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Have you ever started a conversation in a foreign language, believing you could handle it, only to end up puzzled and confused with the abundance of mysterious and seemingly unnecessary sounds that no academic learning could have prepared you for?

Like all languages, real-life spoken French is quite different from what you learn in grammar books. It’s littered with weird “filler words” that easily get in the way when you’re trying to follow a complicated conversation.

French filler words are short and meaningless words or sounds we use to fill the gaps. They can get rather irritating, but on the bright side, mastering these filler words in French will allow you to sound even ‘Frencher’ than locals.

In this article, you’ll learn how to use the most common French filler words and phrases. We’ll also discuss why you should consider using them (within reason). Get your Uh and your Um ready, and let’s dive in.

→ Once you have these down, why not learn some Essential Idioms That Will Make You Sound Like a Native Speaker and The 10 Most Useful Untranslatable French Words?

The first time you hear: “Alors, euh…tu vois, quoi.”

Table of Contents

1. Why Do We Use Filler Words?
2. Top 10 French Filler Words
3. Pros and Cons of Filler Words
4. Le mot de la fin

1. Why Do We Use Filler Words?

We’ve all met like…that person that…like…uses filler words, like…at least twice per sentence. Are they looking for the right word or thinking about what to say next? And why does it sound so bad when used in excess?

Filler words add no meaning to a sentence. They are trivial sounds or pieces of speech—the “um” and “uh” of most conversations—but that doesn’t mean they serve no purpose and should be removed entirely.

French filler words can have various functions:

• To give you a moment to think about what you want to say or how you want to phrase it
• To let others know that you’re not finished yet, and that even if you’ve paused for a second, you have more to say
• To emphasize something, or to stress the importance of what you’ve just said

Some filler words can be used in any situation, while others should be avoided in formal contexts. In the following section, I’ll add a note when that’s the case.

2. Top 10 French Filler Words

#1

French	Literally	English equivalent
Euh…	–	“Uh…”
Euh is possibly the most overused filler sound in French, and I can guarantee that you’ll hear a LOT of it when talking with locals, in informal and formal settings alike. Just like its English equivalent, you can use it to mark a pause and reflect on life for a moment, as your companions patiently wait for what’s coming next, hanging on your every word.
Je voudrais acheter du lait et, euh…des œufs. (“I would like to buy some milk and, uh…eggs.”) Euh…je sais pas quoi dire. (“Uh…I don’t know what to say.”) C’est euh…la première porte à droite. (“It’s, uh…the first door on your right.”)

→ Are you spending too much time looking for the right word when you’re in a shop? Stop by our Shopping vocabulary list, or learn essential words for Shopping Downtown.

Je voudrais des œufs et…euh… (“I would like some eggs and…uh…”)

#2

French	Literally	English equivalent
Quoi	“What”	“You know”
Although quoi literally means “what,” it has a whole different meaning when it’s not used as a question word. We use it at the end of a sentence to emphasize what we’re saying and make it sound like an obvious truth. This is especially ubiquitous in northern France, but you could hear it pretty much anywhere. It’s better to avoid it in very formal settings such as a job interview, as it sounds a bit too laid back (even if most people wouldn’t even notice it on a conscious level).
Cette équipe gagne à chaque fois. C’est les meilleurs, quoi. (“This team wins every time. They are the best, you know.”) 1000€ pour ça ? C’est trop cher, quoi. (“1000€ for that? It’s too expensive, you know.”) J’étais fatigué. J’en avais marre, quoi. (“I was tired. I had enough of it, you know.”)

#3

French	Literally	English equivalent
Hein ?	“What?”	“Right?” / “Isn’t it?”
Outside of its function as a filler word, hein is a very informal version of quoi (“what”) that you can use when you don’t understand something or can’t believe what you’ve heard. – On part dans dix minutes. (“We’re leaving in ten minutes.”) – Hein ? (“What?”) As a filler word, it’s used to emphasize a question, making it sound like something you believe is correct. You’re asking the other person for confirmation.
Tu pars bientôt, hein ? (“You’re leaving soon, aren’t you?”) C’était une bonne soirée, hein ? (“That was a nice evening, right?”)

#4

French	Literally	English equivalent
Ben / Bah / Beh	–	“Well”
Ben is a shortened version of bien (“well” / “good”) and can be used as a filler word at the beginning of a sentence, or somewhere in the middle, just like euh (“uh”). There are a few variations of this common French filler—ben, bah, beh—that can all serve the same two functions: To emphasize the meaning of something (sort of like saying “duh” to express that you believe something is obvious) To express indecision, just like euh or a reluctant “well”
– Tu aimes le fromage ? (“Do you like cheese?”) – Bah bien sûr ! (“Duh, of course!”) – Tu aimes le vin ? (“Do you like wine?”) – Bah… je sais pas. (“Well, I don’t know.”) – Le film, beh…c’était pas terrible. (“The movie, well…it wasn’t amazing.”) – Ben non, c’était mauvais ! (“Well no, it was bad!”)

#5

French	Literally	English equivalent
En fait	“In fact”	“Actually”
This is literally “in fact,” and it can be used in a similar fashion. I’m personally guilty of overusing it, even though I’m well aware it’s not bringing anything meaningful to the table.  It can be used in various places within a sentence and it’s very close to the English filler “actually.”
Mais, en fait, j’en achète tout le temps. (“But, actually, I buy it all the time.”) En fait, je préfère manger dehors. (“In fact, I prefer to eat outside.”) Je suis venu mais en fait, il n’y avait personne. (“I came, but actually, there was nobody.”)

Je vais prendre des saucisses, en fait. (“I’ll take some sausages, actually.”)

#6

French	Literally	English equivalent
Bon	“Well”	“Well” / “So”
Bon is a close equivalent of the English “well.” It can be used either to emphasize a sentence or, less commonly, to express impatience like “so” does in English.
Bon, ça t’a plu ? (“Well, did you like it?”) Bon, on commence quand ? (“So, when do we start?”) Bon, je ne suis pas vraiment convaincu. (“Well, I’m not really convinced.”)

#7

French	Literally	English equivalent
Genre	“Type” / “Kind”	“Like”
Literally, genre means “kind” as in: “It’s a kind of cake.” (C’est un genre de gâteau.)  As a filler word, it does not convey any specific meaning but rather expresses some sort of indecision.
Ça se mange, genre…avec une sauce. (“It’s eaten, like…with a sauce.”) Il faudrait partir, genre…vers 20h. (“We should go, like…around 8 p.m.”)

#8

French	Literally	English equivalent
Enfin	“Finally” / “At last”	“Well”
Enfin is the literal combination of en and fin (“in end”): J’ai enfin vu ce film. (“I have finally watched that movie.”) As a filler word, it’s closer to “anyway” or “well,” and it stresses the phrase it’s attached to. It can also be combined with bref (“anyway”), and the result enfin bref would roughly translate to “long story short.”
Enfin, tu vois ce que je veux dire. (“Well, you know what I mean.”) Il y avait de la bonne bouffe et de la bonne musique. Enfin bref, c’était une super soirée. (“There was great food and good music. Long story short, it was a great night!”)

#9

French	Literally and English equivalent
Tu sais / Tu vois	“You know” / “You see”
This is generally used at the end of the sentence as a question, even though it’s not necessarily pronounced as such and can be said like a statement. Also, this is a rhetorical question and the speaker does not expect to get an answer. It’s quite casual, though it wouldn’t be considered rude to say the formal variations vous voyez (“you see”) and vous savez (“you know”) in a formal setting.
C’est vraiment difficile, tu vois. (“It’s really difficult, you see.”) J’aimerais beaucoup venir, tu sais. (“I would love to come, you know.”) C’est un produit très efficace, vous savez. (“It’s a very effective product, you know.”)

T’es mignonne, tu sais. (“You’re cute, you know.”)

#10

French	Literally	English equivalent
Alors	“Then”	“So” / “Well”
Alors is a very common filler word in French that’s often used to draw attention to your next sentence. You can use it to get the other person’s attention or before changing the topic. You can use it in formal or informal situations, and as opposed to euh, quoi, or ben, it will not sound like you’re slow or indecisive. Rather, it will sound like you’re giving your speech some structure.
Alors, quoi de neuf ? (“So, what’s up?”) Alors, qu’est-ce vous voulez commander ? (“So, what do you want to order?”) Alors, voyons voir qui est arrivé. (“Well, let’s see who has arrived.”)

3. Pros and Cons of Filler Words

As you can see, this was a fairly short list and lots of these basic French filler words have a similar function. It makes filler words quite easy to pick up once you wrap your head around their very concept. Should you really use them, though?

1 – Sound Like a Local

When you start using filler words, it will instantly boost how “authentic” you sound. Most people might not even realize it, but it will have an effect on how they perceive you and your speech. 

If you’ve attained a beginner or intermediate level of French, using filler words correctly will make you sound a bit cooler and might boost your confidence.

As an advanced learner, you’re getting one step closer to truly blending in. If your pronunciation is good enough, you could even start fooling your new local friends by sounding just like a native French speaker.

2 – Why You Shouldn’t Overuse Them

However, this is a double-edged sword and if you overdo it, it might make you sound too hesitant or less confident. I’ve been on the hiring side of job interviews, and hearing a candidate constantly mumble Euh… in every single sentence doesn’t make for a good impression.

Conveniently, you don’t have to substitute filler words with anything, because they don’t add any meaning to begin with. You can simply cut them from your speech and you’ll be just fine. 

There are also a few tricks that will buy you some time to gather your thoughts while making you sound smarter than using euh or genre would. 

• Euh…. je crois que c’est là bas. (“Uh… I think it’s over there.”)
  • Mmmh… je crois que c’est par là. (“Mmh… I think it’s over there.”)
  • Voyons voir… je crois que c’est par là. (“Let’s see… I think it’s over there.”)
  • Laissez-moi réfléchir… je crois que c’est par là. (“Let me think… I think it’s over there.”)

As long as you’re relaxed enough, you can just embrace the pause and build some suspense while pausing to collect your thoughts. Great public speakers often pause for several seconds, to great effect. You won’t hear them dragging on an “Uh….” as they carefully think about their next words.

Voyons voir… (“Let’s see…”)

4. Le mot de la fin

In this guide, you’ve learned everything about French filler words: what they are, how to use them in a sentence, and what the most popular filler words in French are. We’ve also discussed why you might want to use them and how to refrain from overdoing it.

Did any of these filler words catch you by surprise? Let us know which ones in the comments!

A couple of good ways to practice French filler words are to focus on one or two words at a time and to start paying attention to how locals use them. You can do this during a conversation or by watching videos or listening to podcasts. Then, once you feel like you’ve got the hang of it, you could try using them yourself and let the magic happen.

FrenchPod101 also has tons of vocabulary lists with audio recordings as well as other free resources to boost your studies and keep your French learning fresh and entertaining! 

Remember that you can also use our Premium PLUS service, MyTeacher, to get personal 1-on-1 coaching with a private teacher who can help you practice filler words and so much more. In addition to giving you personalized assignments and exercises, your teacher will record audio samples just for you and review your work to help you improve every day. 

Happy learning on FrenchPod101.com!

About the Author: Born and bred in the rainy north of France, Cyril Danon had been bouncing off various jobs before he left everything behind to wander around the wonders of the World. Now, after quenching his wanderlust over the last few years, he’s eager to share his passion for languages.

Did you know that the French language does not differentiate between “love” and “like”? When you say J’aime le fromage, it means that you like cheese. But if you say Je t’aime, it stands for “I love you” in French and certainly not just “I like you.”

This might be one of the reasons why the French are known to be rather quick about saying “I love you.” Unlike other cultures, they don’t necessarily mean that they want to get married and spend the rest of their days with the person, but more like they really like the person and love spending time together.

But I’m getting ahead of myself! In this guide, we’ll talk about love, of course, but also about flirting and seduction—from first contact to sweet talk for lovebirds—staying in touch, and spicing things up. We’ve even included a bonus section on the most infamous love quotes that you should never use.

Table of Contents

1. First Contact
2. Keep in Touch
3. Take it to the Next Level
4. Let’s Meet Again
5. You’re in Love
6. Bonus: The Worst French Love Phrases
7. Le mot de la fin

All you need is love!

1. First Contact

Have you just seen the stylish guy over there with the stubble and fancy scarf? Or maybe you’re looking at the Mediterranean-looking girl with olive skin, high cheekbones, and dark hair? 

If you’ve just gotten a crush on someone and want to make first contact, this is where we start. 

In the following sentences—and throughout this guide—we’ll assume you’re in an informal setting such as a bar or a club, and using the casual tu (informal “you”) instead of the polite vous (formal “you”).

Tu viens souvent ici ?

“Do you come here often?”

Tu veux danser ? Tu veux danser avec moi ?

“Do you want to dance?” “Do you want to dance with me?”

Je t’offre un verre ?	“Can I buy you a drink?”
In France, men are not expected to pay for everything and it’s common for couples on a date to split the bill. It’s perfectly fine to buy a girl a drink, but you should not feel obligated to do so.  It’s more unusual for a girl to buy a guy a drink, but you’re sure to make an impression simply for being different.

Tu es venu(e) avec ton copain ? Tu es venu(e) avec ta copine ?	“Did you come with your boyfriend?” “Did you come with your girlfriend?”
This is a not-so-subtle way to ask someone if they’re single.  If you want to be even more straightforward, you could ask: Tu es célibataire ? (“Are you single?”)

Tu veux danser ? (“Do you wanna dance?”)

2. Keep in Touch

Now that you’ve made first contact, let’s imagine that you both had a good time and you want to spend more time with your potential date. You could set the next date right away or just smoothly get their phone number.

Si on prenait un verre un de ces quatre ?	“What about having a drink one of these days?”
Un de ces quatre (literally: “One of these four”) is the short version of Un de ces quatre matins (“One of these four mornings”). It describes a short, undefined amount of time, such as “a few days,” and adds an element of uncertainty (it might just not happen at all).

Je peux t’inviter à dîner ?	“Can I invite you for dinner?”
Like I mentioned before, it’s not necessarily up to the man to pay the bill and it’s not expected “by default.” However, this shouldn’t keep you from inviting someone for dinner, which implies that you’ll be paying.

Je voudrais te revoir. J’aimerais bien te revoir.

“I’d like to see you again.”

Je peux te donner mon numéro ?	“Can I give you my number?”
Why give your number instead of asking for his/hers? Aside from being more courteous, giving your number first is a way to show interest right away. Then, if you’ve made a good impression and your potential date is interested, they’ll either return the favor right away or call you later.  Just be cool about it and accept that it might not happen.

→ Now that you’ve made your move, you’ll want to know the Most Common Phrases You’ll Need for a Date and the 10 Most Romantic Ideas for a Date in French.

Je peux te donner mon numéro ? (“Can I give you my number?”)

3. Take it to the Next Level

Did you score that second date? Or a third, or more? Whether it’s your first or your tenth, if you feel like it’s time to shift into high gear, I’ve got you covered with these romantic French phrases: 

Tu veux sortir prendre l’air ?	“Do you wanna get some fresh air?” “Do you wanna get out?”
This is a rather casual request and a great way to see whether the person is interested in spending a bit of time alone with you, without having them commit to anything more.

On va dans un endroit plus tranquille ?	“Do you wanna go somewhere quieter?”
It’s getting more serious than just sortir prendre l’air.

Je te raccompagne ?	“Can I take you home?”
As early as the first date, you can ask her if you can take her home (it’s most commonly a guy thing). It doesn’t need to have any hidden meaning and you shouldn’t be offended if she declines. You’ll be showing good manners by offering, but keep in mind that your partner is not committing to anything, such as letting you in.

Tu veux entrer prendre un verre ?	“Do you want to come in for a drink?”
This is often seen as a seduction technique, but you shouldn’t necessarily read too much into it. If you’re made such an offer and are willing to accept it, only assume that you’re going in for the drink and the conversation. Your partner is not committing to anything else for now.

Tu me plais.	“I like you.”
This is more than “I like you.” You’d rarely say this to a friend and it’s more often used toward a partner or a romantic interest. It can also express physical attraction.

J’ai envie de toi.	“I want you.”
This one is rather self-explanatory.

→ Did this put you in a romantic mood? Be sure to stop by our free list of French Quotes About Love.

J’ai envie de toi. (“I want you.”)

4. Let’s Meet Again

When you’re seeing someone and would like to spend more time together, you should probably let them know. Here are a few ways to express it:

Tu me manques.	“I miss you.”
This is a peculiar and cute feature of the French language. Unlike in English, where missing someone is a direct action toward the person, the French version literally means “You are missing from me,” or “I’m missing you,” (in the same way that a dish would “miss” salt or pepper). Missing a person is like missing a part of yourself.

