BASIC FRENCH EXPRESSIONS

Bonjour - Hello
Merci - Thank you
S’il vous plaît - Please
Comment allez-vous ? - How are you?
Je m’appelle... - My name is...
Je ne comprends pas - I don't understand
Je ne sais pas - I don't know
Que veut dire ___ ? - What does ___ mean?
Où est … ? - Where is ...?
Pouvez-vous m’aider? - Can you help me?
Je voudrais... - I would like...

1. Bonjour! (Good morning, hello)

2. Bienvenue. (Welcome.)

3. Madame/Monsieur/Mademoiselle (Mrs. /Mr. /Miss)

4. Pardon, excusez-moi. (Pardon, excuse me.)

5. Parlez-vous anglais? (Do you speak English?)

6. Je ne parle pas français. (I do not speak French.)

7. À tout à l’heure! (See you later!)

8. Merci/Merci beaucoup. (Thank you/Thank you very much.)

9. Au revoir! (Goodbye!)

10. De rien. (You’re welcome.)

French English
Excusez-moi, je n’ai pas compris. Excuse me, I did not understand.

Pouvez-vous répéter s’il vous plaît ? Can you repeat please?

Qu’est-ce que vous avez dit ? What did you say?

Pardon ? Sorry?

Comment ? How?

Quoi ? What?

French Question Words Explained

Qui (who)

Pronunciation: Ki (like “key”)

When it comes to putting questions together, qui is what’s called an interrogative

pronoun meaning who or whom. It can also be used to follow the
prepositions avec, pour, à, and de in a question.

Qui sera là ? – Who will be there?

Avec qui va-t-il à Paris ? – Who is he going to Paris with?

Que (what)

Pronunciation: Keuh (“euh” like the u in “murder” if you stopped before the r)

Que is another interrogative pronoun, but instead of standing in (typically) for a person,
it stands in for an object. We use it just like we use “what” in English. It’s also used to
mean “what” in the common interrogative phrase qu’est que (and similar question
forms), which we’ll cover in the next section.

Worth noting: While the other French question words don’t contract, que always
contracts to qu’ when paired with a word that starts with a vowel. For that reason, with
certain verbs, it simply sounds more natural to use qu’est-ce que rather than que on its
own. Qu’est-ce que is also much less formal than the inversion, no matter what letter
the verb starts with, so it’s often preferable!
Que fais-tu ? – What are you doing?

Qu’est-ce que c’est ? – What is it?

Qu’est-ce qu’il écrit ? – What is he writing?

Quoi (what)

Pronunciation: Kwah

Quoi is basically a form of que – it means “what” – but it’s used after a preposition or
when put at the end of a sentence to ask a casual question. When used as an
interrogative pronoun, que usually appears at the beginning of questions, while quoi is
usually used anywhere else in the sentence (except in slangy phrases like quoi de
neuf?).

C’est quoi ? – What is it?

À quoi penses-tu ? – What are you thinking about? (formal)

Tu penses à quoi ? – What are you thinking about? (informal)

Quoi de neuf ? – What’s new?

Où (where)

Pronunciation: Ooh

Où is, simply enough, the French word for “where”, indicating place. You can use it at
the beginning or the end of a question. It can also be used outside of questions to
simply say “where,” as in, “the street where I live” – la rue où j’habite.

Où est ta voiture ? – Where is your car?

Où est-ce qu’ils mangent ? – Where do they eat?

Le restaurant se trouve où ? – Where is the restaurant? (formal)

Il est où le restaurant ? – Where is the restaurant? (informal)

Quand (when)

Pronunciation: Kahn (just barely saying the n, stopping your tongue before it hits the
roof of your mouth)
Quand is used to say “when” in French. It can be used, like où, to form a question or to
say the word “when” in a sentence. As with all other question words, it can be (and
frequently is) paired with est-ce que.

Quand partez-vous ? – When do you (all) leave?

Quand est-ce qu’elle arrive ? – When does she arrive?

Pourquoi (why)

Pronunciation: Poor-kwah (por as in “to pour water”)

Pourquoi is the French word for why, used to ask about cause or reason. Outside of a
question, it also means “why,” as in, “tell me why you came here” – dis-moi pourquoi tu
es venu ici.

Pourquoi as-tu apporté un parapluie ? – Why did you bring an umbrella?

Pourquoi est-ce qu’elle rit ? – Why is she laughing?

Comment (how)

Pronunciation: Kum-ahn (“um” as in “umbrella,” “ahn” just barely saying the n, stopping
your tongue before it hits the roof of your mouth)

Comment is French for “how”, meaning it can ask about method and means or status –
for example, “how is the baby?” (status), or “how did the cow end up on the roof?”
(method/means).

Comment ça va ? – How are you?

