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Un des problèmes d’aimer le STEM et d’être en ligne chroniquement c’est que mes profs mentioneront les alpha, beta, et sigma et je passerai aux tous les cinq stades de deuil
French Prepositions
and how else they can be used
I don’t know about y’all, but prepositions are the WORST. They hardly ever directly translate between languages and when they do, there are so many exceptions it doesn’t even matter. So, I’ve done some research and I’ll try to make the list as comprehensive as possible :)
OKAY ! So here is the most basic “to and from” list.
But as you know, French is not that easy. You will also see de and à frequently interspersed between verbs and even used as adverbs and adjectives. Below I have listed a few verbs that take these prepositions.
Verbs that require the preposition à
Aider (quelqu'un) à (to help someone to)
S’amuser à (to amuse oneself)
Avoir à (to have to)
Apprendre à (to learn how to)
Avoir de la peine à (to have difficulty)
Commencer à
Continuer à
The preposition à can also be used to indicate place, time, manner or possession
À droite (on the right)
À loisir (at leisure)
À la compagne (in the mountains)
À la française ([in] the french way)
Cette voiture est à toi? (This car is yours?)
Verbs that require the preposition de
S’arreter de
Cesser de
Choisir de
Décider de
Se dépêcher de (to be in a hurry
Essayer de
Finir de
Oublier de
Refuser de
Verbs that can be followed by both
Conseiller à (quelqu’un) de (faire quelque chose)
Défendre à… de
Demander à…de
Dire à… de
Offrir à … de
Permettre à… de
Promettre à… de
Proposer à… de
Suggérer à…de
Hope this helps !!
Links to Free French Children’s Books
One of the best ways―if not the best way―to improve your foreign language fluency is reading! Children’s books are the perfect place to start. Below I have linked a handful of free French children’s books from Internet Archive for those of you learning French.
Internet Archive is an online library that provides free access to books, movies, audio files, and other digitized materials. An account is required to view some of the listings, but you can create one for free.
Le bonhomme de pain d'épices (The Gingerbread Man) by Janet Brown
Blanche Neige et les sept nains (Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs)
Hello Kitty: Une surprise pour mama (Hello Kitty: A Surprise for Mom) by Ellen Weiss
La princesse au petit pois (The Princess and the Pea)
Bob l'éponge: Où est Gary? (SpongeBob: Where is Gary?) by David Lewman
French Witchy Vocabulary
Tell me if anything is wrong!
La sorcellerie - The witchcraft
Les éléments - The elements (M)
La terre - The earth
L’eau - The water (F)
L’air - The air (M)
Le feu - The fire
L’esprit - The spirit (M)
La baguette magique - The wand
L’épée - The sword (F)
La tasse - The cup
Le pentacle - The pentacle
La lune - The moon
Le soleil - The sun
Le cercle - The circle
Le sel - The salt
La bougie - The candle
La pierre - The stone
Le cristal - The crystal
La plume - The feather
Le grimoire - The grimoire
Le sortilège - The spell
La prière - The prayer
La malédiction - The curse
L’autel - The altar (M)
Le sanctuaire - The shrine
La magie - The magick
La nature - The nature
Le culte - The coven/cult
Le panthéon - The pantheon
La sorcière - The witch
Ancien/ne - Ancient
Magique - Magical
Pur - Pure
Blanc/he - White
Noir/e - Black
Gris/e - Grey
Spirituel/le - Spiritual
Religieux/se - Religious
Naturel/le - Natural
Mystique - Mystical
Prier - To pray
Maudire - To curse
Danser - To dance
Chanter - To sing
Guérir - To heal
Croire - To believe
Invoquer - To invoke
Ensorceler - To enchant/spellbind
Écrire - To write
Consacrer - To devote
bon matin! c’est tôt pour moi, hmm? today I’ll be sharing some online resources for learning french ranging from vocab lists to full on courses! i hope you find these useful - the internet really is precious when learning languages! <3
⁎⁺˳✧༚ frenchtoday.com
this website threatens to put me out of business and I couldn’t be more delighted! vocab lists galore, free lessons, tips to work on your pronunciation, articles on french culture and even stories and poetry. i haven’t looked at everything available on there, but from what I’ve seen, it’s pretty useful!
⁎⁺˳✧༚ frenchpod101.com
this is a free course you can take, with options for absolute beginners and those already a little familiar with the language. it looks to be good for conversational french and is an easy, no nonsense starting point for beginners, who i know from experience are often easily overwhelmed.
⁎⁺˳✧༚ coffee break french
this is one I’m not quite as familiar with but has come to me highly recommended. it’s a podcast that covers the basics as well as providing dialogues and example role plays. give it a try and let me know how you find it!