On se revoit bientôt ?

“Are we meeting again soon?”

J’ai hâte de te revoir.

“I can’t wait to see you again.”

Je voudrais passer plus de temps avec toi. J’aimerais passer plus de temps avec toi.

“I’d like to spend more time with you.”

Je pense toujours à toi. Je n’arrête pas de penser à toi.

“I’m still thinking about you.” “I can’t stop thinking about you.”

On se revoit bientôt ? (“Are we meeting again soon?”)

5. You’re in Love

There you are: You’re now completely head over heels, madly in love with your French date or partner, and you want to confess your love…or maybe tell your most trusted friends about it. Here are some French love words and phrases you can use to do so.

Je t’aime.

“I love you.”

Even though we don’t have a clear distinction between “like” and “love” like English does, there are some ways to express the different levels of affection: Je t’aime bien (“I like you”) [Friendly] Je t’aime (“I love you”) [Romantic] Je t’adore (“I adore you”) [Could be friendly or romantic] For more information on the many shades of aimer (“to love” / “to like”), make sure to stop by the fifth chapter of our article on the Top 10 French Sentence Patterns.

Je suis fou de toi. Je suis folle de toi.

“I’m crazy about you.” [Speaker is male] “I’m crazy about you.” [Speaker is female]

Tu es beau. Tu es belle.

“You’re beautiful.” [The other person is male] “You’re beautiful.” [The other person is female]

Mon amour Mon chéri Ma chérie	“My love” “My dear” / “My darling” [Male] “My dear” / “My darling” [Female]
These are just a few popular French terms of endearment, but there are many more: mon cœur (literally: “my heart”), mon bébé (“my baby”), mon chaton (“my kitten”). It’s all a matter of preference.

Je suis tombé amoureux. Je suis tombée amoureuse.

“I’ve fallen in love.” [Speaker is male] “I’ve fallen in love.” [Speaker is female]

J’ai eu un coup de foudre.	“I’ve had a crush.”
This literally means that you’ve been struck by lightning. We generally use it to describe “love at first sight”: a very strong and immediate attraction.

→ Are you looking for more inspiration to declare your undying love? Our list of Love Phrases for Valentine’s Day might be just what you need.

Je t’aime. (“I love you.”)

6. Bonus: The Worst French Love Phrases

Do you feel like you’re too handsome and charming for your own good and you’re growing tired of constantly attracting the people around you?

Here is a collection of the most infamous French love quotes that remain inexplicably popular. You can use them if you want to make sure you’ll stay single.

T’as d’beaux yeux, tu sais.	“You have beautiful eyes, you know.”
A famous quote from the movie Le Quai des Brumes (1938) with Jean Gabin and Michèle Morgan. There’s nothing inherently wrong with the quote, but it has been overused to the point where it sounds silly.

T’es bien charmante mademoiselle.	“You’re very charming, miss.”
If you’ve been to Paris, you might have bumped into one of these groups of small-time dodgy-looking youngsters trying to act tough. If you’re a woman, they would most likely whistle at you and throw a bunch of distasteful comments in some futile attempt to look witty and seductive. This quote is rather harmless, but most French girls would run away at the sound of it.

Lâche ton 06.	“Give me your mobile number.”
Literally: “Drop your 06.” It’s a reference to the first digits that all French mobile phone numbers used to start with. This is what generally comes after the T’es bien charmante and some more naughty comments. For the same reason, you should only use it to get rid of someone, or humoristically.

J’te kiffe bébé.	“I’m into you baby.”
Kiffer (“to like” / “to love”) is the slang equivalent of aimer.

Ton père est un voleur. Il a volé toutes les étoiles du ciel pour les mettre dans tes yeux.	“Your father is a thief. He stole all the stars from the sky to put them in your eyes.”
If you want the cheesiest of all French love phrases, look no further.

T’as d’beaux yeux, tu sais. (“You have beautiful eyes, you know.”)

7. Le mot de la fin

In this guide, you’ve learned how to say “I love you,” in French and how to use the most common and useful French love phrases. From the early flirting lines to intimate whispers and ardent confessions of love, you now have some phrases for every step of the way.

Did we forget any important love phrases you know? Don’t hesitate to share them in the comments below!

Make sure to explore FrenchPod101, as we have plenty of free resources for you to practice your grammar and learn new words. Our vocabulary lists are also a great way to review the words and learn their pronunciation.

Remember that you can also use our Premium PLUS service, MyTeacher, to get personal 1-on-1 coaching with your own private teacher who can help you practice. In addition to giving you assignments, personalized exercises, and recorded audio samples, your teacher will review your work and help you improve your pronunciation. Happy learning on FrenchPod101.com!

About the Author: Born and bred in the rainy north of France, Cyril Danon has been bouncing off various jobs before he left everything behind to wander around the wonders of the World. Now, after quenching his wanderlust for the last few years, he’s eager to share his passion for languages.

Have you ever paid attention to all those books about The Gentle Art of Saying No, The Power of a Positive No, How to Say No Without Feeling Guilty, and many more? 

Based on these titles, it would seem that there’s something inherently difficult about saying no. In fact, it could even be considered rude, insensitive, or socially disruptive…

…unless you happen to be in France! Here, you can safely say no to most questions without the need to carefully sugarcoat it. 

Negation in French is rather similar to that in English, and once you’ve mastered the most basic structures, it shouldn’t give you any trouble.

In this guide, you’ll learn how to do negation in French. We’ll cover everything from the fundamentals to the more advanced rules, providing you with a list of the most useful negative words in French and examples of how to use them in sentences.

Non, pas du tout. (“No, not at all.”)

Table of Contents

1. The Basics of Negation
2. More Negative Words
3. Important Negation Rules
4. Negative Questions
5. Negative Phrasebook
6. Le mot de la fin

1. The Basics of Negation

There are four basic French negation words and phrase patterns you should become familiar with before moving forward. Here they are: 

A- Non (“No”)

Let’s kick off with something straightforward: Non is the French equivalent of “No,” and that’s pretty much all you need to know about it.

– Tu aimes les films d’horreur ? (“Do you like horror movies?”)
– Non. (“No.”)

The main difference between non and its English equivalent is that non is mainly used as a negative answer to a question.

For structures such as “I have no time,” we use: Ne… pas. (Je n’ai pas le temps.)

B- Ne… pas (“Don’t”)

There you have it: The bread and butter of negation in French. Ne… pas is a structure you’ll see and hear a lot as you learn French. 

The basic rule is to place ne and pas around the verb.

• Je sais. (“I know.”)
  Je ne sais pas. (“I don’t know.”)
  
  
• Je bois du vin. (“I drink this wine.”)
  Je ne bois pas de vin. (“I don’t drink this wine.”)

If you’ve ever used French verbs starting with a vowel sound, do you remember how the pronoun can adapt to make the sentence smoother?

Let’s take the verb aimer (“to love,” “to like”) with the pronoun je (“I”) for example:

Je + aime =
Je aime
J’aime (“I like”)

The same thing happens with Ne… pas, but this time, the Ne becomes N’:

• J’aime la pluie. (“I like the rain.”)
  Je n’aime pas la pluie. (“I don’t like the rain.”)
  
  
• J’écoute la radio. (“I listen to the radio.”)
  Je n’écoute pas la radio. (“I don’t listen to the radio.”)

C- Ne… plus (“Don’t… anymore”)

This structure is very similar to Ne… pas and shortens the pronoun in the same way.

• Je sais. (“I know.”)
  Je ne sais plus. (“I don’t know anymore.” / “I don’t remember.”)
  
  
• J’écoute la radio. (“I listen to the radio.”)
  Je n’écoute plus la radio. (“I don’t listen to the radio anymore.”)

D- Ne… que (“Only”)

Even though this is not a negative sentence per se, this structure uses Ne which might confuse you the first time you bump into it.

Ne… que follows the same structure as Ne… pas:

• Je ne bois que du vin. (“I only drink wine.”)
• Je n’invite que mes amis. (“I only invite my friends.”)

What we’re really saying is: 

• “I don’t drink anything but wine.”
• “I don’t invite anyone but my friends.”

Practice the basics of French negation with this free lesson on FrenchPod101.com.

Je ne mange pas de viande. (“I don’t eat meat.”)

2. More Negative Words

Of course, depending on how specific you want to be or the message you want to get across, there are a few more French words for negation you should have handy: 

A- Ni… ni (“Neither… nor”)

At first glance, Ni… ni is pretty easy to use.

• Ni oui ni non (“Neither yes, nor no”)

Then, you can combine it with Ne or N’ to make a sentence. It forms kind of a double negation.

• Je n’aime ni la pluie ni le soleil. (“I like neither the rain nor the sun.”)

You can add more ni if needed. In that case, you’d usually separate them with commas.

• Je n’aime ni la pluie, ni le soleil, ni le brouillard. (“I like neither the rain, nor the sun, nor the fog.”)

Partitive articles (du, de la, des: “some”) and indefinite articles (un, une: “a”) are omitted when using Ni… ni.

• J’ai un chat et un chien. (“I have a cat and a dog.”)
  Je n’ai ni chat ni chien. (“I have neither a cat nor a dog.”)
  
  
• Je mange du pain et du fromage. (“I eat bread and cheese.”)
  Je ne mange ni pain ni fromage. (“I eat neither bread nor cheese.”)

B- Common Negative Words

Here are some more useful negative words and how to use them.

Jamais (“Never”)	Je ne bois jamais de vin. (“I never drink wine.”)
Personne (“Nobody”)	Personne n’écoute la radio. (“Nobody listens to the radio.”) Je n’écoute personne. (“I don’t listen to anybody.”)
Rien (“Nothing”)	Rien ne change. (“Nothing changes.”) Je ne mange rien. (“I’m not eating anything.”)
Aucun(e) (“No,” “None”)	Aucun problème. (“No problem.”) – With a masculine noun. Tu n’as aucune preuve. (“You have no proof.”) – With a feminine noun.
Nulle part (“Nowhere”)	Nulle part ailleurs. (“Nowhere else.”) Je ne vais nulle part. (“I’m not going anywhere.”)

As you probably noticed, these words create lots of double negation, but this is perfectly fine in French.

• Je ne mange rien. (Literally: “I don’t eat nothing.”)
• Tu n’as aucune preuve. (Literally: “You don’t have no proof.”)

And of course, you can combine these negative words together for even more negation power!

• Tu ne crois jamais personne. (“You never believe anyone.”)
• Je ne fais jamais rien. (“I never do anything.”)
• Il ne voit plus personne. (“He doesn’t see anybody anymore.”)

Je n’aime ni le café ni les cravates ! (“I like neither coffee nor ties!”)

C- Old-fashioned Negation Words

Ne… point and Ne… guère are two literary words that you might find in classic books or academic writing, but never in a conversation (unless used in a quote, or humoristically).

In a sentence, they behave exactly like Ne… pas.

Point is the equivalent of “not at all.”

• Je ne travaille point. (“I’m not working at all.”)

Guère is the equivalent of “not much,” “very rarely,” or “very few.”

• Je ne travaille guère. (“I’m not working much.”)

Get more practice with these common negative words by learning to say what you will never do in French.

3. Important Negation Rules

Now that you know the basics and have a collection of negative words at your disposal, it’s time to go deeper and learn the most important French negation rules. 

A- Compound Tenses

Compound tenses, like the passé composé, combine two verbs: Auxiliary verb + Verb.

• Elle a mangé. (“She has eaten.”) – Auxiliary avoir + manger
• Elle est partie. (“She has left.”) – Auxiliary être + partir

You know that the basic rule is to place ne and pas around the verb, right? With compound tenses, we place them around the first verb: the auxiliary.

• Elle n’a pas mangé. (“She has not eaten.”)
• Elle n’est pas partie. (“She has not left.”)

Is it still confusing? Let’s see more examples:

Présent (Present)	Passé composé (Present perfect)
Je mange. (“I eat.”) Je ne mange pas. (“I don’t eat.”)	J’ai mangé. (“I have eaten.”) Je n’ai pas mangé. (“I haven’t eaten.”)
J’écoute la radio. (“I listen to the radio.”) Je n’écoute pas la radio. (“I don’t listen to the radio.”)	J’ai écouté la radio. (“I have listened to the radio.”) Je n’ai pas écouté la radio. (“I haven’t listened to the radio.”)
Je ne mange rien. (“I don’t eat anything.”)	Je n’ai rien mangé. (“I haven’t eaten anything.”)
Je ne bois jamais de vin. (“I never drink wine.”)	Je n’ai jamais bu de vin. (“I’ve never drunk wine.”)
Elle ne mange ni pain ni fromage. (“She eats neither bread nor cheese.”)	Elle n’a mangé ni pain ni fromage. (“She has eaten neither bread nor cheese.”)

B- Undefined Articles

Partitive articles (du, de la, des: “some”) and indefinite articles (un, une: “a”) are usually replaced with de in negative sentences.

• Je bois de la bière. (“I drink beer.”)
  Je ne bois pas de bière. (“I don’t drink beer.”)
  
  
• Nous avons des gâteaux. (“We have cakes.”)
  Nous n’avons pas de gâteaux. (“We don’t have cakes.”)
  
  
• Elle a un chat. (“She has a cat.”)
  Elle n’a pas de chat. (“She doesn’t have a cat.”)
  
  
• Elle porte une robe. (“She’s wearing a dress.”)
  Elle ne porte pas de robe. (“She’s not wearing a dress.”)

This rule doesn’t apply to Ne… que, as it’s not strictly a negative expression.

• Je mange du fromage. (“I eat cheese.”)
  Je ne mange pas de fromage. (“I don’t eat cheese.”)
  Je ne mange que du fromage. (“I only eat cheese.”)

Je ne bois pas de bière. (“I don’t drink beer.”)

C- Negation of the Infinitive

In a negative sentence with an infinitive verb, Ne and pas are placed together before the verb.

• Elle m’a dit de ne pas faire ça. (“She told me not to do that.”)
• Merci de ne pas utiliser l’ascenseur. (“Thank you for not using the elevator.”)

D- Oral Shortcuts

In spoken French, it’s very common to skip the Ne entirely. Only the Pas remains to express the negation.

Unless you’re in a formal setting such as a job interview or a business meeting, you should drop it or it will sound either foreign or uptight.

• Written: Je ne sais pas. (“I don’t know.”) [Formal]
  Spoken: Je sais pas. (“I don’t know.”) [Casual]
  
  
• Written: Je n’aime pas la pluie. (“I don’t like the rain.”)
  Spoken: J’aime pas la pluie. (“I don’t like the rain.”)

4. Negative Questions

Conveniently, negative questions follow the same rules as declarative sentences. They use the same words, structure, order, and so on.

In French, there are two ways you can form a given question. With that in mind, the French negation structures for questions are as follows:

Normal / Casual:

• Ils ont un chat ? or Est-ce qu’ils ont un chat ? (“Do they have a cat?”)
• Ils n’ont pas de chat ? (“Don’t they have a cat?”)

Written / Formal: [with inversion of subject and verb]

• Ont-ils un chat ? (“Do they have a cat?”)
• N’ont-ils pas un chat ? (“Don’t they have a cat?”)

In the following table, I will focus on the casual style which is much more common. The inversion of subject and verb is barely ever used in spoken French, even in formal professional settings.

Statement	Question
Vous écoutez la radio. (“You are listening to the radio.”) Vous n’écoutez pas la radio. (“You are not listening to the radio.”)	Vous écoutez la radio ? (“Are you listening to the radio?”) Vous n’écoutez pas la radio ? (“Aren’t you listening to the radio?”)
Vous avez écouté la radio. (“You have listened to the radio.”) Vous n’avez pas écouté la radio. (“You haven’t listened to the radio.”)	Vous avez écouté la radio ? (“Have you listened to the radio?”) Vous n’avez pas écouté la radio ? (“Haven’t you listened to the radio?”)
Elle ne boit jamais de vin. (“She never drinks wine.”)	Elle ne boit jamais de vin ? (“Does she never drink wine?”)

→ Do you need some French negation practice? Why not have a look at this intermediate lesson on negative phrases?

Il n’écoute pas la radio ? (“Doesn’t he listen to the radio?”)

5. Negative Phrasebook

Now that you’ve become quite knowledgeable about negation in French, let’s be more practical and look at the most common negative expressions you might want to remember.

• De rien (“You’re welcome”)
  
  This is what you can answer when someone says Merci (“Thank you”).
  
  It uses the word rien (“nothing”), which we saw earlier. It literally means: “For nothing.”

• Pas du tout (“Not at all”)
  
  You can use this expression as an answer to a question, or make sentences with it, such as:
  
  Je n’ai pas faim du tout. / Je n’ai pas du tout faim. (“I’m not hungry at all.”)
  Ce n’est pas du tout certain. (“This is not certain at all.”)

