks to this book, we will see how to deal with many situations that can be simple, complicated, funny, or even not funny at all – all those real situations that a tourist will experience when, for example, they are seeking activities to do, order a perfectly cooked filet mignon in a restaurant, or simply don’t want to be bothered.

      Think of the souvenirs to bring back to a relative. Do you want to negotiate on the price or ask for a discount? It is certainly here that you will need to find the way to express yourself correctly.

      Most of the time, a translation with the vocabulary at your fingertips is the best solution, and therefore, why not take precautions and study a few phrases that could amaze your fellow travelers or your interlocutors?

      Of course, there are some obstacles to overcome. Let's see, for example, what can create difficulties at a phonetic level in the French language.

      Pronunciation of French vowels

      There are six vowels in the French language: A, E, I, O, U, Y.

      The vowel A

      ‘A’ is usually pronounced like the ‘a’ in the English word flat, widening the corners of the mouth (denoted by ‘aa’ in the guide). However, it is sometimes pronounced like the ‘a’ in the English word father, opening the mouth more vertically (denoted by ‘ah’ in the guide), specifically when it appears with a circumflex accent (â), a grave accent (à), or when it is the last voiced letter in a word (i.e. the consonant or consonants following it are silent). It can be pronounced ‘ah’ in a few other places with no rhyme or reason, but more often than not, the ‘aa’ pronunciation will prevail.

      Avis (opinion), aa-vee

      Madame (lady), maa-daam

      Bâtir (to build), bah-teer

      Déjà (already), day-zhah

      Gras (fat), grah

      The vowel E

      ‘E’ has a variety of pronunciations, depending on its accent or lack thereof.

      Revenir (to return), ruh-vuh-neer

      Petite (small), puh-teet

      Cabane (shack), kaa-baan

      Été (summer / been), ey-tey

      Déménager (to move house), dey-mey-naa-zhey

      Café (coffee), kaa-fey

      Père (father), pehr

      Très (very), treh

      Fête (celebration), feht

      Rêve (dream), rehv

      Noël (Christmas), noh-ehl

      The vowel I

      The ‘I’ is always pronounced ‘ee,’ like the English word meet, even when it has a circumflex accent (î) or a diaresis mark (ï). This is denoted by ‘ee’ in the guide.

      Finir (to finish), fee-neer

      Prix (price), pree

      Dîner (to eat dinner), dee-ney

      Egoïste (selfish), ey-goh-eest

      The vowel O

      The ‘O’ is always pronounced like the ‘oa’ in the English word boat (even with a circumflex accent, ‘ô’) but with motionless lips, not pursing toward a ‘w’ sound at the end. This is denoted by ‘oh’ in the guide.

      Mot (word), moh

      Rose (pink), rohz

      Hôpital (hospital), oh-pee-taal

      The vowel U

      The ‘U’ is pronounced with tightly pursed lips and sounds like the ‘ew’ in the English word hew but with motionless lips that do not purse toward a ‘w’ at the end. Here again, a circumflex accent or a diaeresis mark do not alter the pronunciation. It is denoted by ‘u’ in the guide

      Lecture (reading), lehk-tur

      Salut (hello), saa-lu

      Musique (music), mu-zeek

      The vowel Y

      The ‘Y’ is prounounced the same as the ‘I,’ like the ‘ee’ in the English word meet. This is denoted by ‘ee’ in the guide.

      Anonyme (anonymous), aa-noh-neem

      Hyperbole (hyperbole), ee-pehr-bohl

      Système (system), sees-tehm

      Pronunciation of French diphthongs

      There are more diphthongs than vowels in the French language, and each has its own unique pronunciation.

      The diphthongs AI and EI

      ‘AI’ is pronounced like the French è, like the ‘e’ in the English word set. This is denoted by ‘eh’ in the guide.

      Faire (to do), fehr

      Frais (fresh, cold), freh

      Américaine (female American), aa-may-ree-kehn

      Neige (snow), neh-zh

      Peine (penalty), pehn

      Seize (sixteen), sehz

      Note: when the ‘I’ has a diaeresis mark (ï), ‘A’ and ‘I’ should be pronounced separately, ‘aa-ee.’

      Haïr (to hate), aa-eer

      Naïve (naïve), naa-eev

      The diphthong AU and triphthong EAU

      ‘AU’ and ‘EAU’ are pronounced like the French ‘O’ but with motionless lips, not pursing toward a ‘w’ sound at the end, similar to the ‘o’ in the English word rote. This is denoted by ‘oh’ in the guide.

      Automobile (car), oh-toh-moh-beel

      Faute (fault), foht

      Beau (handsome), boh

      Niveau (level), nee-voh

      Panneau (panel), pah-noh

      The diphthongs EU and ŒU

      ‘EU’ and ‘œu’ are pronounced similarly to the unaccented ‘E’ but with the lips pursed even more, like the ‘u’ in the English word hurdle. This is denoted by ‘uh’ in the guide.

      Peur (fear), puhr

      Heureux (happy), uh-ruh

      Feu (fire), fuh

      Cœur, kuhr

      Œuf, uhf

      Please note that when ‘EU’ is found alone, it is the past participle of the verb avoir (to have) and should be pronounced as ‘u’ and not ‘uh.’