⁎⁺˳✧༚ innerfrench (chaîne de YouTube)
this is a really interesting channel! you get to learn french through a variety of different topical discussions and he speaks slowly enough for you to get most of what he’s saying even if you’re a relative beginner, which can make you feel super smart :)
bien, c’est tout! i hope these recs are alright, and I hope we meet again soon~ a bientôt!
Negations
A
Au grand jamais - never
Aucun-e(s) - none : Je n’en ai vu aucun / I have seen none of them
Aucunement (rare) - by no means
D
Dégun (southern slang) - no one
E
En aucun cas - under no circumstance
En aucune façon - under no circumstance
En aucune manière - under no circumstance
En rien - under no circumstance
G
Goutte - nothing (old, rare) : On n’y voit goutte ici / We can’t see anything
Guère - almost not/nothing (old, rare) : Ce n’est guère plus rapide que le train / This isn’t any faster than the train
J
Jamais - never : Plus jamais ça! / Never again!
Jamais au grand jamais - never ever (dramatic)
Jamais de la vie - never ever
K
Keud (slang), short que ‘que dalle’ (slang for Nothing)
Keutchi (slang)
N
N’ - ne + vowel : Je ne t’aime pas / I don’t love you
Nada - nothing at all : - Did you hear about that? - Nada!
Nan (slang) - nah
Ne - not : Je ne sais pas / I don’t know
Ni - neither/nor : Je n’ai vu ni le chien ni le chat depuis que je suis arrivée / I haven’t seen neither the cat nor the dog since I got here
Niet - nope! (often angry)
Non - no
Non plus - (n)either : Je ne sais pas non plus / I don’t know either
Non plus que
Nul-le - none : Nos jeunes filles à nous sont tellement accomplies, que nulle des filles d’Ève ne peut lutter avec elles ! — (Modeste Mignon, Honoré de Balzac, 1844)
Nulle part - nowhere : Je ne le vois nulle part / I can’t see him anywhere
Nullement - not in any way
O
Ô/oh grand jamais : never ever (dramatic)
P
Pas - not : Je ne sais pas / I don’t know
Pas autrement - not any other way : C’est comme ça et pas autrement
Pas encore - not yet
Pas forcément - not necessarily
Pas plus que
Pas un-e - not one : - Did they offer their help? - Pas un!
Pas un chat - not one cat : Il n’y a pas un chat / There’s no one here
Personne - nobody : Il n’y a personne ici / There’s no one here
Plus : no more - Je ne t’aime plus / I don’t love you anymore
Point - not : Je ne sais point / I don’t know (rare, old)
Q
Que dalle (slang) - nothing : - Did you know about that? - Que dalle!
Que nenni - no (old) : - Are they here yet? - Que nenni!
Que tchi (slang) - nothing
Queude (slang, short for Que dalle) - nothing
R
Rien - nothing : Je ne vois rien / I don’t see anything
Number-based expressions
À deux pas d'ici - Nearby
À nous deux - En garde
À quatre pattes - On all fours
À six pieds sous terre - Buried
À un de ces quatre - See you soon (casual)
Attendre cent-sept ans - Waiting forever
Aux quatre coins du monde - All over the world
Avoir deux mains gauches - Being very clumsy
Avoir deux mots à dire à qqun - Having someone to scold
Avoir du mal à joindre les deux bouts - Struggling to earn enough
Avoir la boule à zéro - Being bald/shaved
Avoir le cul entre deux chaises - Not knowing what to do (casual)
Avoir le moral à zéro - Being depressed
Avoir les deux pieds sur terre - Being realistic
Avoir un cheveu sur la langue - Having a lisp
Avoir un poil dans la main - Being lazy
Avoir zéro défaut - Being flawless
Blague à deux balles, f - Crappy joke
Brûler la chandelle par les deux bouts - Spending too much
Ça fait deux - It's incompatible (Moi et les maths, ça fait deux)
C'est reparti comme en quatorze - Here we go again
C'était moins une - It was almost too late
Chercher à midi à quatorze heures - Complicating things
Cinquième roue du carosse, f - Third wheel
Comme pas deux - Better than anyone (casual)
Compter deux par deux - Skip count by twos
Couper la poire en deux - Finding a compromise
Couper les cheveux en quatre - Being very/too meticulous
De deux choses l'une - Here are the options
De mes deux - useless (Voiture de mes deux!)