• Pas encore (“Not yet”)
  
  Elle n’est pas encore partie. (“She hasn’t left yet.”)

• Pas trop or Pas vraiment (“Not too,” “Not so,” “Not really”)
  
  Je n’ai pas trop faim. (“I’m not so hungry.”)
  Elle n’aime pas vraiment le fromage. (“She doesn’t really like cheese.”)

• Ça ne fait rien. (“It doesn’t matter.”)

A bit more practice on the fundamentals of French negation? Stop by our free lesson to review the use of Ne… pas, indefinite articles, and more.

6. Le mot de la fin

In this guide, you’ve learned everything about negation in French, from basic negative expressions to more advanced rules and how to form negative questions. You’re also well-equipped now with a list of the most useful negative words in French.

Did I forget any important negative words that you know? Feel free to share it with your fellow students in the comments below!

FrenchPod101 also has tons of vocabulary lists with audio recordings and free resources to boost your studies and keep your French learning fresh and entertaining!

Remember that you can also use our Premium PLUS service, MyTeacher, to get personal 1-on-1 coaching with a private teacher. He or she will help you practice negation (and much more!) through assignments, personalized exercises, and recorded audio samples to help you improve your pronunciation. 

Happy learning on FrenchPod101.com!

About the Author: Born and bred in the rainy north of France, Cyril Danon has been bouncing off various jobs before he left everything behind to wander around the wonders of the World. Now, after quenching his wanderlust for the last few years, he’s eager to share his passion for languages.

Why should people learn French, and more importantly, why should you? That’s a fair question to ask before committing your precious time and brainpower to the task.

If I were to learn another language, I’d personally pick something simple enough, widely spread across the globe, with a thriving culture and lots of business opportunities. Damn, I wish I could learn French again!

Whether you’re a travel lover, a people person, or a culture vulture, you’ll find many benefits in learning a new language—and French might be just the one for you.

In this article, we’ll go over the 10 main reasons why you should learn French for leisure (travel, friendship, entertainment) or business (quality studies, work opportunities). We’ll also discuss why it’s easier to learn than you might think.

Travel opportunities are a good reason to learn a language.

Table of Contents

1. It’s the perfect language for travel lovers.
2. You’ll be able to make real connections with French people.
3. You’ll start to enjoy the French culture in its original version.
4. Learning French will give you a deeper understanding of English.
5. France is known for its cheap (yet high-quality) studies.
6. Once you’ve worked in France, there’s no going back.
7. French is one of the top languages for business.
8. French is growing faster than you think.
9. Get ready to show off at dinner parties.
10. French is pretty easy to learn.
11. Le mot de la fin

1 – It’s the perfect language for travel lovers.

A- French is everywhere…

French is a widespread language with native speakers all over the world. 

With close to 300 million speakers in 27 different countries, it’s also the only language to be spoken across all 5 continents. Belgium, Switzerland, Quebec, a big chunk of Africa, French Guiana, and lots of heavenly tropical islands, you name it!

Learning French will open up many places where you’ll be able to travel with peace of mind, knowing you’ve overcome the language barrier. It’s also the second most widely learned language in the world, making it a big asset for travelers, wherever they go!

B- Especially in France!

So many countries, but nothing beats good ol’ France!

This is such a beautiful country with a wide variety of landscapes, from lush forests to snow-capped mountains and glaciers, dramatic cliff sides, sleeping volcanoes, and don’t even get me started on the Mediterranean coast.

And it’s not just the natural wonders one has to look forward to: Cities and towns feature a unique blend of architectural styles, thanks to centuries of history. There’s a reason why France is one of the world’s most popular travel destinations, with over 80 million visitors per year.

Oh, and one more thing…

You might think that in this day and age, you’ll always find someone who speaks English, right? That’s not necessarily true in France, as we’re known for lagging behind most of our European neighbors. 

Are you sure you want to rely on the waiter’s dubious English when ordering delicious French food in a restaurant?

→ Going to France? Don’t leave without a good vocabulary list. They’re all free on FrenchPod101.com and feature recorded audio samples for pronunciation practice.

French architecture rarely disappoints.

2 – You’ll be able to make real connections with French people.

When you learn a language, even if you’re just focusing on practical topics such as grammar and vocabulary, you’ll get to learn more about the culture and way of thinking of its native speakers.

Without getting too philosophical, let’s just say that our thoughts are shaped by our language, and vice-versa. As a result, simply learning the language is an open window to the French culture and way of life!

More prosaically, learning French will help you make genuine connections with native French speakers, whether you meet them in your country or as you travel and spend time with the locals.

You’ll get a better understanding of how they think, what drives them, and what all the fuss over this Art de Vivre (“Art of Living”) is about. Okay, I can answer that one for you: Our boundless love for tasty food and good wine. Sounds interesting, right?

3 – You’ll start to enjoy the French culture in its original version.

One of the best reasons to study French—especially if you have a deep appreciation of world cultures and world-class entertainment—is that France has a whole lot of both. 

A- Timeless classics

Sure, France is a rather small country. It’s not the biggest superpower in terms of its economy or military. But when it comes to soft power and international aura, it’s a cultural superpower with outstanding contributions to art, fashion, cuisine, and entertainment.

France is the birthplace of some of the most fascinating and influential artists of the last few centuries.

Just to name a few, from classic French literature:

• Victor Hugo (Notre Dame de Paris, Les Misérables)
• Molière (L’Avare, Tartuffe)
• Émile Zola (Germinal, La Bête Humaine)

And in the visual arts, we have eminent painters including:

• Claude Monet
• Édouard Manet
• Paul Cézanne
• Auguste Renoir

B- Cinema, music, comics

What better way to learn a language than to immerse yourself in its entertainment industry? By watching movies, reading comics, or listening to music in French, you’ll combine study with pleasure and make progress faster! 

And you’re in luck because the French entertainment industries are thriving. There are lots of new interesting French movies and series released every single year, French music record companies are booming, and 2020 was proclaimed “The Year of Comics” by our local ministry of culture.

You could start watching movies with original French audio and English subtitles. Then, as you get more and more comfortable with the language, you could turn the subtitles to French, and later turn them off entirely.

→ Our vocabulary list of the most Useful Words and Phrases for Going to the Movies will help you always come prepared!

Why not take your French date for a movie night?

4 – Learning French will give you a deeper understanding of English.

Did you know that around 30% of English words come directly from French?

British and French histories have been intertwined for a good thousand years, and it shows. You wouldn’t believe how many common English words are actually derived from French. They’re sometimes slightly modified or just kept identical but with a different pronunciation.

• Bureau – from the French Un bureau (“Desk” / “Office”)
• Salad – Une salade
• Utensil – Un ustensile
• Soup – Une soupe

And there are so many more: 

• Restaurant (Un restaurant)
• Television (Une télévision)
• Hotel (Un hôtel)
• Debris (Un débris)
• Gallery (Une galerie)

I couldn’t possibly list all of them.

Many of these words are used in specialized or technical fields. For example:

• Military: Army (Une armée), Cavalry (Une cavalerie), Soldier (Un soldat), Captain (Un capitaine)
• Art: Music (Une musique), Dance (Une danse), Theatre (Un théâtre), Rhythm (Un rythme)
• Cuisine: Confit (Un confit), Mustard (Une moutarde), Sauce (Une sauce), Sausage (Une saucisse)

As a result, learning French will also benefit your English, as you’ll learn new words as well as the etymology of words you already know. It will help you expand your vocabulary and better understand borrowed French words.

5 – France is known for its cheap (yet high-quality) studies.

Speaking French opens up lots of opportunities for education, as France has some of the best renowned universities (La Sorbonne, Pierre Marie Curie) as well as first-class Grandes écoles (HEC, Polytechnique, ESSEC).

Grandes écoles (literally: “big schools”) is what we call our most prestigious schools. You know, the ones with highly selective admissions, top-notch teachers, and big fancy degrees.

French universities are internationally known for the outstanding quality of their education—but did you know they’re also cheap as dirt? Especially compared to the price of attending big universities in the U.S., it’s much cheaper to get your education in France!

Not only do these schools accept foreign applicants, but students who are fluent enough in French can also apply for a French government grant on the course of their choice in France. In a nutshell, you can have the French government pay for your studies.

Sure, this isn’t for everyone, as it will take an advanced proficiency level to be comfortable in a French classroom (especially in classes on complicated or technical topics). But if you can manage, a French degree will open lots of doors in France and beyond.

→ Did you find your dream university in France? You can start practicing with our vocabulary list on  Words and Phrases for Living on a School Campus.

Studies are the best opportunity to make friends AND build your network.

6 – Once you’ve worked in France, there’s no going back.

As if you needed any more reasons to learn French, get this: Working in France comes with a list of benefits that might just make it the most employee-friendly country in the world. This is all thanks to a set of labor laws aimed at protecting employees over the company and not the other way around.

• Double health insurance
  By default, as soon as you’re legally living in France, you can enroll for our free healthcare system and have most of your medical bills paid for. Many employers also offer a complimentary insurance system to make sure you’re not paying anything for your health.
  


• Paid holidays
  You can expect: A minimum of 5 weeks of paid vacation per year + 11 days of national holidays and some special time off for major life events (wedding, child, etc.).
  


• Job security
  French workers are generally well-protected by labor laws. Permanent contracts offer job security and make it difficult for a company to fire you without good reasons. Short-term contracts come with a nice financial bonus at the end of the period.
  


• Unemployment allowance
  If you lose your job or reach the end of your contract, you can benefit from the Allocation chômage and get a fair portion of your former salary for about a year. It’s more than enough time to find a new job.

• Vouchers, coupons, discounts
  Your employer will pay at least 50% of your public transport card, provide you with restaurant vouchers, and offer some other perks and discounts.

On top of all that, France is a fairly developed country and salaries are not half bad. Sure, you have to consider the cost of living and rather high taxes, but all in all, even a small salary should allow you to live comfortably.

7 – French is one of the top languages for business.

Learning French to work in France is one thing, but it doesn’t end there. Today, French stands on the same podium as English and Chinese, as one of the three most important languages for conducting business.

The economical and cultural influence of France at an international level makes French one of the most wanted languages in the business world.

Based on numbers by Bloomberg Rankings, French is the second most useful language for business. This means that if you’re looking for a job, speaking both English and French is a major asset on your resume that will help you stand out.

But why, exactly? First of all, French is widely used in international relations. It’s an official language of major international groups such as the Red Cross, North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the United Nations (U.N.), Olympics, UNESCO, and of course the European Union (E.U.).

What’s more, learning French will provide you with opportunities to work for companies that either have ties with French groups or use French as their working language. These companies operate in a number of sectors, but most notably in luxury, cosmetics, aeronautics, and automotive.

→ The secret to a great lasting first impression? Impress them with your French! Refer to our list of Phrases for Doing Business Successfully to get a leg up in your job hunt.

French holds its status as the World Capital of Fashion and Luxury.

8 – French is growing faster than you think.

What is the language of the future that we’ll all be speaking by the end of the century? Sure, Mandarin is the new boss in town and many studies place it at the top of the podium. But these studies don’t take into consideration how excruciatingly hard it is for Western students to learn. That’s definitely going to limit its spread in the long-run. 

On the other hand, French is currently growing so fast that studies indicate it could be a major player in years to come. Forbes reports that Natixis Investment Bank went as far as claiming that French will be the most spoken language in the world by 2050.

To be fair, this study seems rather questionable and it does go a little overboard with speculations, but it got a fair amount of attention. In similar projections, France usually sits comfortably somewhere in the top 5.

In any case, French is growing fast, especially in Africa. Now, when you consider that Africa is one of the fastest-growing regions in the world, with the potential to become a major economic powerhouse, it really makes you think.

9 – Get ready to show off at dinner parties. 

But enough with business and world economics. Let’s cut to the real reason why YOU should start learning French today!

A- To be a better lover

First of all, it’s common knowledge that learning French will make you a better kisser. Mastering the weird French [R] and [U] will be just the tongue workout you need to shine at French kissing, and practicing nasal vowels will improve your breathing by 72%. Numbers don’t lie.

Besides, French is known to be “the language of love.” It makes it the perfect language to serenade your special someone in. You can use sweet French words like, Parfait au chocolat (“You are so beautiful”) or Voulez-vous coucher avec moi ce soir ? (“Can I buy you a drink?”). You might wanna double-check that, just in case.

B- To impress your friends

In addition to being the official language of love, French is also called the “language of reasoning and debate” and “the language of enlightenment.” (I’m not even making that up, it’s all over the internet.)

Impress your friends with your linguistic knowledge by randomly dropping fancy words and existential quotes from French philosophers in their original version. If they’re not speechless already, you could imply that you started learning yesterday, but you’re a natural.

Another fail-proof technique to leave your audience in awe is to take them to a French restaurant (make sure you split the bill, though; elegance doesn’t come cheap) and start dropping sophisticated French terms to the waiter.

If you’re not comfortable enough with your current level, you could just read through the wine menu with an air of thoughtful confidence. And for once, you’ll have good reasons to say, “Pardon my French.”

→ Quoting the wine menu should be your last resort! Don’t leave anything to chance, and instead rehearse with our list of Vocabulary and Phrases at the Restaurant.

Une glace au Chardonnay, s’il vous plaît. (“A Chardonnay ice cream, please.”)

10 – French is pretty easy to learn.

For someone who already knows English (that’s you, if you’re reading this), French is generally considered a fairly easy language to pick up. 

Both the FSI (Foreign Service Institute) and ELC (European Language Center) rank French as one of the most accessible languages for English speakers. Why is that? Let’s break it down quickly:

• French is a Romance language
  As such, it has a LOT in common with other Romance languages such as Spanish, Romanian, and Portuguese. Although English is not part of this exact family, it shares many aspects of it in terms of syntax and vocabulary, which will give you a huge head-start.
  


• You already know a ton of French words
  As mentioned earlier, nearly 30% of English words are of French origin. This is essentially free vocabulary that you don’t have to study.
  


• Structures are oddly similar
  Many grammar structures are so similar that you can often translate French to English word for word. No need to twist your brain in awkward positions. For example: Elle a un beau jardin. (“She has a beautiful garden.”)
  


• Internet and mobile apps to the rescue
  Living in the 21st century is a beautiful thing for language learners. Never before has it been easier to pick up and master a language.
  
  What used to take years can be achieved within mere months, with a level of ease and flexibility our parents couldn’t even imagine when they were grinding their way through foreign languages, old-school-style.

If you’d like to know more about why learning French is easier than you might think, make sure to visit our full article titled How Hard is it to Learn French?

11 – Le mot de la fin

In this guide, you’ve learned the main reasons why you should learn French, from the vast number of French-speaking countries to the culture- and business-related opportunities. If you want to work, study, or move to France, learning this language is an obvious choice—but showing off is also a fair reason, isn’t it? Why do you want to learn French? 

Learning a new language used to be a painful grind, but nowadays, it’s a much faster and more streamlined experience when done right.

With our integrated approach, a metric ton of free content, and quality premium coaching, FrenchPod101 is just what you need to get started. Make sure to explore all of our free resources to get a feel of what we have to offer!

Remember that you can also use our Premium PLUS service, MyTeacher, to get personal one-on-one coaching with a private teacher who can help you practice wherever you are. Your teacher will be able to offer you personalized assignments and exercises, record audio samples to help you practice your pronunciation, and help you dive deeper into the French culture and language. 

Happy learning on FrenchPod101.com!

About the Author: Born and bred in the rainy north of France, Cyril Danon was bouncing off various jobs before he left everything behind to wander around the wonders of the World. Now, after quenching his wanderlust for the last few years, he’s eager to share his passion for languages.

Do you get tense when looking at French conjugation tables? Handling verbs in French can seem quite overwhelming at first: There are distinct endings for each pronoun, six different moods, and soooo many tenses!

But of course, there’s a trick. Once you take a closer look, it’s not nearly as complicated as you might think. These verb endings follow rules, only a fraction of French tenses are used in real life, and even fewer are useful in spoken French.

In this article, you’ll find a quick overview of the general rules concerning French verb conjugation. Then, we’ll dive right into the list of French tenses: present, past, and future. Oh, and there will be lots of cats involved because they generally make grammar more interesting.

Elle embrasse un chaton. (“She’s kissing a kitten.”)

Table of Contents

1. French Conjugation in a Nutshell
2. Present Tenses
3. Future Tenses
4. Common Past Tenses
5. Literary Past Tenses
6. Le mot de la fin

1. French Conjugation in a Nutshell

Before we get too far into the details, here’s some basic information about French tenses and conjugations you should know.