      J’ai eu (I had), zhey u

      The diphthong OI

      ‘OI’ is pronounced like the ‘wa’ in the English word water. This is denoted by ‘wah’ in the guide.

      Boire (to drink), bwahr

      L’oiseau (the bird), lwah-zoh

      The diphthong OU

      ‘OU’ is pronounced with the lips completely pursed into a circle and motionless, like the ‘oo’ in the English word moor. This is denoted by ‘oo’ in the guide.

      Bouger (to move), boo-zhey

      Outre (furthermore), ootr

      Pronunciation of the nasal vowels and some specific French sounds

      There are some French sounds that do not have any equivalent in English.

      The first category is called the nasal vowels, as they are pronounced by passing air through the nose and mouth, as opposed to the oral vowels already discussed, which only require passing air through the mouth. They are a combination of one (or two) vowels and a consonant.

      The second category is combinations of letters with the diphthong ‘IL,’ which is pronounced like the ‘y’ in the English word yes and can alter the letters preceding and following it.

      Let’s start with the nasal vowels. Please note, these are ONLY nasalized when the letter following the combination is a consonant that is different from the combination’s consonant or if the combination itself forms the final letters of the word. If the combination is followed by a vowel or its consonant is doubled, the combinations are not nasalized but rather pronounced separately and normally. An example of each is given for all combinations, one followed by a consonant (nasalized), one by a vowel (not nasalized), and one with a doubled consonant (not nasalized) to show the difference.

      The nasal vowels AN, AM, EM, and EN [ãn]

      These are all pronounced like a nasalized ‘aun’ in the English word laundry. The ‘EN’ only falls into this category when not at the end of a word, otherwise it joins the following category (ĩn). These are denoted by ‘ãn’ in the guide.

      Letters

      Grand, grãn

      Vanille, vaa-nee-y

      Ambre, ãn-mbr

      Amour, aa-moor

      Membre, mãn-mbr

      Demi, duh-mee

      The nasal vowels IN, IM, AIN, AIM, and EIN [ĩn]

      These are all pronounced like a nasalized ‘an’ in the English word angle. The ‘EN’ falls into this category when found at the end of a word; otherwise it is part of the previous category (ãn). These are denoted by ‘ĩn’ in the guide.

      Letters

      Intéressé, ĩn-tey-reh-sey

      Minaret, mee-naa-reh

      Importer, ĩn-pohr-tey

      Rime, reem

      Pain, pĩn

      Laine, lehn

      Faim, fĩn

      Aimer, ehm-ey

      Peinture, pĩn-tur

      Peine, pehn

      The nasal vowels ON and OM [õn]

      This one is pronounced like a nasalized ‘o’ in the English word orange.

      Letters

      Tronc, trõn

      Rhône, rohn

      The nasal vowel UN [ũn]

      This nasal vowel has only one formulation, ‘UN,’ and is always pronounced the same way, like the French word for one (un.) This is denoted by ‘ũn’ in the guide.

      Letters

      The French specific sounds:

      The sound AIL/AILLE

      Pronounced ‘ah-ee,’ like the English word eye. Denoted by ‘ah-ee’ in the guide.

      Travail (work), traa-vah-ee

      Bataille (battle), baa-tah-ee

      The sound AY/EIL/EILLE

      Pronounced ‘eh-ee,’ like the ‘ay’ in the English word pay. Denoted by ‘eh-ee’ in the guide.

      Paysage (landscape), peh-ee-zaazh

      Soleil (sun), soh-leh-ee

      Abeille (bee), aa-beh-ee

      The sound ILLE

      Pronounced like the ‘ee’ in the English word seeing with a slight ‘y’ sound after. Denoted by ‘ee-y’ in the guide.

      Bille (marble), bee-y

      Grille (grid), gree-y

      The sound EUIL/EUILLE

      Pronounced just like the French ‘eu’ but with a ‘y’ sound after, denoted by ‘uh-y’ in the guide.

      Ecureuil (squirrel), ey-ku-ruh-y

      Feuille (leaf), fuh-y

      How to pronounce the French consonants

      Now that we’ve covered the French vowels, it’s time to look at how consonants behave. Most consonants are pronounced as in English; however, you have to be careful with a few of them.

      They can be doubled, but it does not change the pronunciation most of the time.

      The consonant B

      Same as the English ‘B’ but silent when final:

      Beau (handsome), boh

      Plomb (lead), plõn

      The consonant C

      Pronunciation of the ‘C’ depends on the letter that follows it, with a few easy exceptions.

      C followed by a back vowel (A, O, or U) or a consonant

      Hard, pronounced like K unless given a cedilla (ç), in which case it becomes soft, like S:

      Café (coffee), kaa-fey

      Collier (necklace), koh-lee-ey

      Curieux (curious), ku-ree-uh

      Crayon (pencil), kreh-yõn

      Façade, faa-saad

      Façonner (to shape), faa-soh-ney

      Reçu (received), ruh-su

      C followed by a front vowel (E, I, or Y)

      Always soft, pronounced like S:

      Place, plass

      Ici (here), ee-see

      Cycle, seekl

      Double C, ‘CC’

      The first ‘c’ is hard, like K, and the second one follows the rules above, hard before a back vowel and soft before a front one:

      Accord (agreement), aa-kohr

      Accent, aak-sãn

      C followed by an H, ‘CH’

      Pronounced

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