De première nécessité - Absolutely essential
De seconde main - Secondhand
Deux fois, ça va, trois fois, bonjour les dégâts - It will be a mess
Deux-pièces, m - Two-roomed flat, Bikini
Deux-roues, m - Two-wheeled vehicle
Deux-temps, m - Two-stroke
Dire à qqun ses quatre vérités - Telling smn a few home truths
Dire qqc cent fois - Repeating oneself
Dormir sur ses deux oreilles - Being at peace with oneself
Durer trois plombes - Taking a long time (casual)
En deux coups de cuillère à pot - Very quickly
En deux temps trois mouvements - very quickly
En huit - Of next week (Jeudi en huit)
En quinze - In two weeks
En un mot comme en mille - In a nutshell
Entre les deux mon coeur balance - I don't know what to pick
État second, m - Trance (after medication, drug, illness)
Être à deux doigts de - Being very close to
Être au septième ciel - Being very happy
Être haut-e comme trois pommes - Being little (for a child)
Être plié-e en deux - Laughing very hard
Être tiré-e à quatre épingles - Being very well dressed
Être uni-es comme les doigts de la main - Being very good friends
Faire deux poids deux mesures - Having double standards
Faire d'une pierre deux coups - Killing two birds with one stone
Faire les cent pas - Pacing
Faire les quatre cents coups - Being up to mischief
Faire les trois-huit - Having an eight hour shift
Freiner des quatre fers - Digging in heels
Grand huit, m - Rollercoaster
Jamais deux sans trois - All things come in threes
Je te le donne en mille - You'll never guess
Le mot de cinq lettres - Shit (Merde)
Les deux font la paire - They are two of a kind
Les deux mon capitaine - Both options are reasonable
Les quatre fers en l'air - Flat on the back
Manger comme quatre - Eating a lot
Ménage à trois - Love triangle
Merci mille fois - Thank you so much
Mille-feuilles, m - Cream slice
Mille-pattes, m - Centipede
Mouton à cinq pattes, m - Something exceptional
Ne faire ni une ni deux - Deciding without hesitating
Ne faire qu'un (avec) - Being one with
Ne pas avoir un radis/rond - Being broke (casual)
Ne pas gagner des mille et des cent - Not earning much
Ne pas se le faire dire deux fois - Not having to be told twice
Ne pas y aller par quatre chemins - Going straight to the point
Ne rien savoir faire de ses dix doigts - Being lazy, uncapable
Neuf fois sur dix - Nine times out of ten
Nombre premier, m - Prime number
Paris ne s'est pas fait en un jour - Rome wasn't built in a day
Prendre son courage à deux mains - Plucking up courage
Quatre à quatre - Very quickly
Quatre-heures, m - Snack
Quatre-quarts, m - Pound cake
Recevoir cinq sur cinq - Understanding stg perfectly
Remettre les compteurs à zéro - Starting over
Repartir à zéro - Starting over
Semaine des quatre jeudi, f - The month of Sundays
Se mettre en quatre (pour qqun) - Doing a lot to give a favour
Se mettre sur son trente-et-un - Dressing up to the nines
S'en moquer comme de l'an quarante - Not caring (casual)
Se parler entre quatre z'yeux - Talking face to face
Se ressembler comme deux gouttes d'eau - Looking identical
Se saigner aux quatre veines - Depriving oneself
Tomber sur un os - Hitting a snag
Tourner sept fois sa langue dans sa bouche (avant de parler) - Thinking before speaking
Tous les trente-six du mois - Once in a blue moon
Treize à la douzaine - In large quantities
Trente-trois tours, m - Long-playing record
Troisième âge, m - Senior citizens
Un à la fois - One at a time
Un-e de perdu-e, dix de retrouvé-es - Plenty more fish in the sea
Un homme averti en vaut deux - Forewarned is forearmed
Un jour ou l'autre - Some day
Vingt dieux - Holy crap (casual/old)
Vingt-quatre heures sur vingt-quatre - 24/7
Voir trente-six chandelles - Seeing stars
Y regarder à deux fois - Thinking before making a decision
*Qqun/Quelqu'un - Someone; Qqch/Quelque chose - Something
Links to PDFs of French Language Books
The Great Gatsby (Gatsby le magnifique)
The Fault in Our Stars (Nos étoiles contraires)
Twilight (Fascination)
New Moon (Tentation)
Eclipse (Hésitation)
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (Harry Potter à l'École des Sorciers)
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Harry Potter et la Chambre des Secrets)
The Book Thief (La voleuse de livres)
The Notebook (Les pages de notre amour)
Sense and Sensibility (Le cœur et la raison)
The Little Prince (Le petit prince)
The Girl on the Train (La Fille du train)
Animal Farm (La Ferme des Animaux)
1984 (1984)
Romeo and Juliet (Roméo et Juliette)
Me Before You (Avant toi)
The Secret Garden (Le Jardin mystérieux)
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Les hommes qui n'aimaient pas les femmes)
Hunger Games (Hunger Games)
Divergent (Divergent)
To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before (À tous les garçons que j'ai aimés)
Hello! I've just started learning French and I'd like to try reading something. A whole novel sounds quite intimidating, so do you know of any short stories with simple language?
