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

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For French learners, the coveted native speed of speaking can seem unattainable, and while you can learn to understand it over time, it does take a little adjusting to. If you’re speaking to a local and would like them to speak a little more slowly, it’s better to just ask them, rather than suffering in silence.

This French phrasebook will teach you all the essential grammar tips you need, making sentence structures and genders a real breeze without you even realizing! If you meet people, get lost or just need to ask a local some questions, these expressions and sayings will help you out in most tourist scenarios and make your time in France truly memorable! And of course, your French phrasebooks or regional travel guides can offer you insight into customs, culture, etiquette and holidays. Make a list of activities Guess what? Those pronunciation "rules" you just read have a ton of exceptions! For example, the rule that a final r is pronounced is not true in the combination "-er", normally found in verb infinitives; this letter combination is pronounced ay. The plural ending "-ent" for verbs is silent (except for the t, in cases of liaison), even though it is pronounced when it appears in other words. Sometimes, whether to pronounce the final consonant of a word is denoted by its grammatical function; for example, the final "s" in tous (all) is silent when used as an adjective, but pronounced when used as a pronoun, while the final "f" in nouns such as cerf (deer) and œuf (egg) is pronounced in the singular form, but in the plural form ( cerfs, œufs) the "f" and the "s" are both silent. If the next word begins with a vowel, a consonant may be pronounced; this is called liaison. For example, allez-y (≈ go ahead / off you go), is pronounced al-ay-ZEE, while mes amis (my friends) is pronounced MEZ-ah-MEE .If you find yourself doing something new, you can rest assured that there will be a few phrases and words to help you out. 2. Lonely Planet French Phrasebook The phrases in the book relate to traveling abroad, finding a hotel or hostel and exchanging currencies and are sure to make your travel time a breeze! OPEN Ouvert ( oo-VAIR) CLOSED Fermé ( FEHR-may) OPENING HOURS Horaires d'ouverture ( Oh-RAIR doo-VAIR-tuur) ENTRANCE Entrée ( AHN-tray) EXIT Sortie ( sor-TEE) PUSH Poussez ( POO-say) PULL Tirez ( TEE-ray) TOILET Toilettes ( twah-LET) MEN Hommes ( om) WOMEN Femmes ( fam) DISABLED Handicapés ( on-dee-KAP-ay) EMERGENCY EXIT Sortie de secours ( sor-TEE duh suh-COOR) FORBIDDEN Interdit, Défendu ( ehn-tair-DEE, day-fahn-DUU) NO PARKING Stationnement interdit, Défense de stationner ( STAH-syonn-mon an-tair-DEE, day-FAHNS duh STAH-syonn-ay) YIELD / GIVE WAY Cédez le passage ( SAY-day luh pah-SAHZH) STOP Stop ( stop) / Arrêt ( Ah-RAY) OPEN Ouvert CLOSED Fermé (shop), Barrée (road) ENTRANCE Entrée EXIT Sortie PUSH Poussez PULL Tirez TOILET Toilette MEN Hommes WOMEN Femmes FORBIDDEN Interdit, Défendu Unlike in English, where we say “I am looking for…” the French don’t use a preposition (“for”) after the verb, and simply follow this phrase with what they’re searching for.

One great phrasebooks for French learners are the “Collins French Phrasebook,” which contains a French dictionary for your convenience. For many French words, it is impossible to write something which, when pronounced as English, sounds like the French word. Use the transliteration as a guide to liaison and the French spelling to pronounce the vowels. If there are a group of you, replace ma photo (my photo) with notre photo (our photo). And to be polite, start your request with excusez-moi monsieur/madame. Stress is fairly even in French, but the stress almost always falls on the last syllable. In words where the stress falls on an earlier syllable, it's not uncommon to hear the last syllable or sound of some words cut off or "swallowed." For example, Possible can sound like poss-EEB and hymne can sound like eem. This is particularly noticeable in Quebec, but exists in other accents too.

What Was That? Clarifying French Phrases

la tienne ! (to yours!) works for casual one-on-one scenarios. Tchin tchin ! (clink clink!) has the benefit of being pretty cute and onomatopoeic. FluentU brings native French videos with reach. With interactive captions, you can tap on any word to see an image, definition and useful examples.

France is notorious for its etiquette rules and, if you’re not aware of them, you could find yourself in a very tight spot. Helping you to separate your tu from your vous, and to spot the correct greeting for any situation, the Lonely Planet guide can be an invaluable tool to use. Saying “hello” and “goodbye” to people in official settings is essential in France, and something that you might not naturally do.If you’re learning French, chances are you’ll want to practice your language skills when you go out there. However, it can be intimidating approaching a native—letting them know that you’re not fluent will really put your mind to rest! Pouvez-vous répéter, s’il vous plaît ? (Could you repeat that, please?) Parlez plus lentement, s’il vous plaît. (Speak a little slower, please.)

For more options, you’ll want to explore Lonely Planetto see what’s available. There are French phrasebooks for every corner of the French-speaking world, and some have additional features like accompanying audio files, travel guides or apps. Research local customs Getting to grips with all food types is essential and, with this phrasebook’s in-depth menu decoder, you’ll never have to face an unknown plate again!Grammar [ edit ] Like Spanish and German, but unlike English, the French language is governed by an official regulator - L'Académie française. Headquartered in Paris (shown here), the Académie issues guidance and recommendations on good French, and its occasional spelling reforms are often controversial. Gender and its complications [ edit ] Often, French people are so pleased to find a foreigner who’s able to speak their language that they’ll get a little carried away and enthusiastically try to start a complex conversation. While situations like these are incredible if you’re a learner, they can also be very intimidating.