Vocabulaire
L’alphabet
French uses the same 26-letter alphabet system as English but the sound of individual letters differ greatly. Mastering the pronunciation of the alphabet is an essential first step as it will help you understand the sounds of the language and improve your overall pronunciation skills. Écoutez et répétez.
| A – ah B – bay C – say D – day E – euh F – eff G – jay (soft j) H – ahsh I – ee J – gee (soft g) K – kah L – ell M – emm N – enn |
O – oh P – pay Q – ku R – air S – ess T – tay U – oo V – vay W – doo-bleuh-vay X – eeks Y – ee-grek Z – zed |
Accents
Accents are not there for decoration, they actually mean either a change of pronunciation or meaning (or both)!
Below are the important accents and diacritical marks to remember in French along with their meanings/usefulness.
| Signes | Exemples | Explications |
|---|---|---|
| accent aigu (´) | étudiant (male student) | Indicates that an is pronounced like the underlined vowels in day or late, but shorter and crisper. When a French word begins with é is often means that an s would appear at the beginning of the English equivalent: éponge -> sponge; état —> state; étudiant —> student. |
| accent grave (`) | très, à (very, at) | Indicates that an e is pronounces like the in the English word pet. For example: très, nièce, père. When it is placed over an a or a u, it does not change the pronunciation, but it does distinguish words. Compare: la (the) vs. là (there); ou (or) vs. où (where); a (has) vs. à (to, at). |
| accent circonflexe (ˆ) | hôpital, âge, île, août, sûr | This mark can appear above any vowel. It indicates that a letter has been dropped form an older version of the word, usually an s. This can help us identify mots apparentés. For example: hôpital (hospital), forest (forêt), fête (feast). L’accent circonflexe can also help distinguish between words with similar spellings: mûr (ripe) vs. mur (wall); sûr (sure) vs. sur (on). |
| tréma (¨) | naïve, égoïste (selfish) | Indicates that the vowel under it must be pronounced separately form the vowel next to it (without blending) |
| cédille (ç) | français (French) | Softens the letter c to be pronounced like an English /s/ instead of a /k/. |
Les salutations (Salutations)
| Questions | Questions | Réponses | Answers |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Comment ça va ? Ça va ? |
How’s it going? |
Ça va. Ça va (très) bien. Ça va comme-ci, comme-ça. Pas mal. Ça va (très) mal. Non, ça ne va pas. |
Fine, good Very well, good So-so, OK Not bad Not so good. It’s bad. No, I’m not ok. |
|
Comment vas-tu ? (informal) Comment allez-vous ? (formal) |
How are you (doing)? |
Je vais (très) bien. Je vais (très) mal. |
I’m (doing) (very) well, fine. I’m feeling (very) bad. |
Les consignes en classe et les interactions de base (Everyday interactions)
It is helpful to quickly learn basic vocabulary to follow instructions in class (les consignes) as it will enable you to become more immersed in the language” and be able to interact basic responses (les interactions de base).
|
Oui Non Merci De rien (or: Il n’y a pas de quoi) S’il-vous-plaît Excusez-moi Comment dit-on…en français? Je ne comprends pas Que veut dire….? |
Yes No Thank you You’re welcome Please Excuse me How does one say…in French? I do not understand What does … mean? |
|---|---|
Les nombres 1-16
| Chiffres | Nombres | Prononciation |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | un | uh |
| 2 | deux | duh |
| 3 | trois | twrah |
| 4 | quatre | KAT-rr |
| 5 | cinq | sank |
| 6 | six | sseess |
| 7 | sept | set |
| 8 | huit | wheet |
| 9 | neuf | nuhf |
| 10 | dix | deess |
| 11 | onze | onz |
| 12 | douze | dooz |
| 13 | treize | trayz |
| 14 | quatorze | kah-TOHR-z |
| 15 | quinze | cans |
| 16 | seize | sayz |
(Listen to the first 16 numbers only)
Les couleurs
Couleurs (Colors)
| Audio | Français | Anglais |
| blanc, blanche | white | |
| bleu(e) | ||
| grise, grise | gray | |
| jaune | yellow | |
| Français | Anglais |
|---|---|
| blanc, blanche | white |
| bleu(e) | blue |
| gris(e) | gray |
| jaune | yellow |
| marron | brown |
| noir(e) | black |
| orange | orange |
| rose | pink |
| rouge | red |
| vert(e) | green |
| violet, violette | purple, violet |