Hello,
My mind goes to :
Les lettres de mon moulin by Alphonse Daudet
Trois contes by Gustave Flaubert
Arsène Lupin contre Herlock Sholmès by Maurice Leblanc (ha!)
Les diaboliques by Jules Barbey d’Aurevilly (pretty)
Le sommeil de la raison by Gabrielle Wittkop
Contes de l’Absurde + Histoires perfides by Pierre Boulle (emo)
Je voudrais que quelqu’un m’attende quelque part by Anna Gavalda
Les filles du Feu by Gérard de Nerval (v pretty)
Le mur by Jean-Paul Sartre (classic)
La Fontaine aux Fées by Chantal Robillard
L’Exil et Le Royaume + L’Étranger by Albert Camus (classic)
Solitude de la Pitié by jean Giono
Des Filles bien élevées by Anne Wiazemski
La Rêveuse d’Ostende by Éric-Emmanuel Schmitt
La Chapelle Sextine by Hervé Le Tellier (naughty)
Le Ratichon Baigneur by Boris Vian
Poussières d’anges by Ann Scott
Contes cruels by Octave Mirbeau (weirdo)
L’arbre des Possibles by Bernard Werber
Mordre au travers by Virginie Despentes (feminist, weird)
Clair de Lune + L’Inutile Beauté + Boule de Suif + Le Horla (has a slight Dorian Gray vibe, classic) by Guy de Maupassant
Les Plaisirs et les Jours by Marcel Proust,
L’Heptaméron by Marguerite de Navarre,
Cantatrix sopranica by George Pérec,
Deux et deux font cinq by Alphone Allais
Religere + Déchirures by Sir Cédric (goth)
Gloire à nos Illustres Pionniers by Romain Gary
Les Vrilles de la Ligne by Colette (badass lady)
Nouvelles sous Extasy by Frédéric Beigbeder (v weird/edgy)
La Botte Secrète by Éric Boisset
And that’s probably enough. Hope this helps! x
Aspirated H- nouns
I have mentioned before that h- nouns, depending on if they come from the (most likely) Germanic or the Latin language, will be treated differently: a Frankish noun will not have a liaison (Un haricot, Les-/-haricots) but a Latin noun will have one (Un-(h)iver, Les-z-hommes). Think of them as the aspirated H- and the mute H-.
A few things to note:
Most of H- nouns are mute as French is a romance language, direct heir of Latin - the roman empire is known for philosophy, thinking, culture, politics. The Franks however led simpler lives and spent most of their time outside; when they invaded us, they left their mark in the vocabulary, especially in practical things: trees, foods, animals, weapons...
If you're unsure, try to think of the translation of a noun in Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Romanian, or even Latin: if they're siblings, your noun is romance. Homme: hombre, uomo, etc.
If you don't know those languages, here's another test: try doing L' + noun and see if it could get mixed up with another word. Ex: La hache > L'hache > Lâche. This is especially true if the following vowel is -a- as it would be harder to pronounce.
If the word is borrowed to English (a Germanic heir), the H- is aspirated (Hamburger, Hockey, Hippie).
If an aspirated H- noun doesn't come from the Germanic language ("Vieux francique"), it might come from Old Norse (Houle), Arabic (Hasard), Latin (Harpe), or an onomatopeia (ex: An owl is Un hibou, which might just be a version of Hoo hoo, just like the Egyptians called cats "Mau").
