15 must know words and phrases
- frenchitupwithmiss
- Apr 17, 2024
- 2 min read
The other day, I was asked what would be the best way to start teaching someone their language. Excellent question!
Where do you start? I believe that the best way to start is with words that we use every day.
Why? For two reasons:
1. since we use them every day, they will stick to our head very quickly, and
2. easy and smart way to get into the language. The only effort it will take is to remember to practice saying it. The rest will fall into place.
If someone else around you is learning the language, even better because they will remind you of the words, naturally, spontaneously, so there is no pressure either. If nobody is around to get you into it, hopefully this podcast will help you.
Let’s start with 15 words and expressions that we all use on a daily basis. To facilitate learning their pronunciation, I have added the made-up phonetics based on how words sound in English with examples. Please see the reference grid below.
Allez, c’est parti, 15 words to get into your head:
1. Hey – coucou [koo.koo]
2. How are you – ça va? [sah vah]
3 Fine – bien / pas mal [bee.on] / [pah mahl]
4. Not great /bad – bof – [bof]
5. Thank you – merci [mehr.see]
6 Sorry – désolé / pardon [pahr.don]
7. Please – s’il te plait /s’il vous plaît [seel voo pleh]
8. Bye – au revoir [o ruh.vwahr]
9. See you later – à toute/à plus tard [ah toot] / [ah plü tahr]
10. Yes – oui/ouai [wee] / [weh]
11. No – non/nan [non] / [nan]
12. Maybe – peut-être [puh tehtr]
13. I don’t understand – je ne comprends pas [juh nuh com.pron pah]
14. I don’t know – je ne sais pas [juh nuh seh pah]
15. Ok/alright – d’accord/d’acc/ça marche [dah.kor] / [dak] / [sah mahrsh]
In my teaching approach, the words do not follow the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). Instead, the phonetics are based on years of practice with students, who speak English, and come from across the UK and the world. This aims at making it easier to learn how to pronounce words the closest to what the French would do.
In order to facilitate the reading of the words and knowing where to naturally pause when saying the sentences, note that:
- there is a full stop (.) in between syllables.
Example: “coffee” would be [co.fee]
- there is a vertical bar (|) to know where to pause in between words.
Example: “I would like some coffee, please” would be [aï | wood laïk |som co.fee| pleez]
Reference grid
What the French looks like | What the French sounds like | Examples of French words and their pronunciation based on English British sounds |
a | [ah] | chat => [chah]
|
é (accent goes up from down left to top right => voice goes up)
Same for words ending with: • er • ez
| [ay] as in the English word “day”
When it gets confusing, think of Beyoncé. | café => [ka.fay]
réserver => [ray.sehr.vay]
chez => [shay]
|
è (accent goes down from top left to bottom right => voice goes down)
same for words ending with: • et • ê • ei • ai | [eh] as in the English word “eggs” or “red”.
When it gets confusing, think of “crème”.
Note: confusing point! The linking word “et”, meaning “and”, sounds like [ay]. | crème => [crehm]
filet => [fee.leh]
forêt => [fo.reh]
neige => [nehj]
j’aime => [jehm] |
e | At the end of a word: silent letter. Note: when it forms the last syllable, we do hear the consonant.
When “e” finishes a syllable within a word, it sounds like [uh]. | portable => [por.ta.bl]
rapide => [rah.peed]
revenu => [ruh.vuh.nü]
|
i | [ee]
| riz => [ree] |
u | This sound is harder than the others because it doesn’t exist in English. It does exist in German: [ü]
| jubilé – [jü.bee.lay] bus – [büs] plus – [plüs] |
oi | [wah]
| moi – [mwah] as if you were blowing a kiss |
un/in | This sound comes from the nose
| un (the number “1” in French) – [un] intéressant – [un.tay.ray.son] |
on | This sound comes from the nose
| long => [lon] |
en/an | This sound comes from the throat
| entrepreneur => [on.truh.pruh.nuhr] |
ent | At the end of a noun or adjective => [on] from the throat
at the end of a verb => silent | content => [con.ton]
parlent => [parl] |
tie/tion
ta/te/ti/to/tu | The “t” sounds like “ss”
The “t” sounds like “t” of “tea”
| addition => [ah.dee.see.on]
tennis => [tay.neess] |
ca/co/cu
ça/ce/ci | The “c” sounds like “k”
The “ç” and “c” sounds like “ss” | camera => [kah.may.rah]
place => [plahss] |
gn | [knee] or [knuh]
| gagné => [ga.knee.ay] |
ille | [ee.yuh]
| famille => [fa.me.yuh] |
aille | [aï] or [ah.ee] This is the same sound that you hear in the country: “Thailand”.
| taille => [taï] |
s, t, p, x
h | At the end of a word, silent letters.
At the start of the words, the “h” is silent. | pas => [pah] petit => [puh.tee] trop => [tro] sérieux => [say.ree.uh] hôtel => [o.tehl] |
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