100 cards
French conversation typically opens with a time-appropriate greeting. During the day, Bonjour serves as the universal "Hello" or "Good day," while Bonsoir takes over in the evening, usually after around 6 PM. Bonne nuit has a different function: it is used only when parting at night or going to bed, never as a greeting...
French numbers build a foundation for telling time, shopping, and counting. From zero through ten, the vocabulary is: zéro, un (with the feminine form une), deux, trois, quatre, cinq, six, sept, huit, neuf, and dix. The pronunciation of these numbers has some quirks worth noting: the final -q of cinq is pronounced only...
Color adjectives in French are essential for description, but they behave differently than their English counterparts. Several — rouge, jaune, and orange — are invariable, keeping the same form for both masculine and feminine nouns. Others add a final -e in the feminine: bleu becomes bleue (le ciel bleu, "the blue sky"...
Subject pronouns identify who performs the action of a verb. Je means "I," and like several French words it elides before a vowel or mute h, becoming j', as in j'aime ("I love"). Tu means "you" in the singular informal sense, used with friends, family, children, and peers. Vous has two roles: it is the plural "you" for...
The verb être ("to be") is one of the cornerstones of French. In the present tense it conjugates as je suis, tu es, il/elle est, nous sommes, vous êtes, and ils/elles sont. Although irregular, it is short enough to memorize fully and is used in countless descriptions, identities, and as an auxiliary verb in compound te...
Food vocabulary opens the door to everyday life in French-speaking contexts. Core items include l'eau ("water," feminine), le pain ("bread," with the iconic baguette as its most famous variety), le lait ("milk," as in un café au lait, "a coffee with milk"), and le riz ("rice," whose final -z is silent). Proteins includ...
Family terms in French distinguish between formal and everyday usage, and the words for sons, daughters, and siblings form the basic building blocks. La mère is "mother" and le père is "father," while the informal counterparts maman ("mom") and papa ("dad") are used at home and with close family. For siblings, le frère...