French Phrasebook: +1400 French Phrases to travel in France with confidence! (French Conversation Builder)

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Vowels in French can have accent marks, which generally have no noticeable impact on pronunciation, but they often distinguish between homophones in writing ( ou, meaning or, and où, meaning where, are pronounced the same). The only really important one is é, which is always pronounced "ay", and changes the meaning of the word. Puis-je avoir un plan du métro, s’il vous plaît ? (Can I have a metro map, please?) Je cherche… (I am looking for…)

It is not always easy to tell at a glance which gender a noun is but, in general, if it ends in a consonant, or by the letter combinations -age, -au, -é, -ège, ème, or -isme / -iste, or is a foreign (particularly English) loanword, it's likely to be masculine. On the other hand, if a noun ends in -ace, -ance / -ence, -ée, -elle / -erre / -esse / -ette, -ie, -ice, -ine, -ise, -que, or -tion / sion, it's probably feminine. There are plenty of exceptions, however! Phonetic spellings are a big deal in the French language. Getting to grips with the different sounds of the alphabet does take a little time. The phrasebook understands this very well, and will load you with all of the language essentials you could need.

Going Hard(ish) in the Club

This one will really impress people. This is some real français soutenu (formal French), and you’ll rarely hear a young French person say this. On prend l’apéro ensemble ? (Let’s have an apéritif together?) Grammar [ edit ] Like Spanish and German, but unlike English, the French language is governed by an official regulator - L'Académie française. Headquartered in Paris (shown here), the Académie issues guidance and recommendations on good French, and its occasional spelling reforms are often controversial. Gender and its complications [ edit ] An apéritif is a beverage one drinks before eating—typically something alcoholic like whiskey, vodka or pastis, for example. Je voudrais… (I would like…)

For more options, you’ll want to explore Lonely Planetto see what’s available. There are French phrasebooks for every corner of the French-speaking world, and some have additional features like accompanying audio files, travel guides or apps. Research local customs Monday lundi ( luhn-DEE) Tuesday mardi ( mahr-DEE) Wednesday mercredi ( mehr-kruh-DEE) Thursday jeudi ( juh-DEE) Friday vendredi ( vahn-druh-DEE) Saturday samedi ( sahm-DEE) Sunday dimanche ( dee-MAHNGSH) Colors [ edit ] If you meet people, get lost or just need to ask a local some questions, these expressions and sayings will help you out in most tourist scenarios and make your time in France truly memorable! Guess what? Those pronunciation "rules" you just read have a ton of exceptions! For example, the rule that a final r is pronounced is not true in the combination "-er", normally found in verb infinitives; this letter combination is pronounced ay. The plural ending "-ent" for verbs is silent (except for the t, in cases of liaison), even though it is pronounced when it appears in other words. Sometimes, whether to pronounce the final consonant of a word is denoted by its grammatical function; for example, the final "s" in tous (all) is silent when used as an adjective, but pronounced when used as a pronoun, while the final "f" in nouns such as cerf (deer) and œuf (egg) is pronounced in the singular form, but in the plural form ( cerfs, œufs) the "f" and the "s" are both silent. WikiPedia:French language This is a guide phrasebook. It covers all the major topics for traveling without resorting to English. But please Plunge forward and help us make it a star!

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Wherever you go in France, you’ll find a whole host of things that make the area unique. Whether it’s local French cooking, events or linguistic differences, it pays to research the place you’re going and, if necessary, learn a few basic French phrases relating to whatever may be going on around you.

One of the most popular publishers in the world, Penguin has a great hold on the foreign language market and has produced a guide with everything you need! If you’re a real beginner and are traveling to a French-speaking country for the first time, it’s likely that you’ll want to focus on the basics first. In the unlikely scenario that you get into trouble when in France, it’s really important to have armed yourself with the right words to get out of a bind. Even just knowing this phrase is incredibly handy.

What Was That? Clarifying French Phrases

The singular indefinite article ("a" and "an" in English) also corresponds to the noun's gender: un for masculine and une for feminine. Unlike English, French has a plural indefinite article – des, which works for both genders – and three partitive articles – du (m), de la (f), and de l’ (before vowels and some instances of the letter "h"), which precede uncountable nouns. Thus: The Lonely Planet French phrasebook’s 3,500-word dictionary is the perfect compact companion to take along, and will make translation and comprehension a walk in the park. Covering all bases, it also comes with a handy mini-dictionary. Listing more than 2,000 words, the dictionary gives you a great insight into the French language and might even inspire you to take your learning a little further. If you find yourself doing something new, you can rest assured that there will be a few phrases and words to help you out. 2. Lonely Planet French Phrasebook Nobody wants to face an emergency but if you do, you want to make sure you have all of the right information to hand. The phrasebook will link you to all of the emergency services, including embassies, on the rare occasion that you need to use them. You can rest assured in your travels; the phrasebook will do all of the hard work for you! 4. “The Penguin French Phrasebook”