Comment est-ce que cette pizza est arrivée ici ? – How did this pizza get here?

Combien (how much/how many)

Pronunciation: Com-bee-en (“com” as in “communicate”, “en” as in “enter,” but just

barely saying the n, stopping your tongue before it hits the roof of your mouth)

Combien is used in French to ask both “how much” and “how many”. Importantly, when
combien is used before a noun, it is always paired with de.

Combien coûte la jupe ? – How much does the skirt cost?

Combien de personnes viennent ? – How many people are coming?

Quel/quels/quelle/quelles (who/which)
When we want to ask which of something, broadly, we use quel. This breaks down
as quel form masculine singular nouns, quels for masculine plural (or plural mixed
gender) nouns, quelle for feminine singular nouns, and quelles for feminine plural
nouns. This is different from lequel and laquelle in that it’s less specific/immediate –
lequel is used to look at a group of something and say “which one (of these)”,
while quel is “which” more broadly.

Quelles chaussettes aimez-vous ? – Which socks do you like?

Tu as acheté quel chapeau ? – Which hat did you buy?

Quels fromages est-ce que vous aimez ? – Which cheeses do you (all) like?

Lequel, laquelle (which one)

Lequel and laquelle also mean which, but, as described above, they specifically ask
“Which one?” Similarly, lesquels and lesquelles are the plurals, meaning “Which ones?”
These words can also refer back to something previously mentioned, as in “Here are
our pastries. Which one do you want?” – Voici nos pâtisseries. Tu veux lesquelles?

Lequel est votre sac à main ? – Which one is your purse?

Laquelle de ces chansons aimes-tu ? – Which of these songs do you like?

À qui (whose) and à quoi (of what)

Pronunciation: Ah ki (key), ah kwah

Lastly, we have à qui and à quoi. Now that you know what qui and quoi are, this should
be pretty easy. À is a preposition that can, depending on context, mean to, in, at, with,
by, upon, or of, so à qui means “whose” or “to whom” and à quoi means, loosely, “of
what”. While “to whom” and “of what” sound pretty formal in English, in French, these
are pretty common phrases and not nearly as stiff sounding.

À qui est ce manteau ? – Whose coat is this?

À qui écris-tu ? – To whom are you writing?

À quoi penses-tu ? – What are you thinking?

Il s’attend à quoi ? – What is he expecting?

 French classroom expressions

Phrases for teachers

Pour les profs Teachers

Aujourd’hui Today
On va apprendre We're going to learn
concentrez-vous Concentrate
bravo! bravo!
excellent ! excellent!
très bien! very good!
tant pis! too bad
oh là là! oh dear
pas exactement not exactly
Oui, c'est ça! Yes, that's it.
Levez la main Put your hand up
Avez-vous fini? Have you finished?
Ne regardez pas! Don't look!
Dépêchez-vous! Hurry up!
Parle un peu plus fort Speak a bit louder
Parlez moins fort Speak more quietly
Essaie encore une fois Try another time
Où est ton cahier? Where is your exercise book?
Vous comprenez? Do you understand?
Fermez vos cahiers Close your exercise books
Ouvrez vos cahiers Open your exercise books
Il y a trop de bruit! There is too much noise!
ça suffit! That's enough!
Ne criez pas les réponses! Don't shout out the answers!
Calmez-vous! Calm down!
Vous pouvez faire mieux! You can do much better!
Tournez-vous! Turn round!
Ne te balance pas sur ta chaise! Don't swing on your chair
excellent excellent
Félicitations Congratulations
Assez bien Quite good
Bon effort Good try
pas mal not bad
Beaucoup mieux Much better
Passable ok
taisez-vous Be quiet
levez-vous Stand up
En rang et en silence Line up quietly
Entrez Come in
Sortez vos affaires Take out your equipment/things
Distribuez les livres Give out the books
Asseyez-vous Sit down
Prenez vos stylos Take out your pens
Copiez la date Copy the date
Copiez le titre Copy the title
puis then
Je vais faire l’appel I’m going to take the register / attendance
Posez vos stylos Put down your pens
Écoutez-moi Listen to me
Regardez le tableau Look at the board
Rangez vos affaires Tidy your things away
Instructions
Instructions Instructions
Remplissez la grille Complete the table
Mettez dans le bon ordre Put in the correct order
Cochez la bonne réponse Tick/cross the correct answer
Remplissez les blancs Fill in the blanks
Complétez en français Complete in French
Faites correspondre les images et les Match up the pictures and the
phrases sentences
Faites une liste en français Make a list in French
Identifiez les phrases correctes. Identify the correct sentences
Indiquez si les phrases sont vraies (V) Indicate if the sentences are true (V)
ou fausses (F) ou si on ne sait pas (?) or false (F) or if you are not told (?)
Lisez le texte Read the text
Lisez les phrases suivantes Read the following sentences
Mettez les illustrations dans le bon Put the illustrations in the right order
ordre
Mentionnez Mention
Notez Make a note of
Regardez cette publicité Look at this advert
Remplissez la grille en français Fill in the grid in French
Répondez aux questions en français Answer the questions in French
Soulignez Underline
Trouvez la bonne réponse Find the correct answer
Utilisez les mots dans la liste ci-dessous Use the words in the list below
Décrivez Describe
Ecoutez l'exemple Listen to the example
Lisez l'exemple Read the example
Ecrivez environ cent mots Write about 100 words
Ecrivez les détails dans le bon ordre Write the details in the right order
Cochez la case Tick the box

