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Introducing yourself in French

Learn common French expressions for introducing yourself and meeting someone.

How to say goodbye in French

Learn common ways to say goodbye in French and choose an expression that fits the situation.

La fleur de lys

Découvrez pourquoi la fleur de lys est devenue l'un des symboles les plus reconnaissables de la monarchie française.

Pourquoi le drapeau français est-il bleu, blanc et rouge ?

Découvrez l'origine du bleu, du blanc et du rouge du drapeau français.

The fleur-de-lis

Discover why the fleur-de-lis became one of the most recognizable symbols of the French monarchy.

Why is the French flag blue, white, and red?

Discover the origin of the blue, white, and red of the French flag.

Talk about languages with *parler*

Use parler to talk about the languages you and other people speak.

Talk about nationality in French

Use French nationality adjectives to talk about yourself and other people.

Use adjectives to describe people

Use common French adjectives to describe people.

Use nouns and articles in simple descriptions

Use common French nouns with basic articles and grammatical gender.

La cuisine sénégalaise

Découvrez la cuisine sénégalaise, ses épices, son histoire et des plats traditionnels comme le ceebu jën, le yassa et le mafé.

Senegalese cuisine

Discover Senegalese cuisine, its spices, its history, and traditional dishes such as ceebu jën, yassa, and mafé.

Apprendre le français avec le fromage

Découvrez la fabrication du fromage en France et apprenez le vocabulaire du lait, de l'affinage, des croûtes et des différents types de fromages.

Boulangerie, pâtisserie, and viennoiserie

Learn the difference between boulangerie, pâtisserie, and viennoiserie in French.

How Saint-Jacques got their name

Discover where the name coquille Saint-Jacques comes from and its connection to pilgrims on the Camino de Santiago.

Learn French through cheese

Discover how cheese is made in France while learning French vocabulary for milk, aging, rinds, and different types of cheese.

Pourquoi les coquilles Saint-Jacques s'appellent ainsi

D'où vient le nom coquille Saint-Jacques : la coquille du pèlerin sur le chemin de Compostelle.

Reading a French restaurant menu

Learn how to read a French restaurant menu, recognize its main sections, and work out what unfamiliar dishes mean.

Alcoholic drinks

Learn French vocabulary for beer, wine, and other alcoholic drinks, including how to order drinks in bars, cafés, and restaurants.

Bistrot, brasserie, or café?

Learn the differences between a bistrot, brasserie, and café and what to expect at each in France.

Bœuf bourguignon (English)

Discover bœuf bourguignon, a traditional Burgundy dish made with beef, red wine, and vegetables.

Communicating food allergies and intolerances

Learn how to explain food allergies and intolerances in French, recognize common allergens, and ask about ingredients.

Cooking and preparing food in French

Learn French verbs and expressions for preparing ingredients, cooking food, and following cooking instructions.

La galette des rois

Découvrez la tradition de la galette des rois, de la fève cachée à la couronne portée par le roi ou la reine.

La galette des rois (English)

Discover the tradition of the galette des rois, from the hidden fève to the crown worn by the king or queen.

Le bœuf bourguignon

Découvrez le bœuf bourguignon, un plat traditionnel de Bourgogne préparé avec du bœuf, du vin rouge et des légumes.

Pourquoi les Canadiens de Montréal sont-ils appelés les Habs ?

Découvrez l'origine du surnom Habs des Canadiens de Montréal et son lien avec l'histoire du Québec.

Quantities and measurements

Learn common French quantities and measurements for food, including metric units, portions, containers, and expressions used in recipes.

Reading recipes in French

Learn how to read a French recipe by recognizing cooking instructions, quantities, time, and heat.

Spices and seasonings

Learn common spices, herbs, and seasonings in French, and understand how they are used to describe flavor and season food.

Valençay : la pyramide française de moisissure

Découvrez le Valençay, un fromage de chèvre en forme de pyramide, couvert de moisissure, et au goût de cave et de champignon.

