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Simple
French words and Phrases
If
you don't speak any French, be reassured; here's the good news! Lots of
people in France speak English, specially young people, and people
working in tourism in Paris and the main holiday regions. Now
for
the bad news there are also lots who do not - even working in the
travel and hospitality business.
Here therefore are
twenty-five of the most important French words to learn, and
twenty-five simple French phrases that could well come in
useful
during a trip to France. Rather than a complicated phrasebook, just
print out this page (click for printer-friendly version)
or save it to your mobile-phone before you go.
25 vital French words and simple
expressions to learn before travelling
The pronunciation
of each word is indicated in brackets).
The sound represented below as "eu"
is the "er" sound in the English word her, or the "ur" of
fur.
So French Je
more or less rhymes with English her, or with the
word the
before a consonant (as in What's
the
matter?). To listen to each word or phrase, just click the 
symbol
Audio provided by LearnFrenchVideo.com - video and podcast
lessons for French phrases, grammar and vocabulary
1.
S’il vous plaît (see-voo-play)
- please
Listen
2. Je suis (zheu swee) – I am
Listen
3. Je cherche (zheu
share-sh) –
I’m looking for
Listen
4. Je veux (zheu veu) – I want
Listen
5. Un hôtel (ern
otell) – A
hotel
Listen
6. Une chambre (une shombre)
- A room
Listen
7. Manger (mon-zhay) - To eat
Listen
8. Boire (bwar)
– to drink
Listen
9. Payer (pay-yeh) – to pay
Listen
10. Acheter (ash-tay) –
to buy
Listen
11. Petit-déjeuner (peuti – dayzheurnay)
- Breakfast
Listen
12. Diner ( dee-nay)
- Dinner
Listen
13. Un demi (ern deu-mee) –
A half pint
of draught beer
Listen
14. Un verre (ern
vair) - a
glass
Listen
15. De l’eau (deu-lo)
- some
water
Listen
16. Un thé (au lait) (ern tay
olay) -
a tea (with milk)
Listen
17. La toilette (lar
twa-lette) -
the washroom, toilet.
Listen
18. Prix (pree) -
price
Listen
19. Carte de crédit (kart deu cray-dee) - Credit card
Listen
20. Une banque (une bonk)
– A bank
Listen
21. Des magasins (day
magga-zan) - Shops
Listen
22. Un supermarché (ern supair-mar-shay)
–
A supermarket
Listen
23. La gare (lar gar)
– The train station
Listen
24. L’aeroport (l’aero-por)
–
the airport
Listen
25. Une voiture (une
vwa-tiure) –
a car.
Listen
And 25 most
useful French phrases
(Sometimes incorporating essential words from the list above)
- Bonjour. (bon-zhour)
Hello
Listen
- Merci. (mair-see)
Thankyou
Listen
- Au revoir. (oh-reu-vwar)
Goodbye
Listen
- Je ne comprends pas. (zheu neu kompron par I don’t understand
Listen
- Je ne parle pas français. (zheu neu parl par fron-say )
I don’t
speak French
Listen
- Pouvez vous parler plus lentement, s’il vous
plait
(poo-vay-voo par-lay ploo lontermon)
Could
you speak more slowly, please.
Listen
- Pouvez-vous répéter, s’il vous plaît.
(poo-vay-voo
ray-pay-tay, see-voo-play)
Could you repeat that please.
Listen
- S’il vous plaît, je cherche……
(see-voo-play, zheu share-sh ......)
Please,
I’m looking for (whatever you are looking for).
Listen
- Avez-vous…. (avay -voo)
Do you
have…. ?
Listen
- Avez-vous une chambre pour deux personnes?
(avay -voo une shombre poor deuh
pair-sonn)
Do
you have a room for two ?
Listen
- A quelle heure est-ce que cela ferme ?
(a kel
eure esk slar fairme)
When
does it shut ? Listen
- Combien ça coûte ?
(kom-bjanne
sar coot)
How
much is it ?
Listen
- Ou sont les toilettes, s’il vous plaît ?
( oo son
lay twar-let, see-voo-play
Where
is the toilet / washroom, please ?
Listen
- Ou est-ce qu’on peut trouver des restaurants,
s’il vous plaît?
( oo esk
on peu troo-vay day resto-ron, see-voo-play)
Where
are there some restaurants, please ?
- Un café et un café au lait, s’il vous plaît.
(ern
caffay ay ern caffay olay, see-voo-play)
One
black coffee, and one white coffee please.
Listen
- L’addition, s’il vous plaît.
(lad-eesi-onsee-voo-play)
Could
I have the bill please.
Listen
- A l’aeroport, s’il vous plaît. (ar
l'aeropor see-voo-play)
To
the airport, please.
Listen
- Une table pour deux / quatre
personnes.
(oon tarbleu poor deuh /cat-r
pair-son)
A
table for two / for four.
Listen
- Je ne me sens pas bien.(zheu neu
meu son par bjanne)
I’m not feeling very well.
Listen
- Nous sommes perdus.(noo som
pair-dju)
We’re
lost.
Listen
- Nous voulons aller à ……. (noo voolon allay are...)
We want
to go to (wherever you want to go).
Listen
- Je cherche un distributeur de billets.
(zheu
share-sh ern dee-stree-beaut-eur deu bee-ay)
I’m
looking for an ATM / cash dispenser.
Listen
- Pouvez-vous m’appeler un taxi, s’il vous plaît
;
(poovay
voo maplay ern taxi see-voo-play)
Could
you please call me a cab.
Listen
- Nous sommes très pressés / en retard.
(noo som
tray pressay / on retar)
We’re
in a great hurry / late.
Listen
- Quel temps va-t-il faire aujourd’hui?
(kel tom vartil fair oh-zhour-dwee)
What’s
the weather going to be like today ?
Listen
More French
language pages:
Online
French grammar
The French language - an overview
The days of the week
in French
Learn
French in France
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