30 Common French Phrases Every Beginner Should Know
By Miracle Team ·
You do not need perfect grammar to start speaking French — you need a handful of common French phrases that cover the moments beginners actually face: greeting people, ordering a coffee, asking for directions and politely admitting you didn’t catch a word. Here are the 30 phrases that give you the biggest head start, grouped by situation, each with a plain-English pronunciation hint.
Greetings & basics
1. Bonjour ! — Hello / Good morning (bon-ZHOOR) The single most important word in French. Say it when you enter any shop — skipping it reads as rude.
2. Bonsoir ! — Good evening (bon-SWAHR)
3. Salut ! — Hi / Bye (sah-LOO) — informal, for friends only.
4. S’il vous plaît — Please (seel voo PLEH)
5. Merci / Merci beaucoup — Thank you / Thank you very much (mair-SEE bo-KOO)
6. De rien — You’re welcome (duh ree-AN)
7. Oui / Non — Yes / No (wee / non)
8. Pardon / Excusez-moi — Sorry / Excuse me (par-DON / ex-koo-zay-MWAH)
Surviving a conversation
9. Je ne comprends pas. — I don’t understand. (zhuh nuh kom-PRON pah)
10. Vous pouvez répéter, s’il vous plaît ? — Could you repeat that, please?
11. Parlez-vous anglais ? — Do you speak English? (par-lay voo on-GLEH)
12. J’apprends le français. — I’m learning French. Say this and most French speakers will slow down and cheer you on.
13. Comment dit-on … en français ? — How do you say … in French? The best phrase for collecting new words in the wild.
14. Je m’appelle … — My name is …
15. Enchanté(e) — Nice to meet you (on-shon-TAY)
At a café or restaurant
16. Je voudrais un café, s’il vous plaît. — I’d like a coffee, please. Je voudrais… is the polite ordering pattern — swap in anything.
17. La carte, s’il vous plaît. — The menu, please.
18. L’addition, s’il vous plaît. — The bill, please.
19. C’est délicieux ! — It’s delicious!
20. Un verre d’eau, s’il vous plaît. — A glass of water, please.
Getting around
21. Où est … ? — Where is …? (oo eh) Combine with la gare (station), les toilettes (toilet) or l’hôtel.
22. Combien ça coûte ? — How much does it cost? (kom-bee-AN sah KOOT)
23. Je voudrais aller à … — I’d like to go to …
24. À gauche, à droite, tout droit — Left, right, straight ahead. Three phrases that decode any directions you’re given.
25. Je suis perdu(e). — I’m lost.
Numbers & everyday
26. Un, deux, trois… — One, two, three (an, duh, twah)
27. Aujourd’hui / demain — Today / tomorrow
28. Quelle heure est-il ? — What time is it?
Emergencies
29. Au secours ! — Help! (oh suh-KOOR)
30. J’ai besoin d’un médecin. — I need a doctor.
A 60-second pronunciation survival guide
French looks intimidating on paper, but a few rules unlock most of it:
- Silent final consonants. Most final consonants are silent: Paris is “pa-REE”, petit is “puh-TEE”.
- Nasal vowels. on, an, in are said through the nose with no hard “n” — bon ≈ “bon” with the n barely there.
- R is in the throat. The French r is a soft gargle near the back of the mouth, not the English roll.
- Even stress. French gives each syllable almost equal weight, with a tiny lift on the last one.
- Liaisons. A normally silent final consonant links to the next word’s vowel: vous_avez → “voo-za-vay”.
Don’t aim for perfect — aim for understood. Copy native audio and mimic the melody, not just the letters. The full breakdown is in our guide to French pronunciation.
Tu or vous? A 20-second etiquette note
French has two words for “you”: formal vous and informal tu. As a visitor, default to vous with adults you don’t know — waiters, shop staff, strangers. Use tu with children, close friends and anyone who invites it (“On peut se tutoyer ?”). Nobody is offended by a polite vous, so it’s always the safe choice.
A simple 7-day plan to make these stick
- Days 1–2: Greetings and basics (1–8). Say each aloud five times with audio.
- Days 3–4: Conversation survival (9–15) — these rescue every awkward moment, so over-practice them.
- Day 5: Café phrases (16–20). Rehearse a full order, from Bonjour to L’addition, s’il vous plaît.
- Day 6: Directions and numbers (21–28).
- Day 7: Emergencies (29–30), then self-test: read the English, recall the French.
Learn the patterns, not just the sentences: Je voudrais… unlocks hundreds of orders, Où est…? unlocks every place name you know. Five minutes a day beats one hour on Sunday — and pairing phrases with pictures makes them stick faster, as we explain in how to learn French vocabulary fast.
This is exactly what Learn French for Beginners is built for: every phrase comes with native-speaker audio, a slow-playback mode and mini games that quiz you until each pattern is automatic. It also trains le/la genders with every noun, so you build correct habits from day one.
Download Learn French for Beginners free on Google Play and master all 30 phrases this week.