Did you know that French is in the top 5 most spoken languages in the world? Knowing that there are roughly 6,500 spoken languages in the world nowadays, this is a great position.
The French language originates from France and has about 80 million native speakers. French is the co-official language of Belgium, Switzerland, and Luxembourg; almost 30 countries claim French as an official language or an administrative language.
You surely ask yourself which countries speak French, and the answer to your question is: France, Canada, Belgium, Cameroon, Congo, and so on.
Below is our list of 32 basic words and phrases in French that will certainly make you want to learn French!
1. Bonjour! – bon-zhoor – Good morning!
2. Bonsoir! – bon-swahr – Good evening!
3. Bonne après-midi! – bo-onh ah-p-ree mee-dee – Good afternoon!
4. Bonne nuit! – bawn-nwee – Good night!
5. Salut! – suh-looh – Hello!
6. Quoi de neuf? – kwa d (eu) neuf – What’s up? / What’s new?
7. Comment allez vous? – koh:mah ah:lay voo – How are you?
8. Bien merci – bi-ahn mer-see – Good, thanks
9. Bien merci, et toi? – bi-ahn mer-see, et tua – Good thanks, and you?
10. Ravi de vous rencontrer – ra vee de voo rahn-kawn trey – Nice to meet you
11. Comment vous appelez-vous? – kam-ent voo ap-pelez voo – What is your name?
12. Passez une bonne journée – pas-sez yn bawn junai – Have a nice day
13. A bientôt! – a byan-toh – See you soon!
14. Oui/ Non – wee/non – Yes/No
15. Merci! – mer-see – Thank you!
16. S’il vous plaît! – sille voo plaet – Please!
17. De rien – da riyen – You are welcome!
18. Je vous en prie! – je voo em prie – You are welcome! (formal) / Go ahead/ Be my guest
19. Aidez-moi – ai de mwa – Help me!
20. Je ne comprends pas – je nai com pren pa – I don’t understand
21. Es-ce que vous parlez anglais? – es c ke voo pa lez an glae – Do you speak English?
22. Avez-vous? – a vez voo – Do you have?
23. Excusez-moi! – ex kue zay mwa – Excuse me/ Sorry
24. Combien ça coûte? – com byan cou te se ci – How much does it cost?
25. Où-ce trouve la Tour Eiffel? – ou se truve la tou ef feil – Where is the Eiffel Tower?
26. Qu’est-ce que c’est? – keske se – What is this/that?
27. C’est bien! – se byan – This/ that is good!
28. C’est beau/Jolie! – se bo/ jo lee – This/ that is beautiful!
29. Au revoir! – o re voir – Goodbye!
30. Comment puis-je vous aider? – kam-ent puis je voo ai de – How may I help you?
31. Je t’aime – je tem – I love you!
32. Bonne année! – bo-ohn ann e – Happy new year!
Kick-start your French language learning by joining a group or one-to-one course today.