Valençay: the French pyramid of mold

Discover Valençay, a French goat cheese shaped like a pyramid, covered in mold, with a taste of cellar and mushroom.

Why are the Montreal Canadiens called the Habs?

Discover the origin of the Montreal Canadiens' Habs nickname and its connection to the history of Quebec.

Adjective agreement in French

Learn how French adjectives change to agree with nouns in grammatical gender and number.

At a café

Learn how to order drinks and food, make simple requests, and pay at a café in French.

At a restaurant

Learn useful French phrases for getting a table, ordering food and drinks, responding to a server, and paying at a restaurant.

At the grocery store

Learn grocery store vocabulary in French, including store sections, packaging, finding products, and paying at the checkout.

Basic adjectives in French

Learn common French adjectives and use them in simple descriptions.

Basic adverbs in French

Learn to use common French adverbs to add information to simple sentences.

Bread and baked goods

Learn common French words for bread, pastries, and other baked goods.

Clothing sizes and fit

Find the right size when shopping for clothes and shoes, and explain whether something fits.

Colors in French

Learn common French colors and use them in simple descriptions and questions.

Dairy products in French

Learn French vocabulary for milk, butter, cream, yogurt, and other common dairy products.

Describing appearance

Describe someone's height, build, hair, eyes, and other physical features.

Describing clothes

Describe clothes by their color, pattern, material, and other details.

Desserts and sweets in French

Learn French vocabulary for common desserts, pastries, ice cream, sweets, and flavors.

Drinks and drink vocabulary

Learn common drinks in French and how to specify the type, container, and way a drink is served.

Everyday activities

Talk about common activities at home, work, school, and in your free time.

Everyday conversation

Start a conversation, respond naturally, ask simple questions, and know what to say when you don't understand.

Expressing how you feel

Ask how someone feels, answer naturally, and say a little more about how you are.

Fish and seafood in French

Learn common fish and seafood vocabulary in French and how to recognize these foods at markets, shops, and restaurants.

Food likes and dislikes

Learn how to talk about foods you like and dislike in French and ask other people about their preferences.

Food preferences and dietary needs in French

Learn how to talk about food preferences and dietary needs in French.

Food quantities and portions

Learn how to talk about portions and servings of food in French, including slices, pieces, serving sizes, and sharing.

Fruit in French

Learn common fruit vocabulary in French, including berries, tropical fruits, parts of a fruit, flavors, and how fruit is sold.

Household chores

Talk about common household chores, when you do them, and how to ask someone to help.

How to describe food in French

Learn French words for describing the taste, texture, temperature, cooking, and quality of food.

How to greet someone in French

Learn how to greet someone in French and choose the right greeting for the situation.

Internet vocabulary

Use common French words for websites, online searches, email, social media, and internet problems.

Meals of the day in French

Learn the names of meals in French, how to talk about breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and how meal names vary across the Francophone world.

Meat and poultry

Learn meat and poultry vocabulary in French, including common cuts, prepared meats, cooking methods, and useful phrases for buying and ordering meat.

Menus and ordering food

Learn how to read a French restaurant menu, understand set menus and common choices, order food, and respond to questions from a server.

Messages and texting

Send simple messages, make plans, say where you are, and recognize common texting abbreviations.

Paying for things in French

Learn the French vocabulary and phrases you need to pay for things.

Shopping at a counter in French

Learn how to ask for items at a shop counter in French, respond to common questions, and pay.

Shopping at a French market

Learn how to talk with vendors, ask about products, and shop at a French market.

Shopping for clothes in French

Learn the French vocabulary and phrases you need when shopping for clothes.

Talking about clothes

Learn everyday clothing and accessory vocabulary and talk about what someone is wearing.

Talking about emotions

Talk about common emotions including happiness, sadness, fear, anger, surprise, and worry.

