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Dialogue
Sofia, a Spaniard, has just met Michel :
Michel: Bonjour, je m'appelle Michel. Comment vous appelez-vous ?
Sofía: Bonjour, Michel. Je m'appelle Sofía. Comment ça s'écrit, 'Michel' ?
Michel: Ça s'écrit M-I-C-H-E-L. Comment allez-vous ?
Sofía: Comme-ci comme-ça. Et vous ?
Michel: Très bien, merci.
Sofía: Bien ! À demain, Michel.
Michel: À demain !
Translation:
Michel: Bonjour, je m'appelle Michel. Comment vous appelez-vous ?
Hello, my name is Michel. What is your name?
Sofía: Bonjour, Michel. Je m'appelle Sofía. Comment ça s'écrit, 'Michel' ?
Hello, Michel. My name is Sofía. How is your name written, 'Michel' ?
Michel: Ça s'écrit M-I-C-H-E-L. Comment allez-vous ?
It is written M-I-C-H-E-L. How are you?
Sofía: Comme-ci comme-ça. Et vous ?
So-so. What about you?
Michel: Très bien, merci.
Very good, thanks.
Sofía: Bien ! À demain, Michel.
Well, see you tomorrow, Michel.
Michel: À demain !
See you tomorrow!
Vocabulary
French Vocabulary • 1 •  bogusOggFile (upload)
 Greetings  Les salutations |
| Salut |
Hi./Bye. |
(informal) |
| Bonjour |
Hello |
(more formal than salut)(all day) |
| Bonsoir |
Hello |
(after 19h00 [7:00 pm]) |
| Bonne soirée |
Good evening |
|
| Bonne nuit |
Good night |
bun nwee |
| Quoi de neuf ? |
What's up (about you)? (lit. what's new) |
|
| Pas grand-chose. |
Not much. (lit. not a lot of things) |
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French Vocabulary • 1 • audio (info •202 kb • help)
Good-bye Au revoir |
| Salut. |
Hi/Bye |
(informal) |
| Au revoir. |
Good-bye. |
ohrvwahr (ev not pronounced) |
| À demain. |
See you tomorrow. |
ah duhman (Lit: To/Until Tomorrow) |
| Au revoir, à demain. |
Bye, see you tomorrow. |
|
| À tout à l'heure. |
See you (later today)! |
ah tootah luhr |
| À la prochaine. |
See you (tomorrow)! |
ah lah proh shayn |
| À bientôt. |
See you soon. |
ah byantoe |
| Ciao |
Bye. |
chow (Italian) |
French Vocabulary • 1 • audio (info •111 kb • help)
Introductions Introductions |
Comment vous appellez-vous? (formal),
Tu t'appelles comment? (informal),
Quel est ton nom? (informal) |
What is your name? (Literally, "How do you call yourself?")
What is your name? (Literally, "Which is your name?") |
| Je m'appelle _____. |
My name is _____. (literally "I call myself _____.") |
| Mon nom est _____. |
My name is _____. (literally "My name is _____.") |
French Vocabulary • 1 • audio (info •105 kb • help)
How are you? Ça va? |
Comment allez-vous? (formal),
Comment vas-tu? (informal),
Comment ça va?/Ça va? (informal) |
How are you? |
| Ça va (très) bien. |
I'm(very) well.
(lit. It's going (very) well.) |
| Oui, ça va. |
I'm ok. (literally "Yes, it goes.") |
| Très bien, merci. |
Very well, thanks. |
| Pas mal. |
Not bad. |
| pas si bien/pas très bien |
not so well |
| (très) mal |
(very) bad |
| Comme ci, comme ça. |
So-So. |
| Désolé(e). |
I'm sorry. |
Et toi ?
Et vous ? |
And you? (informal)
And you? (formal) |
/Exercises>>
The Alphabet
Normal letters
In french, there are 26 normal letters and some symbols are used to change the sound of the letter. Those are mostly accents, and a cedilla.
French Grammar • 1 • bogusOggFile (upload)
The French Alphabet L'alphabet français |
| letter |
pronunciation |
name in French
(in IPA transcription) |
| Aa |
like a in father |
/a/ |
| Bb |
like b in baby* |
/be/ |
| Cc |
before e and i: like c in center
before a, o, or u: like c in cat |
/se/ |
| Dd |
like d in dog |
/de/ |
| Ee |
approx. like u in burp** |
/ə/ |
| Ff |
like f in fog |
/ɛf/ |
| Gg |
before e and i: like s in measure
before a, o, or u: like g in get |
/ʒe/ |
| Hh |
aspirated h: see note below*
non-aspirated h: not pronounced*** |
/aʃ/ |
| Ii |
like ea in team
like a in sam |
/i/ |
| Jj |
like s in measure |
/ʒi/ |
| Kk |
like k in kite |
/ka/ |
| Ll |
like l in lemon |
/ɛl/ |
| Mm |
like m in minute |
/ɛm/ |
| Nn |
like n in note |
/ɛn/ |
| Oo |
closed: approx. like u in nut
open: like o in nose |
/o/ |
| Pp |
like p in pen* |
/pe/ |
| Qq |
like k in kite |
/ky/ see 'u'
for details |
| Rr |
force air through the back of your throat
near the position of gargling,
but sounding soft |
/ɛʀ/ |
| Ss |
like s in sister at begining
of word or with two s's
or like z in amazing if only one s |
/ɛs/ |
| Tt |
like t in top |
/te/ |
| Uu |
Say the English letter e,
but make your lips say "oo". |
/y/ |
| Vv |
like v in violin |
/ve/ |
| Ww |
Depending on the derivation of the word,
like v as in violin, or w in water |
/dubləve/ |
| Xx |
either /ks/ in socks,
or /gz/ in exit |
/iks/ |
| Yy |
like ea in leak |
/igrək/ |
| Zz |
like z in zebra |
/zɛd/ |
The accents
French Grammar • 1 • audio (info •101 kb • help)
The accents Les accents |
| Accent |
Role |
name in French |
example in French |
| ` |
changes the sound of the e over which it is, but change the meaning of the word for an a or an u |
Accent grave |
achète, à, où |
| ´ |
Only over an e, to change the sound |
Accent aigu |
désolé(e) |
| ^ |
change the length of the vowel (longer than before) |
Accent circonflexe |
(un) hôtel |
| ¨ |
often over an e and with another vowel just before (e.g. uë), you've to say the 2 vowels distinctly and not together. |
Tréma |
Noël |
| ç |
Changes the sound for the C. Is only placed before an a, o or u. It makes the c become /s/. |
Cédille |
français |
Continuons!
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