Basic French Words for Tourists

Word Translation Pronunciation

Oui/Non Yes/No whee/no
S'il vous plaît Please see voo play
Parlez-vous anglais? Do you speak English? parlay voo ong-glay
Merci Thank you mair-see
Voici/Voilà Here is/There is vwah-see/vwah-la
De rien You're welcome du-rhee-en
Je ne comprends pas I don't understand zhe nhe comp-rehn pah
J'ai besoin d'aide I need help. zhay buh-swahn deh led.
Excusez-moi Excuse me escoosay mwah
Je ne sais pas I don't know zhe-nhe say paw
Il y a There is eel ee aw

Greetings
Basic greetings in French are very simple. You should keep in mind that in French, there are formal and informal

greetings. Formal greetings would be used wherever you might be shopping, with other adults you don't know, and

always to those who are older. Informal greetings would be used with peers.
Formal Greetings
Word Translation Pronunciation
Bonjour Good Morning bon zhoor
Bonsoir Good Night/Evening bon swar
Bon après-midi Good afternoon bon ah-pray mee-dee
Madame/Mademoiselle Miss mah-dahm/ma-dah-mwah-zell
Monsieur Sir mihn-see-yuh
Comment allez-vous? How are you? co-mo-tal-lay-voo
Au revoir Good bye o-rhe-vwah

Informal Greetings
Word Translation Pronunciation
Salut Hi saw-loo
Ça va? How's it going? saw-vaw
Ça va bien I'm fine saw-vaw-bee-en

Notes: Salut and ça va are often used together as in, "Salut! Ça va?"

Question Words
While traveling, you may find it very helpful to have a good command of basic question words and phrases.
Question Words
Word Translation Pronunciation
Combien? How much? comb-bee-en
Où? Where? oo
 Quand? When? kond
Quelle/Quel/Quelles/Quels? What? kell
Pourquoi? Why? por-kwah
Comment? How? co mo
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Other Basic Words in French

This is simply a collection of words and phrases that you may or may not have use for but are common knowledge for

beginning French students.

Phrases with J'ai

Word Translation Pronunciation

J'ai faim I'm hungry zhay fam

J'ai soif I'm thirsty zhay swof

J'ai dix ans I am ten years old zhay dees ong

I am Going to
Word Translation Pronunciation
à droite to the right or on the right ah la dwaht
à gauche to the left or on the left oh go-sh
Je vais à la/au I am going to zhe vayz ah
au marché the market luh bohn-mar-shay
au restaurant to the restaurant oh rest-o-rahn
à la plage to the beach ah lah plaj
à l'hôtel to the hotel ah lah o-tell
l'aéroport airport l'air-o-por
par avion by plane pahr ah-vee-ohn
aux toilettes bathroom sal deh behn

Time and Money

Word Translation Pronunciation
Quelle heure est-il? What time is it? kell-er ay teel
Il est cinq heures It is five o'clock eel ay sank er
l'argent money larzh-on
en retard late or tardy on reh-tar
livres pounds lee-vreh