Talking about hunger and thirst in French

Learn how to say you are hungry or thirsty in French, talk about appetite, and suggest getting something to eat or drink.

Talking about physical feelings

Talk about being hungry, thirsty, tired, hot, cold, sick, or uncomfortable.

Talking about schedules

Read and talk about times, days, and time ranges in a schedule.

Talking about your daily routine

Describe the activities in your day and say when and in what order they happen.

Talking about your mood

Talk about being in a good or bad mood and describe whether you feel better or worse.

Talking about your morning routine

Talk about waking up, getting ready, having breakfast, and leaving home in the morning.

Talking on the phone

Answer the phone, ask for someone, handle connection problems, and end a call.

The kitchen and cooking equipment in French

Learn French words for the kitchen, cookware, and common tools used to prepare food.

Understanding and buying cheese in French

Learn French vocabulary for cheese, including common cheeses, types of milk, and buying cheese.

Vegetables

Learn common vegetables in French and the words used to describe, buy, prepare, and recognize them on menus.

French verb conjugation

Browse French verb conjugations by level, class, and construction.

Conjugation

La poutine : d'un plat régional à un symbole du Québec

La poutine, plat emblématique du Québec à base de frites, fromage en grains et sauce brune, et son évolution d'en-cas local à symbole culturel.

La francophonie

Poutine: from regional dish to Québec icon

Poutine is Québec's iconic dish of fries, cheese curds, and gravy, and how it went from roadside snack to cultural symbol.

Culture

Build your first sentences with *être*

Build simple French sentences with être and use them to describe yourself and other people.

La Réunion : une île francophone dans l'océan Indien

La Réunion, île française de l'océan Indien, où le français coexiste avec le créole réunionnais et des cultures africaine, indienne, chinoise et européenne.

La francophonie

Pourquoi le français est parlé dans le monde entier

Découvrez comment le français s'est répandu dans le monde et pourquoi les communautés francophones ont des cultures et des identités différentes.

La francophonie

Réunion: a Francophone island in the Indian Ocean

Réunion is a French island in the Indian Ocean where French shares everyday life with Réunion Creole, and African, Indian, Chinese, and European cultures meet.

Culture

The French alphabet and how it sounds

Learn the French alphabet, get used to the sounds of French, and recognize common accented forms.

Why French is spoken around the world

Learn how French spread around the world and why Francophone communities have different cultures and identities.

Culture

Advanced uses of faire

Learn how to use faire to have something done, describe actions that affect you, and use more advanced expressions at B1.

Expressions and common errors with faire

Learn useful expressions and common errors for the French verb faire.

Faire - idiomatic expressions

Learn common French idioms with faire and understand what they mean and how to use them.

French verb guide: faire

A learning path for the French verb faire, from A2 core uses through B1 constructions and idioms.

How to use faire

Learn the core meanings, grammar, and major usage patterns of the French verb faire.

Passé composé with avoir and être

How French builds the passé composé with avoir as the usual helper, and être for a common motion set, with a house map to hold the pattern.

Grammar

Idioms and fixed expressions with prendre

How French uses prendre in reflexive forms, fixed constructions, and idioms you will meet around B1, after the core A1 senses.

Prendre

How French uses prendre for taking things, taking transport, and having food, drink, or medicine.

Tenir

How French uses tenir for holding things, keeping promises, and expressing what matters to you.

Expressions and common errors with avoir

Fixed phrases with avoir, plus the common slips that use être where French wants avoir.

French verb guide: avoir

A learning path for the French verb avoir, from A1 core uses through A2 expressions and common errors.

How to use avoir

How French uses avoir for possession, age, and common states, plus il y a and the past-tense helper role.

Expressions and common errors with être

Fixed phrases with être, plus the common English-to-French slips that send "to be" to the wrong verb.

French verb guide: être

A learning path for the French verb être, from A1 core uses through A2 expressions and common errors.

How to use être

How French uses être for identity, location, and description at A1, and when English to be maps to another verb.