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Alex orders a coffee from Julien, who works behind the counter at a café.
You will see du in this dialogue (du sucre, du lait). It is French for "some" with things you cannot count — Lesson 8 teaches it properly. For now just take du sucre as "sugar."
How do I read these pronunciations? See the pronunciation guide.
1. Vous — the polite "you"
French has two words for "you." Tu is for friends and classmates (Lesson 1). Vous is for strangers, shopkeepers and anyone you want to be polite with — which is why Julien says Vous désirez ? to a customer. When in doubt with an adult you do not know, use vous.
2. Je voudrais + noun
Je voudrais means "I would like." It is the polite way to order or ask for something — Je veux ("I want") sounds blunt in a shop. Just put the thing you want straight after it.
3. Un or une — every noun has a gender
Every French noun is masculine or feminine. Masculine nouns take un (a) and le (the); feminine nouns take une and la. There is no rule you can hear, so learn each noun with its article: un café, une salade. Before a vowel, le and la both become l' — l'euro.
4. Numbers 1–10
un, deux, trois, quatre, cinq, six, sept, huit, neuf, dix. Prices are said the same way you would in English: trois euros.
A. Fill in the Blank · Complétez
Fill in the blank with a word from this lesson's vocabulary.
- 1.Je un café.I would like
- 2.Moyen, .please
- 3.Juste un peu de , merci.milk
- 4.Ça coûte ?how much
B. Multiple Choice · Choix multiple
Choose the best answer.
- 1.How do you politely order a coffee in French?
- 2.Which word means "large"?
- 3.How do you ask what something costs?
- 4.Which article goes with the feminine noun salade?
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.Alex orders a medium coffee.
- 2.Alex wants sugar in the coffee.
- 3.Alex orders something else as well.
- 4.The coffee costs three euros.
E. Matching · Associez
Match each line 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.I'd like a coffee, please.
- 2.How much does it cost?
- 3.Avec du sucre ou du lait ?
- 4.Non, c'est tout.
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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Coffee is smaller than you expect
Ask for un café in France and you get an espresso: small, strong, no milk. The mug of filter coffee an English speaker pictures is closer to un allongé, and un café au lait is mostly a breakfast-at-home drink rather than something ordered out. Where you drink it changes the price. Standing at the counter is cheapest, a table inside costs more, and the terrace most of all — the same cup can differ by a euro or two across three meters, with all three prices posted by law. Nobody will rush you, and the bill comes only when you ask for it.