Hover a line for its translation; hover a word for its meaning. Tap 🔊 to hear it.
Alex meets a new classmate, Sophie, on the first day of class.
French puts a space before ? and ! — that is normal French typography, not a typo. Notice enchanté / enchantée too: a woman adds an -e when she says it. You hear no difference; you only see it.
How do I read these pronunciations? See the pronunciation guide.
1. Je and tu
Je means "I" and tu means "you." This course uses tu throughout — it is the everyday form used with friends, classmates and people your own age. There is a polite form, vous, and it arrives in Lesson 2.
2. Être — je suis / tu es
Être is the verb "to be." You need just two forms here: je suis (I am) and tu es (you are). Use them for who you are and where you are from.
3. S'appeler — je m'appelle / tu t'appelles
French gives names with s'appeler, literally "to call oneself." Je m'appelle Alex = "my name is Alex." Before a vowel, me shortens to m'. That dropped letter is called elision, and you will see it everywhere in French.
4. Avoir — j'ai vingt ans (age)
French gives your age with avoir ("to have"), not "to be" — literally "I have twenty years." Never leave off ans. Je + ai becomes j'ai, another elision.
A. Fill in the Blank · Complétez
Fill in the blank with a word from this lesson's vocabulary.
- 1.Bonjour ! Comment tu t' ?what is your name
- 2. Alex.my name is
- 3.Je de France.I am
- 4.J'ai dix-neuf .years
B. Multiple Choice · Choix multiple
Choose the best answer.
- 1.How do you say "My name is Alex" in French?
- 2.How do you say "Where are you from?" in French?
- 3.How do you say "How old are you?" in French?
- 4.How do you say "I'm twenty years old" in French?
C. Rearrange the Sentence · Remettez dans l'ordre
Rearrange the words into a correct sentence, adding the punctuation shown in parentheses.
- 1.Tap tiles below…
- 2.Tap tiles below…
- 3.Tap tiles below…
- 4.Tap tiles below…
D. True or False · Vrai ou faux
Based on the dialogue, mark each sentence T (true) or F (false).
- 1.Sophie is from France.
- 2.Alex is from Canada.
- 3.Alex is a student.
- 4.Sophie is nineteen years old.
E. Matching · Associez
Match each question on the left with the best response on the right.
F. Translation · Traduction
Translate items 1–2 into French, and items 3–4 into English.
- 1.What's your name?
- 2.I'm from France.
- 3.Tu as quel âge ?
- 4.J'ai dix-neuf ans.
Generate a brand-new dialog on any topic, using this lesson's 14 vocab words — plus any words you add below.
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Greeting with a kiss
French greetings are physical in a way English ones are not. Friends, family and often colleagues greet with la bise — leaning in to touch cheeks and make a kiss sound, rather than actually kissing. Two is standard, though three or four is normal in parts of the south and west, and getting the number wrong is a running joke rather than an offense. It is not universal: men often shake hands with each other, and a first meeting at work is a handshake. When in doubt, let the other person start — they will lean in or offer a hand, and you mirror it.