Basic Phrases

If you want to start speaking French, basic French phrases are the fastest way in. This topic hands you the everyday lines real French speakers use to greet someone, introduce themselves, ask for directions, and keep a friendly conversation going.

Essential French Phrases for Beginners

You'll cover the situations that come up first when you travel or meet someone new. That means greetings like bonjour (hello) and bonsoir (good evening), introducing yourself with je m'appelle (my name is), and saying where you're from and what you do. There are the polite words every beginner needs too, from merci (thank you) to excusez-moi (excuse me) and s'il vous plaît (please).

From there you'll practice asking for directions with phrases like à gauche (to the left) and à droite (to the right), and you'll handle a bit of weather small talk using lines like il fait beau (the weather is nice) and il fait froid (it's cold). One quiz even drops you into a real ticket-counter conversation at a Paris train station, so you can test how much you follow when French comes at you naturally.

French Phrases with Audio Pronunciation

Every phrase comes with audio so you can hear exactly how it should sound. French spelling and French sound don't always line up, and silent letters trip up almost everyone at the start. Listening as you learn means you pick up the rhythm and the tricky vowels from the beginning, instead of guessing and having to unlearn bad habits later.

How the quizzes work

Each quiz is short, around five minutes, so you can fit one in whenever you have a spare moment. You can repeat any of them as often as you like, which is the real secret to making these phrases stick.

Did you know?

Here's something that surprises new learners: s'il vous plaît isn't a single word for "please." It literally means "if it pleases you," a little courtesy that French speakers turned into an everyday phrase. Weather works in a surprising way too, since French uses the verb faire (to do or make), so il fait froid reads literally as "it makes cold" rather than "it is cold."

Pick any quiz to get started, and try saying each phrase out loud along with the audio. These free French quizzes are interactive and quick, so you can build a handful of useful phrases today and come back for more whenever you like.