French guides · Everyday phrases
50 common French phrases that do the actual talking.
These are the phrases that run everyday French life — the ones you will need in a shop, a café, a station, and the first two minutes of meeting someone. They are grouped by situation, and every one comes with plain-English pronunciation you can read straight off the page. You don’t need 5,000 words to start: you need these, said with a smile and a bonjour.
Politeness first
French politeness is not decoration — it is the price of entry. These ten come before everything else, and they will carry you further than any amount of grammar.
| French | Say it | English |
|---|---|---|
| Bonjour | bohn-ZHOOR | hello / good morning |
| Bonsoir | bohn-SWAHR | good evening |
| S’il vous plaît | seel voo PLEH | please |
| Merci | mehr-SEE | thank you |
| Merci beaucoup | mehr-see boh-KOO | thank you very much |
| De rien | duh ree-AN | you’re welcome |
| Excusez-moi | ex-ku-zay MWAH | excuse me (to get attention) |
| Pardon | par-DOHN | sorry / excuse me (squeezing past) |
| Je suis désolé(e) | zhuh swee day-zoh-LAY | I’m sorry |
| Bonne journée | bun zhoor-NAY | have a good day |
Walking into a French shop, bakery, pharmacy or waiting room without saying bonjour is not "a bit informal" — it reads as genuinely rude, and you will feel the temperature drop. Greet the room on the way in, and finish with merci, au revoir on the way out. It costs two seconds and it changes the whole exchange.
One caution on désolé: a woman writes and says désolée — the extra e is silent, so both sound identical out loud. The same goes for enchanté and perdu(e) further down the page.
When you’re lost in the language
These are the most useful phrases on this page, and the ones beginners skip. Learn them before you learn how to order dinner — they are what lets the conversation keep going when you fall behind.
| French | Say it | English |
|---|---|---|
| Je ne comprends pas | zhuh nuh kohm-prahn PAH | I don’t understand |
| Pouvez-vous répéter, s’il vous plaît ? | poo-vay voo ray-pay-TAY | can you repeat that, please? |
| Plus lentement, s’il vous plaît | plu lahnt-MAHN | more slowly, please |
| Parlez-vous anglais ? | par-lay voo ahn-GLEH | do you speak English? |
| Je ne parle pas bien français | zhuh nuh parl pah byan frahn-SEH | I don’t speak French well |
| Comment dit-on… en français ? | koh-mahn dee-TOHN | how do you say… in French? |
| Qu’est-ce que ça veut dire ? | kess kuh sah vuh DEER | what does that mean? |
| Je ne sais pas | zhuh nuh say PAH | I don’t know |
| Pouvez-vous m’aider ? | poo-vay voo may-DAY | can you help me? |
Je ne comprends pas, said with a smile, solves more problems than perfect grammar ever will. It tells the other person exactly what to do — slow down, use easier words, point at the thing — and almost everyone will. In fast speech you will hear it shortened to j’comprends pas, but say the full version and you will always be understood.
Café and restaurant
| French | Say it | English |
|---|---|---|
| Je voudrais… | zhuh voo-DREH | I would like… |
| Un café, s’il vous plaît | uhn kah-FAY seel voo PLEH | a coffee, please |
| La carte, s’il vous plaît | lah KART | the menu, please |
| Une carafe d’eau, s’il vous plaît | ewn kah-RAHF DOH | a jug of tap water, please |
| Une table pour deux | ewn tahbl poor DUH | a table for two |
| Ça fait combien ? | sah feh kohm-BYAN | how much is that? |
| C’est combien ? | say kohm-BYAN | how much is it? |
| L’addition, s’il vous plaît | lah-dee-SYOHN | the bill, please |
| C’était délicieux | say-teh day-lee-SYUH | it was delicious |
Je voudrais is the polite way to order — softer than je veux ("I want"), which sounds blunt to French ears. Stick s’il vous plaît on the end of anything and it is polite enough. And don’t wait for the bill to arrive on its own: in France it is considered rude to rush you, so nothing happens until you ask for l’addition.
Finding your way
| French | Say it | English |
|---|---|---|
| Où est… ? | oo EH | where is…? |
| Je cherche… | zhuh SHERSH | I’m looking for… |
| Où sont les toilettes ? | oo sohn lay twah-LET | where are the toilets? |
| À gauche | ah GOHSH | left / on the left |
| À droite | ah DRWAT | right / on the right |
| Tout droit | too DRWAH | straight ahead |
| C’est loin ? | say LWAN | is it far? |
| La gare | lah GAR | the (train) station |
Watch the two that sound almost the same: à droite is right and tout droit is straight ahead. If you only catch one word of the answer, catch that one. And a directions question always starts with excusez-moi, bonjour — you are interrupting a stranger, so greet them first.
Meeting people
| French | Say it | English |
|---|---|---|
| Je m’appelle… | zhuh mah-PELL | my name is… |
| Comment vous appelez-vous ? | koh-mahn voo zah-play VOO | what’s your name? |
| Enchanté / Enchantée | ahn-shahn-TAY | pleased to meet you |
| Ça va ? — Ça va ! | sah VAH | how are you? — I’m good! |
| D’où venez-vous ? | doo vuh-nay VOO | where are you from? |
| Je viens de… | zhuh vyan duh | I come from… |
| J’apprends le français | zhah-PRAHN luh frahn-SEH | I’m learning French |
| À bientôt | ah byan-TOH | see you soon |
| Au revoir | oh ruh-VWAHR | goodbye |
J’apprends le français is worth memorising for its own sake. Said early, it quietly asks the other person to be patient and to speak simply — and it usually works better than apologising for your French.
Ça va ? is the question and the answer. Someone asks ça va ?, you reply ça va, merci — et vous ? (sah VAH mehr-SEE, ay VOO). Keep et vous ? for people you don’t know; with a friend it becomes et toi ? (ay TWAH).
If things go wrong
You will probably never need these five. Learn them anyway — they are the ones you cannot look up when you need them.
| French | Say it | English |
|---|---|---|
| Au secours ! | oh suh-KOOR | help! |
| Appelez un médecin | ah-play uhn mayd-SAN | call a doctor |
| J’ai besoin d’aide | zhay buh-zwan DED | I need help |
| J’ai perdu mon passeport | zhay pehr-du mohn pass-POR | I’ve lost my passport |
| Je me suis perdu(e) | zhuh muh swee pehr-DU | I’m lost |
Fifty phrases is not a vocabulary — it is a working kit. The difference between reading them here and having them arrive when you open your mouth is repetition out loud, which is the one thing a list on a page cannot do for you.
Hear it, then say it
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Quick answers
Everyday French, answered.
The questions learners ask before their first trip.