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Why learn French?
French is an official language in 29 countries and spoken by around 300 million people worldwide. As a Romance language, it shares thousands of cognates with English, so learners often recognize much of the vocabulary before they begin.
French is written in the Latin script. In the US Foreign Service Institute ranking, French is a Category I language - about 700 class hours to professional working proficiency for English speakers. French belongs to the Indo-European (Romance) family - if you enjoy it, a natural next step is Spanish, Italian or Portuguese.
The 50 most common French words
Start with the words you will actually meet: learn these and you will recognize something in almost every French sentence.
| # | Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | le | luh | the (definite article) |
| 2 | de | duh | of |
| 3 | un | uhn | one |
| 4 | être | EH-truh | be |
| 5 | et | ay | and |
| 6 | à | ah | to |
| 7 | il | eel | he |
| 8 | avoir | ah-VWAR | have |
| 9 | ne | nuh | not (negation) |
| 10 | je | zhuh | I |
| 11 | son | sohn | his |
| 12 | que | kuh | that (conjunction) |
| 13 | se | suh | self |
| 14 | qui | kee | who |
| 15 | ce | suh | this |
| 16 | dans | dahn | in |
| 17 | en | ahn | in |
| 18 | elle | el | she |
| 19 | pour | poor | for |
| 20 | pas | pah | not (negation) |
| 21 | vous | voo | you (formal/plural) |
| 22 | par | par | by |
| 23 | sur | sewr | on |
| 24 | faire | fair | do |
| 25 | plus | plew | more |
| 26 | dire | deer | say |
| 27 | me | muh | me |
| 28 | on | ohn | we |
| 29 | mon | mohn | my |
| 30 | lui | lwee | him |
| 31 | nous | noo | we |
| 32 | comme | kohm | like |
| 33 | mais | meh | but |
| 34 | pouvoir | poo-VWAR | can |
| 35 | avec | ah-VEK | with |
| 36 | tout | too | all |
| 37 | y | ee | there |
| 38 | aller | ah-LAY | go |
| 39 | voir | vwar | see |
| 40 | bien | byan | well |
| 41 | où | oo | where |
| 42 | sans | sahn | without |
| 43 | tu | tew | you (informal) |
| 44 | ou | oo | or |
| 45 | leur | luhr | their |
| 46 | homme | ohm | man |
| 47 | si | see | if |
| 48 | deux | duh | two |
| 49 | savoir | sah-VWAR | know |
| 50 | temps | tahn | time |
Useful phrases in French
- Bonjour · bohn-ZHOOR · Hello / Good day
- Comment ça va ? · koh-mahn sah VAH · How are you?
- Merci · mehr-SEE · Thank you
- S'il vous plaît · seel voo PLEH · Please
- Je m'appelle... · zhuh mah-PEL · My name is...
- Où est... ? · oo EH · Where is...?
- Au revoir · oh ruh-VWAHR · Goodbye
- Pardon · par-DOHN · Excuse me
- Je ne comprends pas · zhuh nuh kohm-PRAHN pah · I don't understand
- Pouvez-vous m'aider ? · poo-VAY voo meh-DAY · Can you help me?
- C'est combien ? · say kohm-BYEN · How much is it?
- À demain ! · ah duh-MEHN · See you tomorrow!
Learn French with comprehensive language resources
- Pronunciation
- Numbers
- Verbs and adjectives
- Frequency dictionaries
- Basic sentences
- Thematic dictionaries
- Politeness
- Idioms
Learn French, wherever you are
- AI-powered spaced repetition learning system on the go
- Audio processing for pronunciation
- Creation of visual language flash cards with images
- Search for speaking practice partners
- Frequency and thematic dictionaries for any language
- Alert system with exercise reminders
- Live video and messaging to facilitate learning
Join our global French learning community
Collaborate with native French speakers and fellow learners: exchange messages, correct each other's cards, and practice real conversation.
Send friend requests to the speakers you click with and build your own friends list - many practice partners become real friends.
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Frequently asked questions about learning French
How difficult is it to learn French?
French shares a large amount of vocabulary with English thanks to centuries of shared history, so reading often comes quickly. Pronunciation and nasal vowels are the main early challenges, but they become consistent with practice. The Foreign Service Institute rates French among the easier languages for English speakers, at roughly 600-750 hours of study.
What should I learn first to reach a basic level in French?
Start with the 100-500 most frequent words (free in our apps) and the thematic dictionaries most relevant to your daily life. Set clear goals and practise a few minutes every day - consistency is what produces results. Then connect with other learners to build confidence at your new basic level.
How long does it take to learn French?
Most learners reach a comfortable conversational level within 8-12 months of consistent daily study. Practising vocabulary with spaced repetition and speaking regularly with others speeds this up considerably. About 300 million people across 29 countries speak French, so you will never run short of practice partners.
How do I improve my French vocabulary?
Use the spaced-repetition and flashcard systems in the app. You can set daily, weekly, or yearly goals in our mobile apps and steadily reach the vocabulary size you’re aiming for.
Is French pronunciation hard?
French has silent letters and nasal sounds that take some practice, but the pronunciation rules are consistent once you learn them. Regular listening and speaking practice matters more here than memorising rules.
How do I get Free French speaking practice?
Open the Practice or Friends page in the app, send practice requests, and start real conversations with other learners - don’t be shy! You can also mention that you want speaking practice when you create your account, and the platform will help match you with suitable partners.
Do I need to learn the French alphabet first?
French uses the Latin alphabet, so if you read English you can start reading French right away. On Lingocard you'll find every alphabet, with example words, free - handy for languages that use a different script.