✚ Objectives:
- Learn basic French greetings and pronunciation.
- Learn basic common French phrases.
1. French Greetings
Let’s start by saying a few basic words in French.
| French | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| bonjour | bon-zhoor | Hello |
| bonsoir | bon-swahr | Good evening |
| au revoir | oh ruh-vwar | Goodbye |
| oui | wee | Yes |
| non | nawn | No |
2. Basic Pronunciation Guide
Let’s start with the consonants.
There are many similarities between English and French:
The consonants “b, c, d, f, g, k, l, m, n, p, s, t, v, x, z” are generally pronounced the same way in French and in English.
- “Ch” is generally pronounced [ʃ] like “sh” in English
chocolat, chat
“ph” is generally pronounced [f] like “f” in English
Examples :
philosophie, éléphant
- Some words are also pronounced [k], they are few in number:
orchestre, technique, charisme
Now let’s look at some vowels:
- “i” is pronounced [i] like in “see”, “she”, “me”
Examples:
ici, merci, île
- “a” is generally pronounced [a] or [ɑ] as in “lie”, “why”, “not”, “on”, “dog”
Examples:
papa, magique, ami, animal
- “ou” is pronounced [u] like in “blue”, “too”
Examples:
chou, fou
- “o” is pronounced [o] or [ɔ] like in “go” or “door”
Examples :
passeport, fort, gros, démographie
Note: The final “e, s, t” are not pronounced.
Examples :
chat, chocolat, passeport, fort, gros
Exercise:
Read the words below:
free basic pronounciation guide
3. Common Phrases
| French | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| s’il vous plaît | see voo play | Please |
| merci | mair-see | Thank you |
| désolé | day-soh-lay | Sorry |
| excusez-moi | ex-kew-zay mwah | Excuse me |
| à plus tard | ah ploo tar | See you later |
| Comment allez-vous ? | kom-mawn tah-lay voo | How are you? (formal) |
| Ça va ? | sah vah | How are you? (informal) |
| Ça va bien, merci. | sah vah byan, mair-see | I’m good, thank you |
| Comme ci, comme ça. | kohm see, kohm sah | I’m so-so |
| Pas bien. | pah byan | Not good |
Practice Exercise
Try to use these phrases in a simple conversation. For example:
A: Bonjour!
B: Bonjour! Comment allez-vous ?
A: Ça va bien, merci. Et vous ?
B: Ça va bien, merci.