A few common aspirated H- nouns:
Hache, f - ax
Haie, f - hedge, fence
Haine, f - hatred
Hâle, f - slight tan
Hameau, m - hamlet
Hanche, f - hip
Handicap, m - disability
Harcèlement, m - harassment
Haricot, m - bean
Harnais, m - harness
Hasard, m - chance, coincidence
Hâte, f - haste
Haut, m - top (Le haut du mur)
Hauteur, f - height (of objects)
Hérisson, m - hedgehog
Héros, m - hero
Heurtoir, m - door knocker
Hiérarchie, f - hierarchy
Hochement, m - nodding
Homard, m - lobster
Hongrie, f - Hungary
Honte, f - shame
Hors d'oeuvre, m - appetizer
Houle, f - swell (sea)
Hoquet, m - hiccups
Hors-la-loi - outlaw
Huis clos, m - closed session
Huitième - eighth
Hurlement, m - scream
♥French vocabulary : mystery ♥
Le mystère = mystery
mystérieux = mysterious
un secret, une arcane = a secret
cacher, dissimuler = to hide
murmurer, chuchoter = to whisper
un masque = a mask
une mascarade = a masquerade
les ténèbres, l'obscurité = darkness (both nouns are feminine)
un voile = a veil
la poussière = dust
l'éternité = eternity (feminine)
éternel = eternal
un mensonge = a lie
mentir = to lie
le temps = time
une épine = a thorn
un fil = a thread
la magie = magic
un spectre, un fantôme = a ghost
expliquer = to explain
découvrir = to discover
un trésor = a treasure
un conte = a tale
la fumée = smoke
croire = to believe
douter = to doubt
un miroir = a mirror
la vérité = truth
Gucci Campaign (with Ignasi Monreal)
📱📱📱SMS en Français📱📱📱
Here are some shorthand abbreviations of common words in French that you might see or would like to use when texting:
Slt (salut) - Hi
Pk (pourquoi) - why
Bcp (beaucoup) - a lot
Stp (s’il te plâit) - please
Tkt (ne t'inquiète pas) - no worries
à tte (à toute) - see you, bye
Mdr (mort de rire) - lol
Ptdr (pété de rire) - lmao
Dsl (desolée) - sorry
French vocabulary on time, timing, and speeds
Timing of arrival
être à l'heure = to be on time
être ponctuel = to be punctual
être en avance = to be early
être en retard = to be late
être à la bourre = to be running late (familiar)
être pressé = to be in a hurry
l'heure de pointe = rush hour
Earliness/Lateness
tôt = early
tard = late
de bonne heure = early (lit. at a good hour)
sans tarder = at once (lit. without delay)
dès que possible = as soon as possible
Expressions about speed
démarrer sur les chapeaux de roues = to take off like a shot (lit. to set out on the caps of wheels; familiar)
démarrer en trombe = to set out in a whirlwind
y aller mollo = to take it easy/slow (lit. to go about something slowly; familiar)
recent vocab !
here’s some miscellaneous french vocabulary that i’ve acquired during my french journalling over the past few days! can you tell what i’ve been up to?
l'argile (f) - clay le corail - coral le décolorant - (hair) bleach la démangeaison - itching, itch l'eau de Javel (f) - (cleaning product) bleach le lobe de l'oreille - earlobe la mèche - strand of hair, lock of hair
à la main - by hand déchirant - harrowing
convenir - to suit, to agree with décolorer - to bleach (hair) percer - to pierce rajeunir - to rejuvenate, to feel rejuvenated repousser - to grow back, to repel se teindre les cheveux - to dye one’s hair
What is the difference between Est-ce que and Qu'est-ce que?
Asking questions is something fundamental in French, especially if you want to know more about something or get more information.
French people use Est-ce que and Qu'est-ce que to start their questions. They look alike but are not used the same way.
So, what is the actual difference between both question words? Find out more here and also practice with the Quiz at the end of the lesson.
Learn French With Chanty
♥French Vocabulary : flowers ♥
une fleur = a flower
un fleuriste = a florist
un pétale = a petal
une rose = a rose
un bleuet = a cornflower
un lys = a lily
une marguerite = a daisy
une tulipe = a tulip
une violette = a violet
un tournesol = a sunflower
un oeillet = a carnation
fleurir = to bloom
un jardin = a garden
une graine = a seed
creuser = to dig
arroser = to water
coloré = colourful
(by Francesco Hayez)
Les nationalités
1. American▪︎américain/américaine
2. Argentinian▪︎argentin/argentine
3. Algerian▪︎algérien/algérienne
4. Australian▪︎australien/australienne
5. Austrian▪︎autrichien/autrichienne
6. Belarusian▪︎biélorussien/biélorussienne
7. Belgian▪︎belge/belge
8. Brazilian▪︎brésilien/brésilienne
9. Bulgarian▪︎bulgare/bulgare
10. Canadian▪︎canadien/canadienne
11. Chinese▪︎chinois/chinoise
12. Colombian▪︎colombien/colombienne
13. Canadian▪︎canadien/canadienne
14. Cuban▪︎cubain/cubaine
15. Czech▪︎tchèque/tchèque
16. Dane▪︎danois/danoise
17. Dutch▪︎néerlandais/néerlandaise
18. Egyptian▪︎égyptien/égyptienne
19. English▪︎anglais/anglaise
20. Estonian▪︎estonien/estonienne
21. Finn▪︎finlandais/finlandaise
22. French▪︎français/française
23. German▪︎allemand/allemande
24. Greek▪︎grec/grecque
25. Hungarian▪︎hongrois/hongroise
26. Icelandic▪︎islandais/islandaise
27. Indian▪︎indien/indienne
28. Irish▪︎irlandais/irlandaise
29. Italian▪︎italien/italienne
30. Japanese▪︎japonais/japonaise
31. Korean▪︎coréen/coréenne
32. Latvian▪︎letton/letonne
33. Lithuanian▪︎lituanien/lituanienne
34. Macedonian▪︎macédonien/macédonienne
35. Mexican▪︎mexicain/mexicainne
36. New Zealander▪︎néo-zélandais/néo-zélandaise
37. Norwegian▪︎norvégien/norvégienne
38. Pole▪︎polonais/polonaise
39. Portuguese▪︎portugais/portugaise
40. Romanian▪︎roumain/roumaine
41. Russian▪︎russe/russe
42. Scottish▪︎écossais/écossaise
43. Slovak▪︎slovaque/slovaque
44. Slovene▪︎slovène/slovène
45. Spanish▪︎espagnol/espagnole
46. Swede▪︎suédois/suédoise
47. Swiss▪︎suisse/suisse
48. Turk▪︎turc/turque
49. Ukrainian▪︎ukrainien/ukrainienne
50. Welsh▪︎gallois/galloise
i will do another fifty soon to include the ones i left out. please correct me if i made any mistakes!