How Many Tenses Do You Really Need to Speak French?

Did you know that French has 17 tenses, 6 moods, and 2 voices? Wait, don’t run away!

You only need a fraction of that list to get by on a daily basis, and you’d be surprised how far you can get with only two tenses:

• Présent (Present)
• Passé composé (Compound past)

With the présent, you can describe anything happening right now as well as things that happen regularly—you can even use it to describe future events!

J’apprends le français.	“I’m learning French.”
J’apprends le français tous les jours.	“I learn French every day.”
J’apprends le français à partir de demain.	“I will learn French, starting tomorrow.”
J’apprends le français l’année prochaine.	“I will learn French next year.”

And with the passé composé, you can refer to any past event, unless you have a really complex chain of events to describe.

J’ai appris le français à l’université.	“I have learned French at university.”
J’ai appris le français l’année dernière.	“I learned French last year.”

As you get more comfortable with the language, you’ll slowly add more tenses to the mix. However, for daily conversations, we rarely use more than five or six tenses. Many of the others are not used anymore, not even in literature. So, you can relax!

How to Set the Mood

When we talk about le mode (the mood) in French conjugation, it refers to the attitude of the speaker toward the action of the verb. Are they stating a fact? Is it hypothetical? Are they giving orders?

• L’indicatif (Indicative) is used to express facts and truth. This is the most common mood.
• Le subjonctif (Subjunctive) describes something possible or uncertain.
• Le conditionnel (Conditional) is used for conditions or possibilities.
• L’impératif (Imperative) is the tense we use for giving orders or instructions.

Simple Tenses vs. Compound Tenses

Most French tenses are “simple tenses.” This means the verb is conjugated according to the person, mood, and tense and its ending changes accordingly.

For example, the verb parler (to speak; to talk) could be conjugated as follows:

• Nous parlons (We speak)
• Je parlerai (I will talk)
• Ils parlaient (They were speaking)

Compound tenses, on the other hand, are formed using an auxiliary verb. It can be either être (to be) or avoir (to have). In the case of a compound tense, you need to conjugate the auxiliary:

• Nous avons parlé (“We have talked”)
• Je suis tombé / tombée (“I have fallen”) [Masculine / Feminine]

→ For more information on conjugation, verb groups, and irregular verbs, make sure to visit our complete guide on French conjugation.

Relax, you don’t need more than two tenses to get started!

2. Present Tenses

The most important French tenses for beginners to learn are those that deal with the present. Here are the four present tenses you need to know:

[Indicatif] Présent (Present)

Le présent is the equivalent of the English present tense. In French, it can be used to talk about recurring actions, events in progress, and even the future in some cases. 

Here are a few examples of its various forms:

Je caresse un chat.	“I’m petting a cat.”
Je caresse des chats tous les jours.	“I pet cats every day.”
Je t’appelle dans quelques jours.	“I’ll call you in a few days.”
Je finis mon verre.	“I’m finishing my drink.”

[Subjonctif] Présent (Present Subjunctive)

Le subjonctif présent is used to express something that’s possible or uncertain in the present.

Il est important que je caresse un chat.	“It’s important that I pet a cat.”
It’s important for me to do that, but it’s not a fact that I’ve actually done so. It’s something possible that might happen.

Elle veut que je finisse mon verre.	“She wants me to finish my drink.”
Similarly here, we’re not stating that we have finished our drink or that we’re going to. We have only stated that this is what she wants. Is it going to happen? At this point, we don’t know.

[Impératif] Présent (Present Imperative)

L’impératif présent is used to give orders, advice, or instructions that are effective immediately.

This is by far the most common tense for the imperative mood.

Caresse ce chat !	“Pet this cat.”
Finis ton verre !	“Finish your drink.”

[Conditionnel] Présent (Present Conditional)

Le conditionnel présent refers to a condition or a possibility set in the present.

Si je pouvais, je caresserais un chat.	“If I could, I would pet a cat.”
Si j’avais le temps, je finirais mon verre.	“If I had time, I would finish my drink.”

→ Do you need some practice with the present tenses? You’ll find 50 common verbs in this free vocabulary list, with recorded pronunciation examples.

Elle caresse son chien. (“She’s petting her dog.”)

3. Future Tenses

Need to talk about your future plans or coordinate a schedule with a native French speaker? No worries! Next on our French tenses list is the future tense and its different moods. 

[Indicatif] Futur Simple (Future)

Le futur simple is the French equivalent of the classic “will”-based future in English. We use it to make predictions and talk about what will happen later.

Je caresserai un chat.	“I will pet a cat.”
Je finirai mon verre.	“I will finish my drink.”

[Indicatif] Futur Proche (Near Future)

Le futur proche is used for something set in the near future. We’re about to do it, it’s coming soon. It’s very close to the English [“going to” + verb] and even has a similar structure.

Just like in English, we use the conjugated verb aller (to go) + infinitive.

Je vais caresser un chat.	“I’m going to pet a cat.”
Je vais finir mon verre.	“I’m going to finish my drink.”

[Indicatif] Futur Antérieur (Anterior Future)

Le futur antérieur is used to talk about two different moments in the past, one after the other. The first one, chronologically, will be in the futur antérieur.

It’s built around the auxiliary être or avoir, followed by the past participle of the verb. The participle agrees in gender and number, as you’ll see in these examples:

Je serai parti avant la fin de la semaine.	“I will be gone before the end of the week.” [Masc]
D’ici la fin de la semaine, je serai partie.	“By the end of the week, I will be gone.” [Fem]

You should keep in mind that what matters is not the order of the events in the sentence, but their order in time.

• What happens first? My departure.
• What happens next? The end of the week.

If there is another verb describing the second event, it will be in futur simple.

Quand tu rentreras, j’aurai caressé un chat.	“When you come back, I will have petted a cat.”
J’aurai fini mon verre quand tu arriveras.	“I will have finished my drink when you arrive.”

Je vais finir mon verre. (“I will finish my drink.”)

4. Common Past Tenses

There are numerous past tenses in French, but luckily, very few of them are actually useful on a daily basis. In fact, many of them are either for literature or are downright outdated.

Let’s start with the most useful French past tenses:

[Indicatif] Passé Composé (Compound Past)

Le passé composé is the most common past tense in French. It’s the equivalent of the English simple past and it’s used to talk about a past event with a limited duration, that is now over.

J’ai caressé un chat.	“I have petted a cat.”
J’ai fini mon verre.	“I have finished my drink.”

[Indicatif] Imparfait (Imperfect)

L’imparfait is similar to the English past progressive. We use it to describe facts and actions from the past while focusing on their duration or repetition. 

This is what you’d use to talk about an action that was taking place (for a certain duration, or regularly) at some point in the past.

Je caressais un chat.	“I was petting a cat.”
Je finissais mon verre.	“I was finishing my drink.”

You can combine this tense with le passé composé when describing an action that was taking place in the past until another brief action happened (also in the past).

Je caressais mon chat tous les jours.	“I was petting my cat every day.”
Je finissais mon verre quand elle est arrivée.	“I was finishing my drink when she arrived.”

[Indicatif] Plus-que-parfait (Pluperfect)

This equivalent of the English past perfect is used to describe actions that were taking place before a certain moment in the past.

J’avais caressé un chat.	“I had petted a cat.”
J’avais fini mon verre quand elle est arrivée.	“I had finished my drink when she arrived.”

[Subjonctif] Passé (Past Subjunctive)

Le subjonctif passé is used to express something possible or uncertain in the past.

Il est important que j’aie caressé un chat avant demain.	“It’s important that I have petted a cat before tomorrow.”
Elle veut que j’aie fini mon verre.	“She wants me to have my drink finished.”

It sounds pretty awkward once translated, because, in English, we would normally use the present in cases like that:

• “It’s important that I pet a cat before tomorrow.”

And the same goes for French. In most cases, and in any conversation, you would say: 

• Il est important que je caresse un chat avant demain. (Present subjunctive)

[Conditionnel] Passé (Past Conditional)

Le conditionnel passé refers to a condition or a possibility set in the past.

J’aurais caressé un chat.	“I would have petted a cat.”
J’aurais fini mon verre.	“I would have finished my drink.”

→ Make sure to put all that knowledge into practice! FrenchPod101 has plenty of lessons on future, past, and present tense comparisons.

Je caressais un chaton. (“I was petting a kitten.”)

5. Literary Past Tenses

Now, let’s have a look at these marginal or literary tenses. You’re not likely to hear them in many conversations, but if you’re at an advanced level of French, it might be a good time to learn about them.

Otherwise, feel free to skip this section. You can always revisit it later at your leisure.

[Indicatif] Passé Simple (Past Simple)

Le passé simple describes actions set in the past, but unlike l’imparfait, these are one-time, completed, unrepeated actions. 

While the passé composé is mostly a spoken tense, the passé simple is its literary equivalent and is almost never used orally.

Elle ouvrit la porte et caressa le chat.	“She opened the door and petted the cat.”
Je finis mon verre et en commandai un autre.	“I finished my drink and ordered another one.”

[Indicatif] Passé Antérieur (Anterior Past)

This is a purely written tense that is used to express what happened right before another event in the past.

Quand elle eut ouvert la porte, elle caressa le chat.	“When she had opened the door, she petted the cat.”
Quand j’eus fini mon verre, j’en commandai un autre.	“When I had finished my drink, I ordered another one.”

[Subjonctif] Imparfait (Imperfect Subjunctive)

This tense started disappearing in the middle of the nineteenth century and is almost completely gone from today’s French. You can still find it in classic literature if you dig deep enough.

It’s used pretty much like the present subjunctive, but follows some of the most complicated past tenses. It expresses something possible or uncertain. Nowadays, we could simply replace it with subjonctif présent.

Il avait été important que je caressasse un chat.	“It had been important that I had petted a cat.”
Elle voulait que je finisse mon verre.	“She wanted me to finish my drink.”

[Subjonctif] Plus-que-parfait (Pluperfect Subjunctive)

A couple of centuries ago, the subjonctif plus-que-parfait would replace the subjonctif passé in a subordinate clause, when the main clause was conjugated in the past and the action of the subordinate clause was set before the action of the main clause.

Nowadays, nobody’s using it, even in writing.

Il était important que j’eusse caressé un chat avant demain.	“It was important that I had petted a cat before tomorrow.”
Elle voulait que j’eusse fini mon verre.	“She wanted that I would have finished my drink.”

[Impératif] Passé (Past Imperative)

This is a weird tense that has almost disappeared. Take the imperative (Pet this cat. / Finish your drink.) and put it in the past. 

You’re instructed to have done something in the past, which is a bit difficult to translate. It would be the equivalent of: “Make sure you have done that at this point in the future.”

Aie caressé un chat avant demain !	“Make sure you have petted a cat before tomorrow.”
Aie fini ton verre quand elle arrivera !	“Make sure you’ve finished your drink when she arrives.”

Elle finit son verre. (“She’s finishing her drink.”)

→ Now that you know so many tenses, all you need is a good list of verbs to practice. Have a look at our article on the 100 Most Useful French Verbs on FrenchPod101.

Le mot de la fin

In this guide, you’ve learned everything about French verb tenses: past, present, and future…simple vs. conditional…even the six different moods! Do you feel ready to impress your friends with your flawless pluperfect conditional?

If you’re a beginner, I really suggest that you first focus on the présent and passé composé. You’ll be amazed by how far they can take you! And if you have more good tricks to quickly learn tenses, make sure to share them in the comments below.

FrenchPod101 also has tons of vocabulary lists with audio recordings as well as free resources to boost your studies and keep your French learning fresh and entertaining!

Remember that you can also use our Premium PLUS service, MyTeacher, to get personal 1-on-1 coaching. Your private teacher can help you with tenses, conjugation, and more. In addition to giving you assignments, providing you with personalized exercises, and recording audio samples just for you, your teacher will review your work and help improve your pronunciation. 

Happy learning on FrenchPod101!

About the Author: Born and bred in the rainy north of France, Cyril Danon has been bouncing off various jobs before he left everything behind to wander around the wonders of the World. Now, after quenching his wanderlust for the last few years, he’s eager to share his passion for languages.

This is the most frequently asked question about the language, and yet it has no definite answer. It depends on many things, such as your native language, education, experience with languages, exposure, and motivation.

Beyond that, how long it takes to learn French depends heavily on the proficiency level you want to achieve. Do you want to… 

• …reach a beginner level? 
• …be able to make and understand very basic phrases related to everyday life? 
• …achieve an intermediate level that would allow you to get by in simple conversations on familiar topics? 
• …get to an advanced level, so you could have meaningful interactions and read or listen to virtually anything? 

As you can imagine, these are very different goals with different time frames. But whatever you have in mind, there are some neat techniques you can use to learn French faster.

In this article, you’ll learn how to realistically estimate how long it will take you to learn French depending on your background and the proficiency level you have in mind. Then, we’ll see how to beat these estimates by choosing the right tools for the job.

Speed up your French studies!

Table of Contents

1. The Many Factors Involved
2. From Beginner to Advanced
3. French Learning Tools for Every Level
4. Le mot de la fin

1. The Many Factors Involved

Before we talk about how long you should expect to study in order to reach each level, there are a few factors you should keep in mind. These factors will impact how fast you can learn French and help you better estimate your total learning time.

1 – Your Native Language vs. French

Most time estimates on how long it takes to learn French are based on the assumption that your native language is English. If that’s not the case, it will clearly impact the numbers. Languages with similar roots as one’s own language are easier and quicker for that person to learn.

In any case, if you’re reading this article, it means your English level is already really strong. And this is great news! English and French both have strong Latin influences and share a lot of similarities in their vocabulary and grammar. If you know English, you already have a nice head-start on many things that would otherwise be long and difficult to learn, such as the Latin alphabet and the core structures.

And if you’re a native speaker from another Romance language such as Spanish, Portuguese, or Romanian (to name a few), it’s even better. Even before you start studying, you’ll be able to correctly guess the meaning of many complex technical words just because they look similar to their equivalents in your native language.

2 – Your Language Learning Experience 

How strong are your language learning muscles?

If you already speak a foreign language or were raised in a bilingual environment, you can shave quite a bit of time off your estimate. It’s usually faster to learn a third language than it is to learn a second one.

This is because your brain is already accustomed to the gymnastics of language learning and you already know how to study, memorize vocabulary, practice, and so on. Also, the more languages you’re exposed to, the easier it gets to decipher their logic and understand the inner workings of their grammar and structures.

3 – Your Motivation

Why are you learning French?

Do you need to be proficient to work in France? Are you dating a cute French girl or a handsome French guy? Is it a hobby or a necessity? Maybe you’re just passionate about linguistics and want to learn French for the sake of it?

There are many reasons one might learn French, and your motivation will impact your level of commitment and how much time and effort you’re willing to put into it. Motivation is also what makes or breaks most French learners. You’ll have to keep your motivation alive by frequently reminding yourself why you’re studying.

Being able to buy croissants at your French bakery is good motivation!

4 – How Are You Learning?

Are you learning at school or at university? Casually studying on your own? Or already in a French-speaking country and fully immersed in the language?

Your learning method will play a key role in how fast you make progress and reach your desired French level. And of course, it depends on how much time you’re willing to invest in your studies. For better results, I’d recommend using a mix of different techniques, such as academic learning + online self-teaching, or online lessons + full immersion.

Hold that thought—we’ll talk more about learning techniques in a moment!

2. From Beginner to Advanced

According to FSI (Foreign Service Institute) and ELC (European Language Center), French is one of the most accessible languages for native English speakers. It’s even on FSI’s list of the top ten easiest languages to learn for English speakers, alongside Spanish and Italian.

They evaluate that it should take around 24 weeks (~600 hours) for the average student to reach a general professional proficiency (speaking and reading). This is the equivalent of Level 3 on FrenchPod101.com and approximately DELF B2.

Now, let’s see what that means and talk about the different levels of French. 

I’ll use the DELF & DALF system, as it’s the most commonly used both academically and for French proficiency tests.

→ Speaking of which, if you’re indeed interested in the tests, we have a complete guide on how to pass the DELF / DALF exams with flying colors!

1 – Beginner Level

Let’s start at the beginning, A1.

At this level, you know how to use and understand everyday expressions as well as simple statements about practical needs. (I want this. Where is that?) You can introduce yourself, ask questions about someone, and answer similar questions.  Your conversation skills are rather basic, but if the other person is talking slowly and articulating enough, you can exchange simple information.

At this point, you’re most likely not going to start watching French movies without subtitles, hoping it will eventually click. You need to build a foundation by learning how the language works. This means studying:

• Word order
• Present tense
• Basic conjugation

At first, you won’t need much vocabulary because you can build lots of different sentences using just a few words. For now, you’ll only need some basic nouns, verbs, and adjectives. Feel free to add some new words when you need them, but there’s no need to clutter your brain with an unnecessarily long vocabulary list.

