Going to France? The French phrases to learn first (and how to learn them fast)

Which French phrases should you learn first?

Learn the ten phrases below first. They cover greeting people, asking for things, paying and finding the toilets, which is most of what a short trip asks of you.

Two more are worth adding if you have time: Je ne comprends pas (zhuh nuh kohm-PRAHN pah, "I don't understand") and Pardon (par-DOHN, "sorry" when you bump into someone or need to get past).

What French do you need in each situation?

Each table below covers one situation you will meet on a family trip. Learn the ones that match your plans, and skip the rest.

Greetings and politeness

At the café or restaurant

In France, la carte is the full menu and le menu is a fixed-price set meal. A menu enfant is the kids' set meal, often a main dish, a drink and a dessert.

In shops and at the bakery

Getting around

At the hotel

At the pharmacy or if you need help

French pharmacies have a green cross outside, and pharmacists can help with many small problems. The European emergency number, 112, works across France.

With kids

How can you learn them fast?

Practice 15 minutes a day for two weeks, out loud, one situation at a time. Short daily practice sticks better than one long session the night before you fly.

What are the French politeness rules?

The big one: always say Bonjour when you walk into a shop, café, bakery or pharmacy, and Au revoir or Merci, au revoir when you leave. Skipping the greeting can come across as rude, even if the rest of your French is perfect.

• checkAdd madame or monsieur. "Bonjour, madame" is warmer and more polite than Bonjour on its own.
• checkUse vous with adults you don't know. Vous is the polite "you". Tu is for friends, family and children.
• checkKids say tu to other kids. On a playground, "Tu veux jouer ?" (tew vuh zhoo-AY, "Do you want to play?") is exactly right.
• checkSwitch to Bonsoir in the evening. From late afternoon on, Bonsoir is the usual greeting.
• checkAsk before you switch to English. Starting in French and then asking "Parlez-vous anglais ?" is usually well received.

What pronunciation tips help most?

Most of the difficulty comes from a few patterns. Learn these and the respellings above will make sense.

• checkFinal letters are often silent. Croissant ends on a vowel sound, and the s in Paris is silent.
• checkStress the last syllable. French gives each syllable about the same weight, with a slight lift at the end: mehr-SEE, not MEHR-see.
• checkLearn the u sound. Say "ee" and round your lips as if to whistle. That is the u in salut and menu.
• checkNasal vowels hum through the nose. Bonjour, pain and enfant all have one. Don't fully say the n.
• checkThe r is soft and in the throat. A gentle gargle is closer than an English r.

How can you get your kids involved?

Give each child a job: one orders the croissants, one says Bonjour at every shop, one asks for the check. Kids rise to a real task, and French shopkeepers tend to warm to a child who tries.

1. 1Pick their phrasesChoose two or three phrases per child that match something they will actually do on the trip.
2. 2Practice in playRun a pretend bakery or café at home. Swap roles so they hear the phrase and say it.
3. 3Read about the tripRead a short book about where you are going and what you will do, in French, before you leave.
4. 4Let them lead once thereStep back at the bakery counter and let them order. Praise the try, not the accent.

For a longer plan built around the weeks before you leave, see how to prepare kids for a trip abroad. If French is staying in your life after the trip, French for kids has starter words by theme.