How to easily tell if a word is feminine or masculine in French?
Depending on the word category or it's ending? You can guess whether it is masculine or feminine. However there are exceptions but knowing the strategies will help you identify French nouns gender with about 90% accuracy.
👉Check out my latest post to find out more about these strategies that will help you learn easily French nouns gender. Click here.
If you are also looking to learn French and are having a tight budget, check out our language learnings discounts and deals page, it might be of help.
À bientôt
LEARN FRENCH WITH CHANTY
French Resource List
Hopefully even if you've been learning French for a while one of these resources may be of use to you
General
French dictionary
Best online French-English dictionary (which also has bilingual dictionaries for a number of languages) as it has example sentences in French with translations, forum, verb conjugations, idioms, and more
RFI listening and reading exercises for all levels incorporating the news into your learning
Grammar
Français Lingolia with exercises
Listening
Journal en Français Facile radio/ podcast with transcripts for each episode
News in Slow French podcast
Conversational French Mises à Jour with transcripts
If you live in Australia, SBS has a French news podcast
French dictation exercises write what you hear
Youtube comedy series Bref
Belgian LGBTQ+ Youtube series La théorie du Y
Youtube comedy series Le Département
French comedy series that has whole episodes for free on Youtube Fais pas ci fais pas ça
Skam France is a teen show so you can learn heaps of slang, it also has subtitles for each episode in French and English
Youtube
Home Language - vocab and grammar
Hugo Décrypte - daily news
MisterJDay - comedy
Le Monde - news but many of their videos have subtitles
Reading
Simple articles originally written for children, also has a Youtube playlist (1jour 1actu)
Le Petit Scribe reading comprehension and exercises level B1 but also has the same for all levels
Reading (or listening) comprehension - Le Petit Nicolas
Writing
À vos plumes - writing practice and grammar
Oui c'est ça writing practice
Proofreading checklist
Other
Thoughtco French articles on grammar, vocab, verbs, etc.
French slang dictionary
French vowel pronunciation part 1 and part 2 with audio
More useful French pronunciation tips with audio and IPA
EDIT: just remembered in case you feel like torturing yourself you can do Victorian year 12 level French exams 2001 to 2020 for free on the VCE website with the audio and answers available. It would probably be more helpful to not do it within the time limit and listen to the audio as much as you need to. You might also find the HSC exam papers useful from what I can see there's three different levels of French exams (beginners, continuers, and advanced) just find them in the list of subjects and you'll get to the exams.
Basic conversation
Hellos :
Bonjour (good day), bonsoir (good evening, from 5/6 pm) (formal)
Salut, coucou (childish), hola, hey (informal)
Hello (without pronouncing the h-) (mostly informal)
Yo, wesh (ironical, ‘ghetto’ slang) (very informal)
Allô (on the phone - neutral)
Introduction :
Je suis ravi-e de vous rencontrer (nice to meet you - formal)
Enchanté-e (charmed - formal)
Je m’appelle X (’I’m called X’)
Je suis la fille de Y (I am Y’s daughter)
J’ai vingt-six ans (’I have 26 years’)
Je vis à paris, en france (I live in paris, france)
Je travaille dans la publicité (I work in advertisement)
J’ai les cheveux bruns et les yeux verts (I have brown hair and green eyes)
Je mesure un mètre soixante-dix pour cinquante kilos (I’m 5′7/110 lbs)
J’ai deux frères mais pas de soeur (I have two brothers but no sister)
Questions :
Comment allez-vous/vas-tu ? (how are you?)
Comment vous appelez-vous/t’appelles-tu? (what’s your name?)
Quel âge avez-vous/as-tu ? (how old are you?)
Où vivez-vous/vis-tu? (where do you live?)
