1. Basic Phrases / les expressions de base NEW! If you'd like to study these phrases (and their pronunciations) individually, please go to Basic French Phrases. Bonjour/bu/Hello / Good day / Good morning Bonsoir/bswa/Good eveningBonne nuit/bn ni/Good night (only said when going to bed)

Salut/saly/Hi / ByeAu revoir/()vwa/GoodbyeS'il vous plat / S'il te plat /sil vu pl/Please (formal / informal)

Merci (beaucoup)/msi boku/Thank you (very much)De rien./d j/You're welcome.Je vous en prie./vu z pri/You're welcome. (formal) / Go ahead.

Bienvenu(e)/bjvny/Welcome (also You're welcome in Quebec)Allons-y!/al zi/Let's go!A tout l'heure/a tu ta l/See you in a little while

A plus tard/a ply ta/See you laterA bientt/a bjto/See you soonA demain/a dm/See you tomorrow

Je suis dsol(e)/dezle/I'm sorryPardon !/pad/Excuse me! (pushing through a crowd) / Sorry! (stepped on someone's foot) Excusez-moi !/ekskyze mwa/ Excuse me! (getting someone's attention) / I'm sorry! (more formal apology)

Comment allez-vous ?/km tale vu/How are you? (formal)Je vais bien/ ve bj/I'm fine.Trs bien / mal / pas mal/t bj/ /mal/ /pa mal/Very good / bad / not bad

a va ?/sa va/How are you? (informal)a va./sa va/ I'm fine. (informal response to a va ?)Oui / non/wi/ /n/Yes / no

Comment vous appelez-vous ? /km vu zaple vu/What's your name? (formal)Tu t'appelles comment ?/ty tapl km/What's your name? (informal)Je m'appelle.../ mapl/My name is...

Enchant(e)/te/Nice to meet you.Monsieur, Madame, Mademoiselle/msj/ /madam/ /madwazl/Mister, Misses, MissMesdames et Messieurs/medam/ /mesj/Ladies and gentlemen

Vous tes d'o ? / Vous venez d'o ? /vu zt du/ /vu vne du/ Where are you from? (formal)Tu es d'o ? / Tu viens d'o ? /ty du/ /ty vj du/Where are you from? (informal)Je suis de... / Je viens de... / si d/ / vj d/I am from...

O habitez-vous ?/u abite vu/Where do you live? (formal)Tu habites o ?/ty abit u/Where do you live? (informal)J'habite .../abit a/I live in...

Quel ge avez-vous ?/kl ave vu/How old are you? (formal)Tu as quel ge ?/ty kl /How old are you? (informal)J'ai ____ ans./e __ /I am ____ years old.

Parlez-vous franais ? / Tu parles anglais ?/pale vu frs/ /ty pal gl/Do you speak French? (formal) / Do you speak English? (informal)Je parle allemand./ pal alm/I speak German. Je ne parle pas espagnol. / n pal pa spal/I don't speak Spanish.

Comprenez-vous? / Tu comprends?/kpne vu/ /ty kp/Do you understand? (formal / informal)Je comprends / kp/I understandJe ne comprends pas/ n kp pa/I don't understand

Pouvez-vous m'aider ? / Tu peux m'aider ?/puve vu mede/ /ty p mede/Can you help me? (formal / informal)Bien sr./bj sy/Of course.Comment ?/km/What? Pardon?

Tenez / Tiens/tne/ /tj/ Hey / Here (formal / informal)Je sais/ s/I knowJe ne sais pas /n s pa/I don't know

O est ... / O sont ... ?/u / /u s/Where is ... / Where are ... ?Voici / Voil/vwasi/ /vwala/ Here is/are... / There it is.Il y a ... / Il y avait.../il i a/ /il i av/There is / are... / There was / were...

Comment dit-on ____ en franais ?/km di t __ fs/ How do you say ____ in French?Qu'est-ce que c'est que a ?/ks k s k sa/What is that?Qu'est-ce qu'il y a ?/ks kil i a/What's the matter?

a ne fait rien./sa n f j/It doesn't matter.Qu'est-ce qui se passe ?/ks ki s pas/What's happening?Je n'ai aucune ide./ ne okyn ide/ I have no idea.

Je suis fatigu(e) / Je suis malade./ si fatie/ / si malad/ I'm tired / I'm sick.J'ai faim / J'ai soif./e f/ /e swaf/ I'm hungry / I'm thirsty.J'ai chaud / J'ai froid./e o/ /e fw/I'm hot / I'm cold.

Je m'ennuie./ mni/I'm bored.a m'est gal. / Je m'en fiche./sa m teal/ / m fi/ It's the same to me / I don't care. (informal) Ne vous en faites pas. / Ne t'en fais pas./n vu ft pa/ /n t f pa/ Don't worry (formal / informal)

Ce n'est pas grave./s n pa gav/ It's no problem. / It's alright.J'ai oubli./e ublije/I forgot.Je dois y aller./ dwa i ale/I must go.

A vos souhaits ! / A tes souhaits !/a vo sw/ /a te sw/ Bless you! (formal / informal)Flicitations !/felisitasj/Congratulations! Bonne chance !/bn s/ Good luck!

C'est vous ! / C'est toi !/s ta vu/ /s ta tw/ It's your turn! (formal / informal)Taisez-vous ! / Tais-toi !/tze vu/ /t tw/ Shut up! / Be quiet! (formal / informal)Je vous aime / Je t'aime/ vu zm/ / tm/I love you (formal & plural / informal)

Tu me manques./ty m mk/ I miss you. (informal) Quoi de neuf ? /kw d nf/What's new?Pas grand-chose./pa g oz/Not a whole lot.

Notice that French has informal and formal ways of saying things. This is because there is more than one meaning to "you" in French (as well as in many other languages.) The informal you is used when talking to close friends, relatives, animals or children. The formal you is used when talking to someone you just met, do not know well, or someone for whom you would like to show respect (a professor, for example.) There is also a plural you, used when speaking to more than one person. Also notice that some words take an extra e, shown in parentheses. If the word refers to a woman or is spoken by a woman, then the e is added in spelling; but in most cases, it does not change the pronunciation. To make verbs negative, French adds ne before the verb and pas after it. However, the ne is frequently dropped in spoken French, although it must appear in written French.