At this level, flashcards are your best friends. You can use them to remember words as well as simple phrases, conjugated verbs, and basically anything you want. 

I would recommend Anki for PC or Ankidroid on mobile phones, but a simple search for “flashcards” will give you plenty of options.

I would also recommend tackling the pronunciation from day one. To that end, it’s generally a good idea to focus on spoken French over written French.

★ How long to reach A1? Around 80-100 hours.

Studying online can be fun with the right tools.

2 – Intermediate Level

The term “intermediate” is a bit vague, so we’ll talk about B1. (Intermediate intermediate? Sounds good!)

At this level, you understand the main topics of a conversation when the language is not too complicated and if you’re familiar with the topic (work, school, hobbies, yourself). When traveling in a French-speaking country, you can get by and handle daily interactions.  You can also make simple sentences about what you know and like, events, and experiences.  Reaching this level also means you can explain basic projects or ideas.

There’s a lot of ground to cover between beginner (A1) and advanced beginner (A2), and even more on your way to intermediate (B1).

You’ll start learning more vocabulary, structures, and phrase patterns. For example, you’ll learn how to describe your routine or your surroundings in more detail.

This is also when you start learning new tenses and new types of words, such as conjunctions and adverbs. You’ll get a better grasp of pronouns, and learn how to make your sentences lighter and smoother using them.

Considering how long you’ll study to reach B1, you should make sure to nip your most common mistakes in the bud (especially when it comes to pronunciation), as it will be harder to fix them in the future. 

If you’re studying at school or university, be sure to make the most of any help your teachers can provide. If you’re studying on your own, this would be a good time to get at least a few hours of private lessons or more affordable online coaching to solidify your knowledge and make sure you’re on the right track.

★ How long to reach B1? Around 350 to 400 hours.

3 – Advanced Level

Let’s finish with an advanced level, C1.

At this level, you can understand long, complex texts and their implicit meaning. You can talk fluently without hesitating too much or searching for your words. You can now use the language in an efficient and flexible manner, for both professional and personal conversations, and build sentences in varied ways. You’re also able to express your opinion on demanding topics in a clear and articulate manner.

This is getting really serious. Double the time, double the effort. But if you got as far as B1, nothing’s gonna stop you now. The sky’s the limit!

First, you’ll have to reach B2 and then C1 (Expert). Of course, this is not the end; as you keep learning, you’ll expand your vocabulary and improve your confidence. That said, there’s no need to aim specifically for C2, as most native speakers don’t even have this level.

You can keep learning academically or through various online frameworks, but to reach such a level of proficiency, nothing beats deep immersion in your target language. Start watching movies, reading books, and listening to French music. But most importantly, find native speakers you can interact with regularly.

At this point, living in the country or spending at least a few months in France is the best option. You’ll get a massive dose of real-life French, with new accents, slang terms, and idiomatic expressions you wouldn’t find in grammar books.

★ How long to reach C1? Around 850 to 900 hours.

It takes an advanced level to be comfortable with group conversations.

3. French Learning Tools for Every Level

How long it takes you to learn French really depends on how much exposure you can get and how much time and sweat you’re willing to put into it—but that’s not to say you can’t speed it up with the right tools!

Like most things in life, quality beats quantity, and learning French in a smart way will often make up for not pouring ten hours a day into your studies. 

Wondering how to learn French effectively? Below are a few tools and resources you can use to make the most of your study time.

1 – Online Lessons

When it comes to learning French anywhere and anytime, online classes are your bread and butter. They’re usually fit for any level and are much more affordable than schools or private lessons. 

They’re also the most flexible option, as you can adapt them to your schedule. That said, you’ll have to carefully keep track of your progress and work consistently if you want to improve.

Many websites are entirely free and allow you to work at your own pace. But this can also be a double-edged sword. Personally, when I’ve paid any kind of fixed fee or subscription, I often find myself much more dedicated to making the best out of that investment.

You can visit FrenchPod101 to get an idea of what online lessons have to offer. Even without a paid subscription, you can access a wealth of free content, including vocabulary lists, a YouTube channel, and countless lessons for every level. Take a look at this intermediate lesson, for example. You’ll find… …a recorded lesson or dialogue ….all key sentences recorded in French and English ….all new words, also with audio recordings. (You can add these words to your customizable collection of flashcards.) …extensive lesson notes with all the grammar points and new structures explained. The recording and lesson notes can also be downloaded for use offline, allowing you to study them later from anywhere—even when you don’t have access to the website.

2 – Private Teachers and Schools

Private schools and teachers are the most effective resources, but also the most expensive. If you can afford to attend regular French classes or hire a private teacher (either in person or online), it will help a lot, whether for getting a reliable foundation or honing your proficiency.

In any case, however, I would recommend reading students’ feedback and reviews carefully before committing to anything. Stay away from lazy academic courses with too many students per teacher, and beware of scams.

For French classes, Alliance Française has been on the market for a while and can be found in many countries around the globe. They provide courses for all levels and can help you pass the DELF and DALF proficiency tests.  They’re also shockingly expensive, in my opinion, so I’d advise you to check your local options. You might find something perfectly fine without having to sell a kidney.

For private teachers, you can find them online on your local equivalent of Craigslist. The French use Leboncoin, and other countries rely on Gumtree. For online teachers, websites such as iTalki are a good resource. The trial lesson is usually rather cheap, and it will give you a good idea of whether or not you want to work with the tutor. Finally, a cheaper and more flexible option is to subscribe to the Premium PLUS option on FrenchPod101.com. This will allow you to have one-on-one interaction with your personal teacher, who can help you with your studies, send you tests and exercises, give you feedback on your writing and pronunciation, and much more.

3 – Soft Immersion

As you become more comfortable with your French, it will become more and more important to get as much exposure to the language as possible. 

It’s all about immersing yourself in French, by any means necessary. 

Are you into movies or series? Why not browse your favorite streaming platform for French content? You can safely start with great classics such as Amélie or Léon.  Depending on your level, you might want to start with English subtitles, switch to French subtitles when you’re ready, and finally switch to no subs at all. You can also find French movies on YouTube but they rarely have subtitles. → Also, be sure to check out our article on the best French series and movies on Netflix .

Are you a gamer? Then why not try to play some amazing French titles in their original version? Games such as Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed Unity (which takes place during the French Revolution) or Asobo’s A Plague Tale would be a great place to start.

Listening to French music is another great way to immerse yourself in the language. Once again, YouTube is a good place to start. Once you’ve found a song you like, perform a new search with the name of the song + “paroles” or “lyrics” and you’re good to go.

4 – Deep Immersion

This is not going to be a big reveal, but the best way to immerse yourself in the French language and make quick progress is to jump out of your comfort zone and spend some time right in a French-speaking country where you’ll be forced to speak and listen to French on a daily basis.

Try to make local friends, preferably who don’t speak English or prefer speaking French. (They’re still really easy to find. We’re not the brightest in Europe when it comes to foreign languages.) Work locally and even try chatting with random people whenever you’re out and about.

That being said, unless your native language is very similar to French (like Spanish or Italian), this is not something I would recommend for a complete beginner.

A deep immersion will mainly be beneficial to intermediate students who want to reach a more advanced level, or C1 learners trying to sharpen their skills or broaden their linguistic horizon with idioms and slang.

To learn as fast as possible, nothing beats deep immersion.

Le mot de la fin

In this guide, you’ve learned how long it takes to learn French, the many factors involved, the different levels of proficiency, and how to learn French fast using the right tools for every situation.

Did we forget any important tool from your learning arsenal? Do you feel ready to give it a go and kick your French into top gear?

Make sure to explore FrenchPod101, as we have plenty of free resources to help you practice your grammar and learn new words. Our vocabulary lists are also a great way to review new words and learn their pronunciation.

Remember that you can also use our Premium PLUS service, MyTeacher, to get personal one-on-one coaching and practice with your private teacher. Your teacher will provide you with assignments, personalized exercises, and recorded audio samples; he or she will also review your work and help you perfect your pronunciation. 

Happy learning on FrenchPod101.com!

About the Author: Born and bred in the rainy north of France, Cyril Danon has been bouncing off various jobs before he left everything behind to wander around the wonders of the World. Now, after quenching his wanderlust for the last few years, he’s eager to share his passion for languages.

Why are proverbs so popular? As old-fashioned as they can be, you read, hear, and use them on a daily basis. They reflect who we are and the values we stand for. They’re timeless and comforting, never seem to age, and always bring this old magical wisdom that helps us go through life.

Personally, what I find fascinating about proverbs is how they serve as a window to different cultures. When I hear Chinese, Russian, or Indian proverbs, I feel like I’m entering a whole new world with a wildly different culture and mindset to learn from.

French proverbs are no different, and this is what I’m offering you in this article: a window to popular French wisdom, made up of common proverbs and old sayings. They might not instantly make you wiser, but I’m hoping they’ll get you curious to learn more about the culture and history of France.

Be wise as a French owl!

Table of Contents

1. Proverbs About Wisdom
2. Proverbs About Success
3. Proverbs About Life
4. Proverbs About Family & Friends
5. A Few More Proverbs for the Road?
6. Le mot de la fin

1. Proverbs About Wisdom

Speaking of wisdom, let’s begin by looking at some proverbs in French that touch on how to live life wisely. 

#1

French	Il ne faut pas vendre la peau de l’ours avant de l’avoir tué.
Literally	“Don’t sell the bear’s hide before you’ve killed the bear.”
Equivalent	Don’t count your chickens before they hatch.
This traditional saying comes from Old French. It means that you should wait to act until you know that something is certain. Ne vendons pas la peau de l’ours avant de l’avoir tué, on ne sait pas encore si elle va gagner. “Let’s not count our chickens before they hatch; we don’t know yet if she will win.”

#2

French	L’argent ne fait pas le bonheur.
Equivalent	“Money cannot buy happiness.”
Nearly identical to its English counterpart, this expression means that although money lets you buy things, it’s not enough to achieve happiness. The most materialistic people often follow it with mais il y contribue (“but it contributes to it”). Benjamin Franklin would argue: “Money never made a man happy yet, nor will it. The more a man has, the more he wants.”

→ Whether you’re dead broke or crazy rich, you’ll find everything you need to talk about money in French in our free vocabulary list on FrenchPod101.com.

#3

French	Il n’y a que les imbéciles qui ne changent pas d’avis.
Literally	“Only fools never change their minds.”
Equivalent	A wise man changes his mind, a fool never will. A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds. (Emerson)
Our opinions may vary, and people clinging to their believes or decisions when they have every reason not to are being stupid. We use this proverb to point out stubbornness or to justify changing our minds. A: Je pensais que tu ne voulais pas lire ce livre. (“I thought you didn’t want to read that book.”) B: Il n’y a que les imbéciles qui ne changent pas d’avis. (“Only fools never change their mind.”)

#4

French	On n’apprend pas au vieux singe à faire la grimace.
Literally	“We don’t teach the old monkey to make a face.”
Equivalent	This old dog knows all the tricks.
You don’t need to teach something to someone who has much more experience than you have. We typically use this expression when someone with less experience or knowledge is trying to explain something we find obvious or easy.

#5

French	Il n’y a que la vérité qui blesse.
Literally	“Only the truth hurts.”
Equivalent	Truth hurts.
If you feel offended by a statement or reproach, it only proves that it was true. The most hurtful comments are the ones we deserve. This expression is often used as a taunt, or when someone is denying their fault or wrongdoing and acting offended by the accusation.

#6

French	La vengeance est un plat qui se mange froid.
Equivalent	“Revenge is a dish best served cold.”
Vengeance is more satisfying when delayed and exacted with a clear head. You’ll take more pleasure if you wait until the heat of anger has cooled off, rather than take revenge as an immediate act of rage. There’s a common misconception about the origin of this quote, with many people claiming that it’s from the French novel Les Liaisons Dangereuses (“Dangerous Liaisons”) by Choderlos de Laclos. But the phrase actually appears in none of De Laclos’ work. As it stands, its origin remains unknown.

The old dog knows all the tricks.

2. Proverbs About Success

We all have our own definitions of success, defined by our personal goals and our outlook on the world. Here are a few French proverbs and sayings that speak on success in its many forms—and how to attain it! 

#1

French	À vaincre sans péril, on triomphe sans gloire.
Literally	“To win without risk is a triumph without glory.”
Equivalent	No guts, no glory.
Success won’t come if you’re not brave enough to take risks. This is a quote from Le Cid, a five-act French tragicomedy written by Pierre Corneille. The whole book is written in alexandrines (lines of verse always composed of twelve syllables), which is quite impressive!

#2

French	Il ne faut pas mettre la charrue avant les bœufs.
Literally	“You should not put the cart before the oxen.”
Equivalent	Don’t put the cart before the horse.
This expression from the fifteenth century means that you shouldn’t go so fast that you fail to do things in the right order. Literally, it means that it makes no sense to have the cart placed before the oxen if the oxen are supposed to pull the cart. It’s often used to temper someone’s enthusiasm by reminding them to take their time and start at the beginning.

#3

French	On n’est jamais mieux servi que par soi-même.
Literally	“You are never served better than by yourself.”
Equivalent	If you want something done right, do it yourself.
If you want something done exactly the way you want it, you should just do it yourself. This is a quote from the play Bruis et Palaprat (1807) by Charles-Guillaume Étienne.

#4

French	Qui ne risque rien n’a rien.
Literally	“Who’s not risking anything gets nothing.”
Equivalent	Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
One must take risks to achieve something. If you don’t risk anything, you won’t get anything good. Quit that boring nine-to-five job, grab your backpack, and chase your dreams! Success is never guaranteed, but laying still will never take you anywhere.

#5

French	Ne remets pas à demain ce que tu peux faire aujourd’hui.
Equivalent	“Don’t put off until tomorrow what you can do today.” (Benjamin Franklin)
No time like the present! You shouldn’t delay doing something if you can do it right now. This quote is a powerful mantra for serial procrastinators. I should get it as a tattoo.

#6

French	C’est en forgeant qu’on devient forgeron.
Literally	“It is by forging that you become a blacksmith.”
Equivalent	Practice makes perfect.
To really become proficient at something, you need practice and not just theory.

#7

French	À cœur vaillant rien d’impossible.
Literally	“To a valiant heart, nothing is impossible.”
Equivalent	–
A brave heart can accomplish anything. With enough courage, one can do the impossible. This quote was the motto of Jacques Cœur (1395 – 1456), silversmith for the French king Charles VII.

→ Eager for more inspiring words of wisdom? Don’t miss our vocabulary list of the Top 11 Quotes About Success.

« À cœur vaillant rien d’impossible. »

3. Proverbs About Life

We could all use a little guidance now and then as we navigate this thing called life. And more often than not, we end up looking to the wisdom of our predecessors for that extra insight. Here are a few common French proverbs about life that offer just that! 

#1

French	Chat échaudé craint l’eau froide.
Literally	“A scalded cat fears cold water.”
Equivalent	Once bitten, twice shy.
This is what you’d say if you were scared of doing something again because you previously had an unpleasant experience doing that thing. Bad experiences make us cautious, and sometimes even overly cautious. Likewise, the cat that got splashed with hot water will be scared of water, whether it’s hot or cold.

#2

French	On ne change pas une équipe qui gagne.
Literally	“One does not change a winning team.”
Equivalent	If it ain’t broken, don’t fix it.
The English equivalent is pretty self-explanatory: There’s no need to make any changes to something that’s already working well. Le prochain John Wick sera encore réalisé par David Leitch et Chad Stahelski. On ne change pas une équipe qui gagne !  “The next John Wick movie will again be directed by David Leitch et Chad Stahelski. You don’t change a winning team!”

#3

French	Il vaut mieux prévenir que guérir.
Literally	“It is better to prevent than to heal.”
Equivalent	Better safe than sorry.
You might use this proverb when it seems wiser to be careful and protect yourself instead of taking unnecessary risks. Je sais qu’il fait beau mais je vais prendre mon parapluie. Mieux vaut prévenir que guérir ! “I know it’s sunny, but I’ll take my umbrella anyway. Better safe than sorry!”

#4

French	Il n’y a pas de fumée sans feu.
Literally	“There is no smoke without fire.”
Equivalent	Where there is smoke, there is fire.
If there’s any sign of something being true, then it must be at least partly true. Je ne crois pas aux théories du complot mais il n’y a pas de fumée sans feu.  “I don’t believe in conspiracy theories, but where there is smoke, there is fire.”