Est-ce que tu as un-e copain/copine? (do you have a so? - informal)
Quel-le(s) est/sont ton/ta/tes/votre(s) x préféré-e(s)/favori-te(s)?
Que faites-vous/fais-tu dans la vie? (what do you do for a living?)
Combien mesurez-vous/mesures-tu? (how tall are you?)
Comment va votre/ta famille? (how’s the family?)
Thanks :
Merci (thank you - neutral)
Merci beaucoup (thank you very much - neutral)
C’est très gentil (that’s very nice - neutral)
C’est très généreux de votre/ta part (it’s very generous of you - formal)
Un grand merci pour votre/ton aide (many thanks for your help - neutral)
Vous n’auriez/tu n’aurais pas dû (you shouldn’t have - neutral)
Mille mercis (a thousand thanks - very formal)
Cimer (verlan - very informal)
You’re welcome :
De rien (informal)
Ce n’est rien (formal)
Pas de problème/soucis (informal)
Avec plaisir (formal)
Je t’ / vous en prie (neutral)
Il n’y a pas de quoi (neutral)
Sorrys :
Je suis désolé-e (after a mistake, i’m sorry - neutral)
Pardon (sorry, after a mistake or in a crowd - neutral)
Excusez-moi (in a crowd, neutral)
Veuillez m’excuser (to excuse yourself, very formal)
Je suis (vraiment) navré-e (after a big mistake, very formal)
Je regrette (i wish that didn’t happen/i didn’t - neutral)
Goodbyes :
Au revoir (goodbye - neutral)
À bientôt (see you soon - neutral)
À tout de suite (see you in a bit - neutral)
À demain/mardi (see you tomorrow/on Tuesday - neutral)
À la semaine prochaine (see you next week - neutral)
À tout à l’heure (see you later today - neutral)
Bonne journée/soirée/nuit (good day, evening, night - neutral)
Ravi-e de vous avoir connu-e(s)/rencontré-e(s) (glad we met - formal)
Resources masterpost
Being exposed to French:
Websites, social media
IG accounts with lots of stories
Online courses about French
Online courses in French
French subreddits
Fanfictions
Buzzfeed
Improving your:
Pronunciation
Speaking
Stutter
Things to listen:
Music
Podcasts
Radio stations
TED talks
Things to read:
Graphic novels/comics
News
Ebooks + quizzes (by me)
Short stories
Vikidia - kids Wikipedia
Things to watch:
Cartoons
Kids shows
The Simpsons the movie
True crime
TV programs - sci-fi shows, travelling, etc.
Youtubers
Extra:
Antidote 10 + BonPatron - Grammarly equivalents
Conjugation by le Nouvel Obs
Deepl - very good at translating sentences/expressions
Forbo - natives pronouncing things
Lexicity - about Ancien/Moyen Français
Lingolden - Chrome extension that teaches vocabulary
Linguo.tv (french videos + subtitles)
Reverso - very good alternative to Google translation
French fairy tales
Princess Rosette, Marie-Catherine d’Aulnoy : FR / EN
The fair with golden hair, Marie-Catherine d’Aulnoy : FR / EN
The friendly frog, Marie-Catherine d’Aulnoy : FR / EN
Aurore and Aimée, Jeanne de Beaumont : FR / EN
Beauty and the beast, Jeanne de Beaumont : FR / EN
Bluebeard, Charles Perrault : FR / EN
Cinderella, Charles Perrault : FR / EN
Donkey skin, Charles Perrault : FR / EN
Little red riding hood, Charles Perrault : FR / EN
Little thumb, Charles Perrault : FR / EN
Puss in boots, Charles Perrault : FR / EN
Sleeping beauty, Charles Perrault : FR / EN
The fairy, Charles Perrault : FR / EN
Blondine, Sophie Ségur : FR / EN
Ourson, Sophie Ségur : FR / EN
Sophie’s misfortunes, Sophie Ségur : FR / EN
The little grey mouse, Sophie Ségur : FR / EN
(You can download the Wikisource PDFs legally for free at the top of the page as they are part of the public domain)
Un coup de
Un coup d’arrêt: end (official)
Un coup de balai: a sweep (donner+)
Un coup de barre: sudden fatigue (2PM type)(avoir+)
Un coup de bol/pot: a lucky strike
Un coup de cafard: fit of blues (avoir+)
Un coup de chaleur: heat exhaustion
Un coup de chance: stroke of luck
Un coup de chiffon: light dusting
Un coup de coeur: infatuation
Un coup de crayon: a pencil line
Un coup d’essai: a first attempt
Un coup d’état: a coup
Un coup d’envoi: a kick-off
Un coup de feu: a gunshot (tirer+)
Un coup de fil/téléphone: a phone call (passer+)
Un coup de foudre: love at first sight
Un coup de frein: sharp braking (donner+)
Un coup de génie: a stroke of genius
Un coup de grâce: coup de grâce
Un coup de gueule: a rant (passer+)
Un coup de main: (giving) a hand (donner+)
Un coup de maître: a master stroke
Un coup de mou: a sluggish period
Un coup d’oeil: a glance (jeter+)
Un coup de pied: a kick (donner+)
Un coup de pinceau: a brush stroke
Un coup de poing: a punch
Un coup de soleil: a sunburn (attraper/prendre+)
Un coup d’un soir: a one-night stand
Un coup de tête: a head-butt
Un coup de théâtre: a dramatic turn of event
Un coup de tonnerre: a clap of thunder
Un coup de vent: a gust of wind
Un coup de vieux: feeling old (ex: when your nephew doesn’t know what a floppy disk is)(prendre+)
Un coup du lapin: whiplash
Four important verbs!
