At a glance
What will be easy
After 1066 French was the language of the English court for about three centuries, so a large part of English vocabulary is French: government, justice, question, beef, pork.
-tion stays -tion (nation, information), -té often becomes -ty (liberté, université), and -ment often matches -ly (rapidement, rapidly).
The basic word order is subject, verb, object, as in English: Je parle français, elle aime le café. Nouns have no cases, and the plural is usually just a silent s.
What will be hard
The French u (tu, rue) is an “ee” said with rounded lips, nasal vowels separate vin (wine), vent (wind) and vont (they go), and the r comes from the back of the throat.
Most final consonants are silent (petit, ils parlent), but some come back before a vowel: les amis sounds like “lay-za-MEE”. That is why spoken French is much harder than written French at first.
Every noun is masculine or feminine (le livre, la table), and adjectives agree with it. Verbs change for every person, and after phrases like il faut que you need the subjunctive: il faut que tu viennes.
Your first 10 phrases
| Phrase | How to say it | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Bonjour | bohn-ZHOOR | Hello (in the daytime) |
| Salut ! | sa-LEW | Hi / bye (informal) |
| Merci beaucoup | mehr-SEE boh-KOO | Thank you very much |
| S’il vous plaît | seel voo PLEH | Please |
| Excusez-moi | ex-kew-zay-MWAH | Excuse me |
| Combien ça coûte ? | kohm-BYAN sa KOOT | How much is it? |
| Où sont les toilettes ? | oo sohn lay twa-LET | Where are the toilets? |
| Je ne comprends pas | zhuh nuh kohm-prahn PAH | I don’t understand |
| Vous pouvez parler plus lentement ? | voo poo-VAY par-LAY plew lahnt-MAHN | Can you speak more slowly? |
| Je voudrais un café | zhuh voo-DREH uhn ka-FAY | I’d like a coffee |
From A1 to B2: what to learn at each level
- A1
Articles and gender, être and avoir, the present tense of -er verbs, questions with est-ce que, numbers, around 1,000 of the most common words.
- A2
Passé composé with avoir and être, the near future (je vais partir), reflexive verbs, partitive articles (du, de la), object pronouns.
- B1
Imparfait versus passé composé, the simple future, the conditional, the pronouns y and en, relative pronouns, around 3,000 words.
- B2
The subjunctive, the pluperfect, reported speech, everyday spoken French (on instead of nous, ne dropped), 3,500 words and more.
How long it takes to learn French
According to the US Foreign Service Institute (FSI), a native English speaker needs about 30 weeks of intensive study to reach professional working proficiency in French. The closer a language is to your own, the faster the road.
More on timing: How long does it take to learn a language to B1 and B2?.
Your first month, 15–20 minutes a day
Sounds and reading rules: silent endings, nasal vowels, the French u. Learn the 100 most common words with 10 minutes of flashcards and 5 minutes of listening and repeating aloud every day.
Être and avoir, the articles un, une, le, la, and simple sentences about yourself. Start listening to short dialogues.
The present tense of -er verbs and key irregulars: aller, faire, prendre. Write 3 sentences a day about your day.
Your first A1 stories and 300 words in review. Try a five-minute conversation with a native speaker or in a chat.
Typical mistakes and how to avoid them
French uses avoir (to have) for age, hunger, thirst and cold: J’ai 30 ans, j’ai faim, j’ai soif, j’ai froid.
The structure is reversed: Tu me manques, literally “you are missing to me”.
It can sound sexual or overexcited. Say J’ai hâte (I can’t wait) or Je suis très content(e).
Une librairie is a bookshop (a library is une bibliothèque), actuellement means “currently”, and rester means “to stay”.
Did you know?
- The mottos on the British royal coat of arms are in French: Dieu et mon droit and Honi soit qui mal y pense.
- In France 70 is soixante-dix (60 + 10) and 90 is quatre-vingt-dix (4 × 20 + 10), while Belgium and Switzerland say septante and nonante.
- The Académie française has watched over the language since 1635. Its 40 members are nicknamed “the Immortals”.
French exams
The main international certificates: DELF, DALF, TCF. Many of them map their levels to the CEFR scale from A1 to C2.
→ French language test for citizenship: B2, TCF IRN, TEF IRN and the civic exam
How NewLexi helps you learn French
- Words on your topics. French cards are generated on request or added from the translator, text, a photo or a file.
- Spaced repetition for every word and four mastery levels.
- Stories and dialogues in French at your level, written with your words; tap any word for a translation.
- French grammar from A1 to C2, a writing trainer with AI correction and a chat.
- Lock Screen cards and iPhone widgets to review words on the go.
FAQ
Is French hard for English speakers?
It is one of the easier languages for you: the FSI puts it at about 30 weeks of full-time study. Vocabulary comes quickly; most of the effort goes into listening, pronunciation, gender and verb forms.
How long does it take to reach B1?
A common benchmark is 350–400 hours of study, about a year at an hour a day.
Which certificate should I take?
DELF (A1–B2) and DALF (C1–C2) are diplomas that never expire; TCF results are valid for two years. French citizenship has required B2 since 2026, and for Canadian immigration you take TEF Canada or TCF Canada.
Is Canadian French very different?
Grammar and spelling are the same, and speakers understand each other. Quebec French differs in accent and everyday words: char for car, magasiner for to shop, fin de semaine for weekend.