« Il n’y a pas de fumée sans feu. »

4. Proverbs About Family & Friends

Wherever you live in the world, relationships are an essential part of everyday life. Gain some extra perspective on the topic with these French proverbs about family and friends. 

#1

French	Qui aime bien châtie bien.
Literally	“Who loves well, punishes well.”
Equivalent	Spare the rod and spoil the child.
This proverb is originally translated from Latin: “Qui bene amat, bene castigat.” It’s sometimes attributed to classical Greek philosopher Socrates. This is a bit different from the English equivalent. “Spare the rod and spoil the child,” implies that if you don’t punish a child when they do something wrong, they will never learn what’s right. In the French expression, we mean that when you love someone, you’ll punish them proportionally to their wrongdoing instead of being too harsh or ignoring their fault. If you don’t like someone, you’re more likely to be indifferent when they do wrong—but the behavior of your loved ones matters to you.

#2

French	Qui se ressemble s’assemble.
Literally	“Those who look alike get together.”
Equivalent	Birds of a feather flock together.
People with similar interests or character tend to gather and spend time with each other. This proverb is often used pejoratively when disapproving of a shared characteristic or interest.

#3

French	Mieux vaut être seul que mal accompagné.
Equivalent	“Better to be alone than in bad company.”
Identical to its English equivalent, this quote by Pierre Gringore reminds us that it’s pointless to seek company at all cost. If you can only be in bad company, you should rather be alone and enjoy yourself in the comfort of your mind palace.

#4

French	Les bons comptes font les bons amis.
Literally	“Good accounts make good friends.”
Equivalent	Fast pay makes fast friends.
To preserve friendship, quickly pay your debts.  Friendship and money never combine gracefully, so as Benjamin Franklin would say: “Never keep borrowed money an hour beyond the time you promised.” (Yes, I’m a Ben Franklin fan, he’s so quotable!)

#5

French	Les chiens ne font pas des chats.
Literally	“Dogs don’t breed cats.”
Equivalent	The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.
Children usually have similar characteristics or qualities to those of their parents. This expression can be used to highlight the parents’ talents: Elle joue déjà très bien de la guitare. Les chiens ne font pas des chats. “She’s playing guitar very well. The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.” Or it can be used pejoratively: Il a un sale caractère. Les chiens ne font pas des chats. “He’s got a bad temper. The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.”

→ Eager to learn more great quotes and proverbs? Have a look at our collections of the top quotes on Family and Friendship on FrenchPod101.com.

« Qui se ressemble s’assemble. »

5. A Few More Proverbs for the Road?

#1

French	Rien ne sert de courir, il faut partir à point.
Literally	“It’s useless to run. You should start on time.”
Equivalent	Slow and steady wins the race.

#2

French	Il n’y a que celui qui ne fait rien qui ne se trompe jamais.
Literally	“Only those who do nothing never fail.”
This is sometimes used as a motivational quote when starting a new business or career.

#3

French	Chassez le naturel, il revient au galop.
Literally	“Chase away the natural and it returns at a gallop.”
Equivalent	A leopard cannot change its spots.
If you go against your nature, it will never last.

#4

French	A cheval donné, on ne regarde pas les dents.
Literally	“When given a horse, don’t look at its teeth.”
Equivalent	Never look a gift horse in the mouth.
This is said to advise someone not to refuse something when it’s offered.

#5

French	Il n’est pire aveugle que celui qui ne veut pas voir.
Literally	“There is no worse blind man than the one who doesn’t want to see.”
Equivalent	You cannot reason with someone who’s not interested in the truth.

#6

French	Vouloir, c’est pouvoir.
Literally	“To want is to be able to.”
Equivalent	Where there is a will, there is a way.

#7

French	Après la pluie, le beau temps.
Literally	“After the rain, the good weather.”
Equivalent	Every cloud has a silver lining.

#8

French	On ne fait pas d’omelette sans casser d’oeufs.
Literally	“You don’t make omelets without breaking some eggs.”
Equivalent	No pain no gain.
You cannot achieve great things without making sacrifices.

6. Le mot de la fin

In this guide, you’ve learned about the most important French proverbs on a variety of topics, from wisdom to relationships. Did I forget any important proverb that you know? Or maybe you know some cool saying on a different topic? Make sure to share them with our community in the comments below!

If you enjoyed this lesson, FrenchPod101 also has tons of vocabulary lists with audio recordings, as well as free resources to boost your studies and keep your French learning fresh and entertaining!

Remember that you can also use our Premium PLUS service, MyTeacher, to get personal one-on-one coaching and have your private teacher practice with you. They’ll use assignments, personalized exercises, and recorded audio samples to help you improve your French skills like never before. Happy learning on FrenchPod101.com!

About the Author: Born and bred in the rainy north of France, Cyril Danon has been bouncing off various jobs before he left everything behind to wander around the wonders of the World. Now, after quenching his wanderlust for the last few years, he’s eager to share his passion for languages.

Have you ever been to Paris? Few cities around the world have aroused as much passion as the French capital. Locals often grow to hate it for its heavy traffic, pollution, and hectic lifestyle. Visitors love it for its high-class shopping and stunning architecture. Lovers from all over the world choose it as their honeymoon destination.

Whether you love it or hate it, Paris is a city like no other. Centuries of history, countless museums, enough sights and activities to keep you busy for weeks, and several contrasting districts to explore…these are but a few of the city’s most charming qualities.

What’s the best time to visit Paris? And what are the most amazing places to visit? You will know it all by the end of this guide.

Explorer Paris (“Exploring Paris”)

Table of Contents

1. Travel Tips
2. The Top 10 Must-See Places in Paris
3. Places You Might Want to Skip
4. Survival French for Travelers
5. Le Mot De La Fin

1. Travel Tips

Paris is the capital—and by far the most populated—city of France, with more than two million people living in around 100 square kilometers. It lies at the center of the Île-de-France or Paris region, which has a population of twelve million.

Since the seventeenth century, Paris has been one of Europe’s most important centers for finance, business, science, fashion, and the arts. It received around 17.5 million visitors in 2018, ranking as the sixth most visited city in the world (after Hong Kong, Bangkok, London, Macao, and Singapore).

When?

March and May are usually the best months to visit Paris. If you can’t visit during the spring, autumn is another good option.

Winters are mild, but with school holidays in December and February, the streets get unpleasantly crowded. Summer, especially the month of August, can be really hot and wet. This is also when most Parisians go on vacation, and many shops and restaurants are closed for the month.

Getting Around

It’s very easy to navigate the capital and you’ll be offered many options, from strolling on foot (most of the center is beautiful and pedestrian-friendly) to using the Metro, buses, trains, trams, or bicycles. 

Unlike its large metropolitan area, the inner city is rather small and packed with amazing architecture and sight-seeing. If you can afford the time, it’s well worth walking around.

Language

You can visit Paris without speaking French, but the more you learn before your trip, the better. It will allow you to interact with locals, read the signs and menus, and immerse yourself deeper into the culture.

Anyone who deals with tourists in Paris will speak some measure of English. As for the common folks, their level of English literacy is somewhat better than our national average (but still not great), and many Parisians are still completely helpless with English.

Sleeping

At the time of this writing, the cheapest dorm bed in Paris is 23€, and luckily, you can find several more relatively cheap hostels (23-30€) in the inner city. Double rooms can be found from 40€ if you’re adventurous, but it may be better to plan for a minimum of 60€ for something reasonably clean and comfortable.

Eating

You can find cheap meals starting at around 6€ (typically kebab or Chinese menus). A hearty and typical plat du jour (dish of the day) should be around 10-15€, and 15-20€ will buy you a three-course meal. Then, for more sophisticated food, you can find restaurants accommodating the highest budgets. The finest dining in world-class restaurants, such as Le Meurice, will cost you around 500€.

Un restaurant français (“A French restaurant”)

2. The Top 10 Must-See Places in Paris

Whether you’re a culture vulture, a nature-lover, a shopping addict, or a patron of the arts, you’ll find plenty of excitement in Paris. 

In this list, I’ll give you a summary of the sights and attractions in Paris that should not be missed—not because they’re highly touristic, but because I believe they all offer something unique and remarkable.

1 – Tour Eiffel

I bet you didn’t see that one coming! And surprisingly, as cliché as this popular landmark in Paris may appear, the Eiffel Tower is probably the most controversial item on this list. Many Parisians find it ugly or unappealing, and more and more visitors prefer to stay away from its army of tourists, trinket-sellers, and endless waiting lines.

Did you know it was originally meant to be destroyed after serving its purpose?

Towering 300 meters over the Champs de Mars, this colossus of over 10,000 tons of iron was built specifically for the Exposition Universelle in 1889 and was supposed to be destroyed twenty years later. It was only saved by scientific experiments regarding radio transmission and telecommunications.

100 years later, the tower is still standing. It has become the stage for numerous international events, quickly rising to the top of the list of the most-visited monuments in the world.

I keep reading that you can get equally striking sights from the Montparnasse Tower, but would you rather see them from the top of a skyscraper or from this unique four-legged iron monster?

At night, it has to be seen to be believed. Lit up from head to feet, it brightens the city skyline as it gets illuminated with a ten-minute light show every hour, from dusk until one a.m.

→ Check here for more information.

La Tour Eiffel

2 – Notre-Dame & Saint Michel

Nested at the heart of Paris, on a small islet called Île de la Cité (“Island of the City”), the cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris (Literally: “Our Lady of Paris”) is the most iconic and touristic monument in the whole city. Yes, it gets almost twice as many visitors as the Eiffel Tower!

But then, on April 15, 2019, a ferocious accidental fire raged for around fifteen hours despite the sustained efforts of thousands of firemen. By the time it was extinguished, the spire had collapsed and most of the roof had been destroyed. Luckily, the outside of the structure remained largely intact and a lot of damage was prevented by its stone vaulted ceiling which contained the roof as it collapsed.

The restoration of the cathedral started almost immediately; one year later, the forecourt of Notre-Dame was reopened. It will take at least four more years to bring it back to its former glory, but it’s still worth seeing it from the outside!

Despite its fame, I’ve personally never been that impressed with Notre-Dame. It looks just like many other French Gothic cathedrals in smaller cities such as Reims, Amiens, Chartres, and Anvers.

However, visiting Notre-Dame, you’re right at the center of the most beautiful Parisian districts: 

North of Île de la Cité, you can reach the 4ème Arrondissement, one of the most iconic and sight-filled districts. You’re only one bridge away from another islet called Île Saint Louis, and just south of Notre-Dame, you can stroll through the Saint Michel neighborhood, which features countless restaurants, bookshops, and parks.

→ Check here for more information.

Notre-Dame de Paris

3 – Musée du Louvre

The Louvre is the world’s most popular museum, greeting ten million visitors every year. It’s home to more than 500,000 pieces of eclectic art, though only 35,000 are available to the public (for some mysterious reason).

Should you visit the Louvre? If you just want to see the Mona Lisa, please don’t and just buy a postcard. This is the single most-visited painting in the museum, and you won’t see much of her enigmatic smile while being ripped to shreds in a forest of selfie sticks.

Of course, there are plenty of other museums in Paris: Musée d’Orsay, Musée de l’Orangerie, Musée Rodin, Centre Pompidou. You could spend a good month just visiting them all. 

But obviously, the Louvre is special—not only for its extensive collection, but also for the monument and its surroundings. The Pyramide du Louvre, a large glass pyramid located in the main courtyard of the Louvre Palace, is a prime example.

→ Check here for more information.

Le Musée du Louvre

4 – Jardin du Luxembourg

Located next to the Latin district of Paris, the Luxembourg Garden was created in 1612 at the request of Queen Marie de Médicis, to go along the new residence she was having built: the Luxembourg Palace. 

Spread over 25 hectares of green elegance and floral magnificence, it’s split into two parts with different styles: English and French, separated by a geometric forest and a large pond. There is also an orchard, an apiary, a rose garden, a stunning collection of orchids, more than 100 statues, an enormous fountain, the Orangerie, and of course, the palace itself.

The gardens are a very popular spot for locals and it can get a little crowded. There, you can play chess, bridge, or tennis, stroll through the alleys, or sit next to the pond. Even though it’s right in the middle of the city, it has a pretty relaxed atmosphere.

→ Check here for more information.

5 – Montmartre

No matter how touristic it is, you can’t leave Paris without visiting Montmartre, the art district of Paris.

Historically, it’s renowned for attracting painters, writers, musicians, and comedians. And to this day, it’s full of eccentric and interesting people, colorful cafés, art galleries, and way too many souvenir shops.

At the heart of this charming district lies the Butte Montmartre, a small hill at the top of which stands the Sacré-Coeur (“Holy Heart”) Basilica. Take the cheap funicular or climb the 220 steps to reach the top, and you’ll be rewarded with a beautiful view of Paris’ rooftops.

But there’s more! From the top of Butte Montmartre, you’re only a short walk away from the world-famous Moulin Rouge. (If you haven’t watched the dazzling movie from Baz Luhrmann, it’s never too late.)

If you plan to visit Paris by night, are looking for the most iconic Parisian nightlife experience, and are ready to spend big, the Moulin Rouge is exactly what you need. This legendary cabaret has been running every night since 1889, with sparkling burlesque dancers adorned in rhinestones and feathers. (Due to the somewhat erotic nature of the show, it’s probably not the best place to take your kids, though.)

→ Check here for more information.

Le Moulin Rouge
(Photo by Keven Law – CC)

6 – Cimetière du Père Lachaise

Depending on where you’re from, it might sound weird or even disrespectful to visit a cemetery, but this is not the case in France—especially not in the large historical cemeteries in Paris, such as Père Lachaise, Montmartre, and Montparnasse.

Our cemeteries are an integral part of the city’s cultural heritage, visited by people from all around the world who want to see the tombs of the many celebrities buried there (such as Jim Morrison, Oscar Wilde, and Edith Piaf). It also makes for an unusual and picturesque walk in a peaceful atmosphere.

Personally, what I love about Père Lachaise is the surreal and eclectic architectures of the graves and mausoleums. All funeral styles are represented and the Gothic crypts are especially impressive.

→ Check here for more information.

Le cimetière du Père Lachaise

7 – Le Marais

If you want to take in a deep breath of typical Parisian style, head to one of the city’s oldest and coolest districts. Its typical cobblestone streets and small courtyards will make you feel like you’re strolling in Medieval Paris.

Le Marais (Literally “The Swamp”) was originally built on a swamp, but it’s hard to tell when strolling across its fancy streets and high-end fashion boutiques. It has numerous museums and art galleries, vintage shops, antiques, and nightlife ventures.

The district has become home to various communities over the last few centuries. Traditionally a Jewish quarter, it later became popular with Chinese emigrants after World War I. Nowadays, it’s famous for its thriving LGBT+ community. 

There are lots of small restaurants to choose from and if you’re not in a rush, you can trust the length of the line to locate the best places. For a taste of what Le Marais has to offer, you can’t go wrong with Florence Kahn or L’As du Falafel.

→ Check here for more information.

“Pavillon de la Reine”, in Le Marais
(Photo by Alex59300 – CC)

8 – Catacombes de Paris 

If the cemetery didn’t scare you away, how about we take it up a notch and dive into one of the most macabre and unsettling historical attractions Paris has to offer?

The Catacombs of Paris is an underground network beneath the streets of the city, with an ossuary hosting the remains of more than six million people. It was created in the eighteenth century to compensate for the city’s overflowing cemeteries.

There are a lot of creepy stories surrounding the catacombs, as you can probably imagine. But this hasn’t kept half a million visitors from heading down the dark tunnels each year since 1874, when it became open to public visitation. Upon entry, they’re greeted with the sign: “Stop. This is the empire of death.”

No one is certain of how large the catacombs really are, but they’re estimated to be around 320 kilometers. They’re largely inaccessible to date, but clandestine groups of catacomb enthusiasts (known as “Cataphiles”) frequently roam this underworld in search of thrills and uncharted sections.

Due to the illegal nature of these activities, it’s difficult to get in touch with any of these urban explorers. Unless you’re intimate with a member, you’ll have to opt for the organized tour. Just make sure you’re not claustrophobic!

→ Check here for more information.

Les Catacombes de Paris
(Photo by Vlastimil Juricek – CC)

9 – Parc de Sceaux

There are many parks in Paris, and some of them are really beautiful, like the Parc des Buttes Chaumont or the Parc Monceau. But as soon as the sun comes up, they get awfully crowded with locals and tourists alike. 

Le Parc de Sceaux is kind of a secret gem and attracts much more of a local crowd than the more central gardens do.

The Domaine de Sceaux is a vast expanse of grass, colorful trees, flowers, and ponds, spread around a typical Renaissance castle. It’s much bigger (and quieter) than other parks in Paris, but just as elegant and beautiful.