Venir de: Just (action) Je viens de manger - I just ate
Se mettre à: To start (action) Je me mets à manger - I'm starting to eat
Être en train de: To being in a process of (action) Je suis en train de manger - I am eating
Aller: To be about to start (action) Je vais manger - I'm going to eat
So if we wanted to watch some French animation, what films would you suggest?
the Triplets of Belleville is about an elderly woman searching for her son who was kidnapped in the middle of a Tour de France race. It’s largely free of dialogue, but the sound effects and such are wonderful. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature—it lost to Finding Nemo.
A Cat in Paris is about a young girl and her cat who discover mysteries in the course of one night. It was also nominated for an Oscar for Best Animated Feature, but it lost to Rango.
Persepolis is based on an autobiographical graphic novel by Marjane Satrapi about her early life in Iran. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, but it lost to Ratatouille.
the Illusionist is about an aging magician and an imaginative young girl who form a father/daughter relationship. It was also nominated for a Best Animation Oscar, but lost to Toy Story 3.
The Rabbi’s Cat is a story about a cat who swallows a parrot and gains the ability to speak like a human. It is set in 1920’s Algeria.
Ernest & Celestine is the adorable story about a big bear and a little mouse who forge an unlikely friendship. It was also nominated for an Oscar in Best Animated Picture, but lost to Frozen.
Kirikou and the Sorceress is a story inspired by West African folklore that tells the story of Kirikou, a boy who was born with the ability to walk and talk, who saves his people from an evil witch. The film was popular enough to spawn sequels and a stage adaptation.
A Monster in Paris is a 3D animated musical film that is reaaaaalllly loosely based on the Phantom of the Opera. It’s set in 1910 and is about, surprisingly, a monster that lives in Paris, and his love for a young singer.
The King and the Mockingbird is an 80’s film about a cruel king titled Charles V + III = VIII + VIII = XVI, who is obsessed with a young shepherdess, and whose attempts to capture the young girl are thwarted by a mockingbird whose wife the King had previously killed.
Those are probably the most famous of the feature length animated films.
But the animated short films are just as glorious. Here’s a compilation of a bunch of short films and I can link you to others as well.
Sorry for the long answer but I just really love French animation.
French fairy tales
Princess Rosette, Marie-Catherine d’Aulnoy : FR / EN
The fair with golden hair, Marie-Catherine d’Aulnoy : FR / EN
The friendly frog, Marie-Catherine d’Aulnoy : FR / EN
Aurore and Aimée, Jeanne de Beaumont : FR / EN
Beauty and the beast, Jeanne de Beaumont : FR / EN
Bluebeard, Charles Perrault : FR / EN
Cinderella, Charles Perrault : FR / EN
Donkey skin, Charles Perrault : FR / EN
Little red riding hood, Charles Perrault : FR / EN
Little thumb, Charles Perrault : FR / EN
Puss in boots, Charles Perrault : FR / EN
Sleeping beauty, Charles Perrault : FR / EN
The fairy, Charles Perrault : FR / EN
Blondine, Sophie Ségur : FR / EN
Ourson, Sophie Ségur : FR / EN
Sophie’s misfortunes, Sophie Ségur : FR / EN
The little grey mouse, Sophie Ségur : FR / EN
(You can download the Wikisource PDFs legally for free at the top of the page as they are part of the public domain)
French idiom "briser la glace"
Meaning : to break the ice.
Example :Je n'aime pas cette situation tendue entre Simon et toi. À mon avis, c'est à toi de briser la glace.
👉Fais un exemple avec l'expression briser la glace".
⬇️Don't forget to Download your 🎁free ebook and start learning French with the 196 words and phrases every beginner should know ! Here
À bientôt,
Chanty
are there any beginner japanese or french langblrs out there :|