Where is your paper? Où est votre papier ?

• Turn in your homework. Rendez vos devoirs.
• Who wants to correct the work? Qui veux corriger le travail ?
• Make the corrections. Faites les corrections.
• Did you finish? Vous avez fini?
• Good job! C’est bien! Bravo !
During the class

• Show me . Montrez-moi .
• Repeat. Répétez !
• Repeat three times. Répétez trois fois.
• Take your book. Prenez votre livre.
• Open your book to page __ . Ouvrez votre livre à la page __.
• Close your books. Fermez vos livres.
• Do you understand? Vous comprenez…?
• What does that mean? Qu’est-ce que ça veut dire?
• Raise your hand. Levez la main.
• Look at the blackboard. Regardez le tableau noir.
• Take a sheet of paper. Prenez une feuille de papier.
• Read __. Lisez __ .
• Listen and repeat. Écoutez et répétez.
• Write this word. Écrivez ce mot.
• Spell this word, sentence. Épelez ce mot, cette phrase.
• You understand this word, sentence? Vous comprenez ce mot, cette
phrase ?
• How do you say _ in French? Comment on dit _ en français ?
• I’ll explain the word. J’explique le mot.
• Speak louder. Parlez plus fort.
• Ask the question. Posez la question.
• Who can reply/answer? Qui peut répondre?
• What’s the right answer? Quelle est la bonne réponse?
• Who can answer? Qui peut répondre?
• Who wants to read aloud? Qui veut lire à voix haute ?
• Do the exercise. Faites l’exercise.
• Work alone. Travaillez seul.
• Work with a partner, in pairs. Travaillez deux par deux.
• Work in small groups. Travaillez en petits groupes.
Discipline

• Sit down! Asseyez-vous !

• Who’s absent (not in class)? Qui est absent ?
• Pay attention! Faites attention !
• Leave the room! Sortez de la salle !
• Silence! Silence !
• Stand up! On your feet! Levez-vous ! Debout !
• Shut up at the back of the class! Taisez-vous au fond de la classe !
Phrases for students

Relating to homework

• Here’s my homework. Voici mes devoirs.

• I forgot my homework. J’ai oublié mes devoirs.
• I haven’t done my homework. Je n’ai pas fait mes devoirs.
• My dog ate my homework. Mon chien a mangé mes devoirs.
During class

• What page? Quelle page

• Where’s my textbook. Où est mon manuel scolaire.
• I lost my notebook. J’ai perdu mon cahier.
• I don’t have a book, a pen. Je n’ai pas de livre, de stylo
• How do you write this word? Comment écrit-on ce mot ?
• How do you say _ in French? Comment dit-on _ en français?
• I’m having a hard time ___ . J’ai du mal à ___.
• Can you teach ? Pouvez-vous enseigner ?
• I already learned this word. J’ai déjà appris ce mot.
• What does that mean? Qu’est-ce que ça veut dire ?
• I don’t understand. Je ne comprends pas.
• I understand. Je comprends.
• How do you pronounce this word? Comment prononce-t-on ce mot?
• Could you repeat, please? Vous pouvez répéter, s’il vous plaît ?
• You’re speaking to fast. Vous parlez trop vite.
• Speak slower. Parlez moins vite.
J’ai fini! I have finished
Pouvez-vous répéter? Can you repeat that?
Comment dit-on … en français? How do you say... in French?
Comment dit-on … en anglais? How do you say ... in English?
Je m’excuse d’être en retard. I am sorry I am late.
J'ai fini I've finished
Je n'ai pas fini I have not finished
Je peux emprunter une règle? May I borrow a ruler?
Comment ça s'écrit? How do you spell that?
Qu'est-ce que ça veut dire? What does it mean?
C'est quelle page? What page?
Pouvez-vous m'aider? Can you help me, please?
J'ai un problème I have a problem
Je ne me sens pas bien I don't feel well
Est-ce que je peux sortir? Can I go out?
Est-ce que je peux… Can I...
…aller aux toilettes? ...go to the toilet?
…emprunter un/une…? ...borrow a..?