→ Check here for more information.

Le Domaine de Sceaux

10 – La Seine

The Seine River splits Paris in half, and unless you’re blindly bus-hopping from one attraction to the next, you’re likely to spend a lot of your time strolling along its paved shores.

First of all, this is arguably the most romantic spot in Paris. Especially near Notre-Dame, strolling on its peaceful piers with the city lights reflecting on the canal is pure magic. (The water doesn’t look dirty at night!)

It’s so romantic indeed that you might have heard of the famous love-locks bridge, where lovers from all around the world attach a padlock as a symbolic way to “Lock their love forever.”

The trend started around 2008, and seven years later, the Pont des Arts (“Bridge of the Arts”) started to crumble under the weight of 700,000 locks for an estimated total of 93 metric tons of romance! At first, the city didn’t seem too keen on listening to grumpy locals calling it vandalism, but when it started threatening the bridge’s integrity, they had to replace the railing entirely.

On a less romantic note, did you know that Parisians used to drink the Seine’s water, use it to wash their laundry, and even swim in it? However, scientific analysis of the water in the 20s revealed that the water was highly toxic, polluted, and absolutely unsuitable for any water activity.

But none of this kept us from creating Paris Plage (“Paris Beach”). This oddity appeared in 2002, turning part of the banks of the Seine into a beach, with tons of sand as well as swimming pools, beach volley nets, ice cream stalls, tanning chairs—you name it! 

Initially meant for those who couldn’t take summer vacations on the coast, Paris Plage is now a popular spot for everyone. Nobody’s crazy enough to actually swim in the Seine, though.

→ Check here for more information.

La Seine

3. Places You Might Want to Skip

After going through our Top 10, you may be surprised that some of the most iconic locations are missing. This is not an oversight, but rather a deliberate omission.

• L’Arc de Triomphe
  
  This enormous piece of stone stands at the center of the Place de l’Étoile (“Star Plaza”). The monument itself is not especially pretty and it’s not tall enough to offer an interesting view of the city. More importantly, it’s right in the middle of one of the world’s busiest and noisiest roundabouts.

• Les Champs-Élysées
  
  I never got the appeal of our “Elysian Fields.” This is nothing more than a glorified shopping street with thousands of tourists waiting in endless lines in front of luxury fashion shops. It’s also notorious for attracting pickpockets and scammers.
  
  Don’t expect to do any regular shopping here, as you’re gonna need very deep pockets to afford a bag from Louis Vuitton or the most expensive Macarons you’ve ever seen.

• Le Château de Versailles
  
  This is another timeless classic you could easily avoid. The Versailles Castle is quite remote and will likely take you a full day. As a result, I would only recommend it if you’re spending a week or more in the capital.
  
  You can find better exhibitions in the central museums and equally interesting gardens in Jardin du Luxembourg or Jardin des Tuileries.

4. Survival French for Travelers

Even if you don’t speak much French, it’s generally recommended to greet people in French, as it will make for a much more positive first impression. Don’t worry, you can switch back to English as soon as you’ve greeted them. That said, they will appreciate you going the extra mile and learning a few more survival phrases. 

Bonjour ! Bonsoir !	“Hello!” / “Good morning!” “Good evening!”
Au revoir.	“Goodbye.”
Merci (beaucoup).	“Thank you (very much).”
Non merci.	“No, thank you.”
S’il vous plaît.	“Please.”
Excusez-moi.	“Excuse me.”
(Je suis) désolé(e).	“(I am) sorry.”
Où sont les toilettes ?	“Where are the toilets?”

→ For more useful travel phrases or pronunciation practice, please have a look at the following resources on FrenchPod101.com:

• How to Say Hello in French
• Vocabulary List: Common Ways to Say Hello
• How to Introduce Yourself
• Vocabulary List: 10 Lines You Need for Introducing Yourself

Pouvez-vous répéter (s’il vous plaît) ?	“Can you repeat (please)?”
Un peu plus lentement, s’il vous plaît.	“A bit slower, please.”
Je suis désolé(e), je ne comprends pas.	“I’m sorry, I don’t understand.”
Vous parlez anglais ?	“Do you speak English?”

→ These are just some basics to help you get by. For more resources on this topic, be sure to check out our survival guide on French Travel Phrases.

Le Mot De La Fin

In this guide, you’ve learned about the most amazing places to visit in Paris, from the obvious Tour Eiffel to some lesser-known gems like the Domaine de Sceaux or Père Lachaise. Did it get you excited about visiting the City of Lights? Or maybe you’ve been there already but missed some of its treasures?

Did we forget any important places you’ve seen or heard about? Don’t hesitate to share it with your fellow students in the comments!

Make sure to explore FrenchPod101.com, as we have plenty of free resources to help you practice your grammar and learn new words before you visit France. Our vocabulary lists are also a great way to review words and learn their pronunciation.

Remember that you can also use our Premium PLUS service, MyTeacher, to get personal one-on-one coaching with your own private teacher who will help you practice new travel phrases and more. In addition to providing you with assignments, personalized exercises, and recorded audio samples, your teacher will review your work and help improve your pronunciation.

Happy learning on FrenchPod101!

About the Author: Born and bred in the rainy north of France, Cyril Danon has been bouncing off various jobs before he left everything behind to wander around the wonders of the World. Now, after quenching his wanderlust for the last few years, he’s eager to share his passion for languages.

Did you know that nearly 30% of English words might be of French origin? This is still a hot topic among linguists, but it speaks volumes about how languages influence each other, especially now that globalization is going full throttle.

Conversely, the English language has long been influential in the evolution of French, but with the rise of the internet, new technologies, and the uncontested power of Hollywood, English terms and expressions have been literally pouring into the French language in recent years. 

In this article, you’ll learn everything about English words used in French and this weird two-headed language called Frenglish. We’ll cover it all, from loanwords to the excesses of business Frenglish, mysterious syntax mutations, and how the French are reacting to all this.

At work, after work, Frenglish is everywhere!

Table of Contents

1. Frenglish or Loanwords?
2. Legit Loanwords
3. Fake Loanwords
4. Know Your Frenglish
5. The French Resistance to Anglification
6. Le Mot De La Fin

1. Frenglish or Loanwords?

Before going any further, what are loanwords and how are they different from Frenglish?

1 – Le Franglais

Le Franglais (“Frenglish”) is a portmanteau word. It’s the combination of the words Français (“French”) and Anglais (“English”), and it describes the excessive mixing of French and English by French speakers. 

It is a derogatory word used to denounce the overuse of English words in the French language, though it has lost some of its negative connotations over time. At best, you could use it to show self-awareness of your linguistic shortcomings any time you realize you’re using too many English words in your speech.

2 – English Loanwords

A loanword is a word taken from one language and incorporated into another without translation. These are not just look-alikes from a common etymology, but actual copy-pastes of foreign words without translation. 

For example: 

• Un sandwich (“A sandwich”)
• Le suspense (“Suspense”)

Let’s dive deeper into English loanwords and see why they’re going to be your best friends!

2. Legit Loanwords

As you learn French, you’re gonna love English loanwords! Because they’re borrowed from English with little to no changes, they are easy for English speakers to understand. And there are so many of them in French that they represent a wealth of free vocabulary you don’t even have to study!

While English loanwords in French are ubiquitous, they’re especially common in certain fields, such as technology and entertainment. Here are some examples:

1 – About Food

Un sandwich

Un sandwich au thon, s’il vous plaît. (“A tuna sandwich, please.”)

Un burger

Un burger au bleu. (“A blue-cheese burger.”)

Un steak	J’aime mon steak saignant. (“I like my steak rare.”)
You might come across the word bifsteck, the francization of “beefsteak,” and…what can I say? It looks pretty gross to me, but to be fair, it’s outdated and barely used anymore by the younger generations.

Un cocktail

Quel est ton cocktail préféré ? (“What is your favorite cocktail?”)

Un cookie

Un cookie au chocolat noir. (“A dark chocolate cookie.”)

Un chewing-gum	J’ai toujours des chewing-gums dans mon sac. (“I always have chewing gum in my bag.”)
If you ever come across the expression gomme à mâcher, know that it’s the French version of “chewing gum.” But it’s so old-fashioned that even my grandmother doesn’t remember about it.

Happy hour

À quelle heure est l’happy hour ? (“At what time is happy hour?”)

→ If this section made you hungry, why not indulge for a minute and stop by our vocabulary list on French Food? Spoiler alert: It features the amazing chestnut purée.

2 – About Technology

Un mail, Un email	Je t’ai envoyé un mail la semaine dernière. (“I sent you an email last week.”)
The word un mail can be a bit tricky because we only use it for “email.” Paper mail is un courrier. Also, the strongest advocates for French purity eventually came up with a French word for “email,” hoping to replace un mail. And so, the questionable un courriel was created. Nowadays, except on some official documents, nobody ever uses it.

Un bug

Il y a un bug dans la base de données. (“There is a bug in the database.”)

internet	J’utilise internet tous les jours. (“I’m using the internet every day.”)
In writing, you might also read l’internet, but it sounds a bit silly and outdated. If you come across les internet, just take a deep breath and pretend you didn’t hear that. (It sounds old and snobbish.)

Un smartphone

J’ai vendu mon smartphone. (“I have sold my smartphone.”)

Un chat	Je vais lui poser la question sur le chat. (“I will ask him on the chat.”)
This has the same spelling as un chat (“a cat”), but we pronounce it like the English word “chat.”

→ You’ll find a few more of these loanwords on our free list of Technology vocabulary, with recordings for you to practice their pronunciation.

3 – About Movies

Un trailer

Tu as vu le trailer du dernier James Bond ? (“Have you seen the latest James Bond trailer?”)

Un teaser

Le teaser de ce film est incroyable ! (“The teaser for this movie is incredible!”)

Un spoiler

C’est difficile d’éviter les spoilers sur internet. (“It’s difficult to avoid spoilers on the internet.”)

Un cliffhanger

Il y a un cliffhanger de fou à la fin de cet épisode ! (“There is a crazy cliffhanger at the end of this episode!”)

→ On the same topic, make sure to stop by our list of Useful Words and Phrases for Going to the Movies.

4 – More Loanwords

Un t-shirt

J’adore ton nouveau t-shirt. (“I love your new t-shirt.”)

Le week-end

Passe un bon week-end ! (“Have a good weekend!”)

Cool	Ce jeu est tellement cool ! (“This game is so cool!”)

Un parking

Il y a un parking à côté du magasin. (“There is a parking lot next to the shop.”)

Du shopping

Je vais faire du shopping demain. (“I’m going shopping tomorrow.”)

Un challenge

C’est un vrai challenge de se garer ici. (“It’s a real challenge to park here.”)

Faire du shopping (“To go shopping”)

3. Fake Loanwords

Although loanwords are an incredible source of easy vocabulary, you should be aware that we’ve laid some traps along the way. A few English words have been improperly incorporated into the French language and have a different meaning.

They’re quite treacherous but not numerous, so all you need to do is keep them in a corner of your mind so you don’t get tricked.

Here are the most common ‘fake’ English loanwords in French:

Le zapping

“Channel hopping” or “Channel surfing.” This refers to when you quickly browse TV channels.

Le footing

“Jogging”

Un camping

“Campsite”

Des baskets

“Sneakers,” “Trainers,” or more generally, “Sport shoes”

Un smoking

“Dinner jacket” or “Tuxedo”

Un break

“Estate car” or “Station wagon”

Le catch

“Wrestling”

Un planning

“Schedule” or “Work plan”

Un flipper

“Pinball machine”

4. Know Your Frenglish

By definition, Frenglish is an overly Anglicized French language. We’ve seen that there are plenty of common English words used in French which have become an official part of the language. But when French speakers start overusing these English terms, expressions, and structures, Frenglish happens.

1 – Frenglish in Business

This tendency to overuse English words is especially obvious in the business world. If you’ve worked in any big French companies—especially in anything related to technology or entertainment—you might have heard this uncanny mixture of French and English words. It can get confusing even for the French themselves.

Here are a few examples with the English words highlighted in red:

• “I’m super-busy.”
  • French: Je suis très occupé.
  • Frenglish: Je suis super busy.

• “Can you forward me the report ASAP?”
  • French: Tu peux me transférer le compte-rendu le plus vite possible ?
  • Frenglish: Tu peux me forwarder le reporting ASAP ?

• “We’re going to debrief on the meeting’s bullet points.”
  • French: On va faire un bilan sur les points importants de la réunion.
  • Frenglish: On va debriefer sur les bullet points du meeting.

• “Do you want to change the date of the call to attend the workshop?”
  • French: Tu veux changer la date de la conférence pour assister au séminaire ?
  • Frenglish: Tu veux switcher la date du call pour assister au workshop ?

I’m not even exaggerating! And there are still several more English words used by the French in business settings:

• Burnout
• Corporate
• Brainstorming
• Mainstream
• Process
• Management / Manager
• Marketing
• Business

Un meeting corporate (“A corporate meeting”)

2 – Semantic Frenglish

More insidious, semantic Frenglish is when we mimic English expressions using English words that look like French words.

For example, the French word agressive (the feminine form of agressif) really looks like the English word “aggressive.”

However, in French, it means “who is prone to attack” or “to look for conflict.” And in English, it can mean “behaving in a determined and forceful way.”

What do we end up with?

• Cette société utilise une stratégie agressive sur les prix. 
  (“This company is using an aggressive pricing strategy.”)

This is an improper use of agressive that has become so common that nobody even raises an eyebrow anymore. It’s all over the newspaper and TV, and people have just gotten used to it. And there are many similar words out there.

There are also some increasingly popular Frenglish expressions:

• “I’ll get back to you.”
  • French: Je vous recontacte.
  • Frenglish: Je reviens vers vous.

• “I’m in charge of this project.”
  • French: Je suis responsable de ce projet.
  • Frenglish: Je suis en charge de ce projet.

• “No chance!”
  • French: Aucun risque !
  • Frenglish: Aucune chance !

3 – Syntactic Frenglish

Another subtle effect of English’s influence on French is how it changes the syntax rules. It happens in various ways and it’s often sneaky enough that most people don’t realize it (myself included, for the most part).

Here are a few examples:

• French adjectives can come either before or after the noun, but under English influence, we now tend to misplace them.
  
  For example: Actuel (“Current”) should be placed after the noun. However, it’s common to read l’actuel président instead of le président actuel (“the current president”).

• We juxtapose substantives that should not be placed side by side.
  
  Les relations clients should be les relations avec les clients (“customer relations”).

• We overuse the passive form instead of using the typical French active form. This is especially obvious in the French administrative style.
  
  Des mesures seront prises (“measures will be taken”) should be nous prendrons des mesures (“we will take measures”).

Les relations clients (“Customer relations”)

5. The French Resistance to Anglification

How would you react if your language was rapidly mutating over the years, affected by globalization and the cultural influence of the biggest cultural superpowers?

In France, some people see it as a blessing. The language is evolving and getting richer with these new words and expressions. Others believe we should fight back, create new words, and reconquer the ones we’ve lost.

Since the 70s, official French committees have worked on creating new words, especially for modern technologies, in order to avoid using the English terms. In rare cases, it works well and the words become an actual part of the language for decades to come:

• Logiciel (“Software”)
• Informatique (“Computer science”)
• Baladeur (“Walkman”)

But more often than not, it fails horribly. In 1994, Jacques Toubon, who was the Minister of Culture at the time, tried to establish a list of replacements for many borrowed English words. The Toubon Law made him infamous for its widely controversial content.

Among many others, it included vacancelles to replace weekend. This abomination of a word was never used but never forgotten.

Some other words have been mildly successful, but most of them sound old-fashioned and ridiculous:

• Tchatche (“Chat”)
• Courriel (“Email”)
• Messagerie instantanée (“Messenger”)
• Hameçonnage (“Phishing”)
• Pourriel (“Spam”)
• Webmestre (“Webmaster”)

Envoyer un mail (“To send an email”)

6. Le Mot De La Fin

In this guide, you’ve learned everything about Frenglish, from loanwords to the crazy blend of business Frenglish, mysterious semantic mutations, and how the French are handling it. Did I forget any important Frenglish expressions that you know?

We’re just scratching the surface here, but as you start interacting with native French speakers, you’ll notice how many of these strange Frenglish verbs they’re using: poker (“to poke”), uploader (“to upload”), checker (“to check”), and many more.

If you enjoyed this lesson, keep in mind that FrenchPod101.com also has tons of vocabulary lists with audio recordings as well as free resources to boost your studies and keep your French learning fresh and entertaining!

Remember that you can also use our Premium PLUS service, MyTeacher, to get personal one-on-one coaching and practice Frenglish terms and more with your personal teacher. In addition to providing you with assignments, personalized exercises, and recorded audio samples, your teacher will review your work and help you improve your pronunciation. 

Happy learning on FrenchPod101.com!

About the Author: Born and bred in the rainy north of France, Cyril Danon has been bouncing off various jobs before he left everything behind to wander around the wonders of the World. Now, after quenching his wanderlust for the last few years, he’s eager to share his passion for languages.

Are you planning on visiting France soon? Or even on settling down? Maybe you’re just curious about the country in general. Whatever the reason, you’ve come to the perfect place to learn about what makes France so special.

France is considered one of the most culturally influential countries in the world, and this is not surprising. This country has a lot to offer: a wealth of history and art, fine food, booming entertainment industries, a chic fashion scene, and strong values.

On this page, you’ll learn the most important French culture facts, from core values to general lifestyle.

Table of Contents

1. French Values
2. Religions and Cults
3. Relationships
4. Lifestyle
5. Art and Entertainment
6. Food and Wine
7. French Holidays
8. Le Mot De La Fin

1. French Values

Understanding French culture begins with a working knowledge of the values and mindset of the French. 

A- Why is it Difficult to Define a “French Culture”?

While the concept of a “melting pot” is an integral part of the American culture, it has always been a bit more contentious in France. What is the French culture exactly? Should it be viewed as the culture from the mainland? But then what about Corsica and our five overseas regions?

Today, France is not the patchwork of local customs nor the disparate collection of communities it was only two centuries ago. However, it’s still home to numerous indigenous and foreign languages as well as multiple ethnicities and religions—and all of this on top of the regional diversity of the metropolitan territories.

Somehow, France managed to develop a certain shared “cultural identity.” It came not only from the education system, military service, and local politics, but also from profoundly influential historical events such as the French Revolution in 1789, the two World Wars, and the social revolution in 1968.

Despite some recent efforts to promote multiculturalism and communitarianism (through the preservation of regional languages and the decentralization of power), a number of events have put this fragile culture under a lot of pressure: 

• the depopulation of the countryside
• large waves of non-Christian immigrant communities
• centralization
• market forces
• the globalization of the world economy

However, there is still a sense of pride in our national identity and in the achievements of France. The interracial blending also makes for a vibrant pool of talents, from popular music to literature, music, art, and more.

B- Core Values of the French Republic 

Liberty, equality, and fraternity have defined the French people since the eighteenth century (often called the Age of Enlightenment). The motto “Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité” first appeared during the French Revolution and was later written into the Constitution in 1958, officially becoming part of the French national heritage.

Do these values still hold true in France today? While French citizens are mainly concerned about social inequalities, loss of liberties, and abuses of power, this is a very delicate question. Nevertheless, it remains an ideal we want to hold on to.

C- The French Mindset

There are a few defining French culture characteristics concerning specific values and the French mindset. Of course, this varies a lot depending on one’s social circle and level of education, but there are some general trends.

Freedom is greatly valued and people are often defiant toward authorities: government and police alike. Suspicions of corruption or abuse of power easily arise and can have a huge impact on people’s perception of the current elected officials.

Freedom of speech is usually seen as essential. Nowadays, it is arguably impaired by a certain obsession with political correctness. Public expressions that are deemed inappropriate are even punishable by law as they can potentially foster hatred.

However, we still value critical thinking and education, and the French often try to appear knowledgeable about culture, literature, world events, science, or…well, basically everything. In France, you don’t need to look tough, have perfect hair, or possess amazing dance skills. If you want to stand out, you need to be educated and assertive.

Having an open mind is generally regarded as an important quality. Even though there is still a lot of work ahead of us, the French are rather progressive in their mentalities regarding different religions and are more willing to dive into new cultures. Gender inequalities are on the decline and LGBT rights have come a long way in recent years.

Social classes are still a thing, with the upper class rarely mingling with the ‘commoners,’ a general disconnect from the rural world, and increasing social inequality. On an encouraging note, the public opinion is showing more and more awareness of those issues. For example, when Presidents Sarkozy or Macron were displaying too much wealth or scorning the working class, their popularity quickly went down.

La Révolution Française (“The French Revolution”) – 1789

2. Religions and Cults

In French culture, religion is a hot topic—making it an essential factor to mention in our overview.

A- Freedom of Religion

France is a secular country. This means that, by law, the French government remains neutral concerning religion; as such, it should neither enforce nor prohibit citizens’ free exercise of religion. French citizens are free to choose any religion (or none), and it’s a private matter that shall never interfere with official affairs.

No “God saves the President” or swearing on the Bible in France. When the loi sur la séparation de l’Église et de l’État (“Law on the Separation of the Church and State”) came into effect in 1905, so did the “freedom to practice religion.”

It’s important to understand that this set of laws is by no means a weapon against religion. It is only returning all religions to the private sector and guaranteeing state secularism in the public sphere. The French state does not favor any particular religion and should aim at maintaining their peaceful co-existence.

In the same spirit, the law of March 15, 2004, prohibits all religious clothing and accessories from being worn in schools (as children are considered more vulnerable to indoctrination). This specific law caused some outrage among part of the Muslim community and is still a hot topic.

B- Dominant Religions in France

According to a recent official poll by the French government:

• 37% of French people identify with some religion
• 31% are atheists and 15% agnostics
• 10% are indifferent to religion

14% of French people take part in some religious practice at least once a month (religious office or events, group prayers, etc.).

Catholicism is by far the most dominant religion in the country, way ahead of Protestantism, Islam, Judaism, and Buddhism. It’s interesting to note how heavily Islam has weighed on the public debate, despite there being a very small number of Muslim believers in France.

Even though France boasts a glorious Catholic legacy, with numerous architectural masterpieces such as Notre-Dame and the Cathédrale de Reims, Christianity is on the decline and few people attend Mass anymore. This decline is especially prominent among the younger generations.

Le Mont Saint Michel

3. Relationships

Every culture has its own ways of perceiving and handling different relationships. Let’s take a look at French cultural norms when it comes to family, couples, and friends.

A- Family

The family is an important cohesive component of French society and each member has certain responsibilities. Gender equality hasn’t been fully achieved yet, but both parents are usually working and making important household decisions together.

Family members are generally close. They take meals together during the week and it’s common to gather with extended family on weekends. When they’re not living under the same roof anymore, they regularly keep in touch.

With 1.87 children per woman (a number that has been slowly but steadily going down since 2010), France remains the most fertile country in the European Union.

→ To expand your vocabulary, stop by our free vocabulary list of the Must-Know Terms for Family Members and our French Family Guide article on FrenchPod101.com.

B- Couples

Since the 1960s, marriage has been on the decline and France has seen an increasing number of divorces. Getting married is not as popular as it used to be, and a lot of French couples now have a practical approach to it. 

Created in 1999, the pacs or PACS (Pacte Civil de Solidarité, for “Civil Solidarity Pact”) is, along with the classic civil marriage, one of the two forms of civil union in France.

It was originally created to give same-sex couples the same rights and legal protection as straight couples. However, the PACS is getting increasingly popular, especially for straight couples who find it more flexible and less bureaucratically heavy than getting married. They represent more than 95% of the total number of couples getting Pacsed. Numbers are also showing that the PACS is slowly taking over traditional marriage.

As of 2013, France legally recognizes same-sex marriage, thanks to a new law called Mariage pour tous (“Marriage for all”), passed by President François Hollande. The first French same-sex marriage took place on May 29, 2013, in Montpellier.

→ Feeling romantic? Then check out our list of the cheesiest French Quotes About Love.

C- Friendship

When compared to Americans, the French can seem cold or distant at first glance, but it’s just a misunderstanding of their behavior. We show a bit more formality and reserve with strangers and it takes some time for us to open up.

Inviting someone to our home doesn’t come as fast and naturally as it does in other cultures, but once we’re good friends with someone, our door will always be open. Friends are expected to be loyal, help each other, and stay in touch on a regular basis. Loin des yeux, loin du coeur. (“Far from the eyes, far from the heart.”)

La famille (“Family”)

4. Lifestyle

French traditions and culture make for a unique lifestyle in terms of work and leisure time. Take a look.

A- Work 

The business culture in France varies greatly depending on the industry and the company you’re dealing with. It ranges from very casual to uptight and formal. In any case, we strictly adhere to the hierarchy, and the chain of command matters even in small organizations.

The French value their free time most of all, and work is usually considered a means rather than an end. As a result, we have a reputation for working hard and efficiently, without overcommitting. We try to preserve a satisfying work-life balance at all times.

French workers tend to keep their work environment as friendly and casual as possible. You’re likely to develop strong connections with your colleagues and hang out outside of working hours (but this is by no means mandatory).

→ Let’s get down to business with our free vocabulary list for Talking About the Workplace in French.

B- Hobbies

97% of the French believe that hobbies, sports, and social or cultural activities contribute to their quality of life. On average, active French workers can dedicate around nine hours per week to their hobbies.

Le foot (“Football”) is the most-watched sport in France, followed by Rugby, cycling, and tennis. But however popular they are on TV or at school, few people actually practice these sports in their free time. Hiking (in France or abroad), jogging, and dancing are much more common physical activities.

Other popular hobbies among French people include:

• listening to music
• watching TV
• browsing online
• going out with friends
• watching movies or series
• playing video games
• reading newspapers
• messaging 

Creative hobbies are also on the rise. 71% of the French take part in at least one creative activity, such as cooking, bricolage (do-it-yourself crafts), painting, and more.

→ Do you want to talk about your hobbies with your French friends? We’ve got you covered with our list of French Vocabulary for Hobbies.

C- Tobacco and Drugs

The legal drinking age is 18, and alcohol can be bought in any supermarket or convenience store and it’s sold in most restaurants. Alcohol plays an important role in social gatherings, be it in bars, clubs, or at home. It’s also common to conduct business over a glass of wine during a déjeuner d’affaires (“business lunch”).

The cigarette smoking age is also 18 years. Contrary to the widespread cliché, France is pretty far down the list of the heaviest cigarette consumers (ranking 60 out of 181). 

Following a series of laws in 2007 and 2008, smoking in all public places (stations, museums, restaurants) is now banned. While it’s possible to have a smoking room in your bar, smoking is so restricted that it usually only happens in the streets or terraces.

Cannabis is still illegal but widely used in France. Around 45% of the French have tried it and 30% smoke it somewhat regularly. It makes France one of the top consumers in the world, even before countries where the substance is legal, such as the Netherlands. Other recreational drugs are often very expensive and are thus marginally used.

Le Tour de France (Most famous French cycling race)

5. Art and Entertainment

Few things are as defining as a culture’s collective art and entertainment industries. Here’s what you should know about art and entertainment in France.

A- Centuries of Art

France has a long tradition of flourishing art, especially since the twelfth century. This was when Gothic art and architecture originated around Paris before spreading all over Europe. Shortly after, French craftsmen developed the stained glass painting techniques that you can see in so many European Christian buildings.

From Gothic to Baroque, then to Classicism, French art evolved over the centuries to reach a peak around the seventeenth century. This was when famous classical painters, such as Peter Paul Ruben and Nicolas Poussin, emerged—and when impressive works of architecture, such as the Château de Versailles (“Versailles Castle”), were created.

To think that such legendary artists as Toulouse-Lautrec, Monet, Gauguin, Cézanne, and Van Gogh were all alive during the same period in the second half of the nineteenth century is mind-blowing. It’s no surprise that the Louvre museum is host to such an impressive collection.

B- Music, Cinema, and Literature

The music of France reflects the diversity of the country’s ethnicities and cultures, with a wide array of styles. We have the fifth largest music market in the world and have produced many internationally famous artists, especially in electronic music (such as Daft Punk or David Guetta).

France is the birthplace of cinema and home to some of its most important contributions. Today, most French movies don’t go anywhere beyond our borders. Is it deserved? Yeah, pretty much. Except for a vibrant scene in the horror genre, we’re stuck with the same rehashed family dramas and dumb comedies.

French literature is an important part of our cultural lives and is introduced early on in our educational system. This is reinforced by the French media’s focus on book fairs and prizes, such as the Prix Goncourt, Prix Renaudot, and Prix Femina. Reading is a popular pastime for many French people, but it’s losing ground to streaming and other online activities.

All around the world, video games are now bigger than movies, and France is no exception. Thanks to tax cuts from the French government and a fair number of talented studios (such as Arkane, Asobo, and Dontnod), the French gaming industry has recently produced internationally acclaimed titles.

6. Food and Wine

The French culture and cuisine go hand in hand. Food is one of the great passions of French people, who place great emphasis on refined cooking methods that involve careful preparation of fresh ingredients. The cuisine can be really different from one region to the next and relies heavily on what is locally grown.

In 2010, the French gastronomy was awarded the most prestigious award by UNESCO when it was added to the list of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

A- The Top 5 French Dishes

It would be impossible to list all of the delicious dishes France is famous for, but here are a few samples:

1. Tartiflette
   This consists of potatoes, fried onions, and sliced bacon oven-cooked with wine, garlic, and a massive amount of reblochon (arguably the best mountain cheese France has to offer).


2. Steak Tartare
   This is raw beef ground or sliced into tiny pieces and served with a mix of herbs, condiments, a fresh egg yolk, capers, and minced shallot.


3. Cassoulet
   This is a casserole of white beans and slow-cooked meat, often served with duck leg confit cooked in duck fat for the most decadent and amazing results.


4. Crêpes
   Unlike American-style pancakes, crêpes are thin and delicate, but they share the same list of ingredients. They can be eaten with sweet or savory fillings.


5. Endives au jambon
   This northern recipe is based on steam-cooked endives (“chicory”) wrapped in cooked ham, bathed in béchamel sauce, and topped with grated cheese.

B- Unique French Products

French wine is one of our biggest national prides. It’s produced across the whole country in large quantities and exported all over the world. It has many styles, terroirs, and labels, and it’s mostly made to accompany the food. No meal is complete without a good bottle of wine.

Short for apéritif, the apéro is a set of pre-dinner drinks and finger food. It’s similar to a cocktail party that we can have before lunch at around 11 a.m. or in the evening from 6 p.m. The French take their apéro quite seriously and it’s an important part of meetings with friends and family.

Cheese is one of the apéro’s best friends, and with around 1600 different French cheeses, there is a lot to be excited about. They all have their unique shape, texture, aroma, and flavor, but as a general rule: the smellier the better. Some cheeses are better suited for cooking and others are eaten in slices, on fresh bread, or melted in sauces.

Another classic apéro item is the charcuterie. It can consist of a wide range of cold cuts, from ham to saucisson, mortadella, smoked ham, cured ham, and much more. It comes mostly from pork and is often smoked or dry-cured.

L’apéro

→ Did this section stimulate your appetite? Make sure to stop by our full guide to French Cuisine for more details on the meals and local delicacies!

7. French Holidays 

Many of the French holidays are of Christian origin. For the most part, their religious implications have been lost, but we still commemorate Ascension Day, Christmas, and Easter Monday. We also have a few French-specific and secular holidays:

1. National Day (July 14)
   This is the most important national holiday. It commemorates the French Revolution, and more precisely, the fall of the Bastille as a symbol of the French Revolution victory.


2. Labor Day (May 1)
   The premier mai (“first of May”) or fête du travail (“work holiday”) is Labor Day in France. Almost all companies and stores are closed on that day.


3. New Year’s Day (January 1)
   Le jour de l’an (Literally, “The day of the year”) or Le premier de l’an (“First of the year”) is the first day of the year. Like many countries, France celebrates the New Year. 

→ Make sure you come prepared when attending a French holiday celebration. Here are a few useful words for the National Holiday with audio recordings on FrenchPod101.com.

8. Le Mot De La Fin

In this French culture overview, you’ve learned everything about the culture of France, from its core values to religion, relationships, lifestyle, art, cuisine, and more. Did we forget any important French culture topics or facts you’ve heard about?

I hope this will inspire you to dive even deeper—and what better way to do so than by learning the language? Learning a foreign language is a window wide open to a new culture if you’re bold enough to take the leap!

Make sure to explore FrenchPod101, as we have plenty of free resources to help you study key grammar points and learn new words. Our vocabulary lists are also a great way to review words and learn their pronunciation.

Remember that you can also use our Premium PLUS service, MyTeacher, to get personal one-on-one coaching. Your private teacher will help you with any topic you’re curious about or struggling with. Along with giving you assignments, personalized exercises, and recorded audio samples, your teacher will review your work and help you improve your pronunciation. 

Happy learning on FrenchPod101.com!

About the Author: Born and bred in the rainy north of France, Cyril Danon has been bouncing off various jobs before he left everything behind to wander around the wonders of the World. Now, after quenching his wanderlust for the last few years, he’s eager to share his passion for languages.