50 Fundamental Sentences in French

These 50 fundamental sentences are your launchpad.

They’re short, useful, and cover the moments you’ll face right away—introductions, ordering food, asking for directions, and more.

Instead of drowning in grammar rules, you’ll jump straight into speaking.

Think of this list as your “first toolkit” for French conversations.

Ready to begin? Allons-y!

1. Bonjour. (Hello / Good morning.)

   
   

2. Bonsoir. (Good evening.)

   
   

3. Bonne nuit. (Good night.)

   
   

4. Comment ça va? (Formal) (How are you?)

   Ça va? (Informal) (How are you?)

   
   

5. Ça va bien, merci. (I'm fine, thank you.)

   
   

6. Comment vous appelez-vous? (Formal) (What's your name?)

   Comment tu t’appelles? (Informal) (What's your name?)

   
   

7. Je m’appelle ___. (My name is ___.)

   
   

8. Enchanté(e). (Nice to meet you.)

   
   

9. S’il vous plaît. (Formal) (Please.)

   S’il te plaît. (Informal) (Please.)

   
   

10. Merci. (Thank you.)

    
    

11. De rien. (You're welcome.)

    
    

12. Excusez-moi. (Formal) (Excuse me.)

    Excuse-moi. (Informal) (Excuse me.)

    
    

13. Je suis désolé(e). (I'm sorry.)

    
    

14. Oui. (Yes.)

    
    

15. Non. (No.)

    
    

16. Peut-être. (Maybe.)

    
    

17. Je ne sais pas. (I don't know.)

    
    

18. Je ne comprends pas. (I don't understand.)

    
    

19. Pouvez-vous répéter? (Formal) (Can you repeat that?)

    Peux-tu répéter? (Informal) (Can you repeat that?)

    
    

20. Pouvez-vous parler plus lentement? (Formal) (Can you speak more slowly please?)

    Peux-tu parler plus lentement? (Informal) (Can you speak more slowly please?)

    
    

21. Parlez-vous anglais? (Formal) (Do you speak English?)

    Parles-tu anglais? (Informal) (Do you speak English?)

    
    

22. Je parle un peu Français. (I speak a little French.)

    
    

23. D'où êtes-vous? (Formal) (Where are you from?)

    D’où es-tu? (Informal) (Where are you from?)

    
    

24. Je viens de ___. (I'm from ___.)

    
    

25. Quel âge avez-vous? (Formal) (How old are you?)

    Quel âge as-tu? (Informal) (How old are you?)

    
    

26. J’ai ___ ans. (I'm ___ years old.)

    
    

27. Où sont les toilettes? (Where is the bathroom?)

    
    

28. Ça coûte combien ? (How much does it cost?)

    
    

29. Je voudrais celui-ci / celle-ci. (I would like this one.)

    
    

30. Pouvez-vous m’aider? (Formal) (Can you help me?)

    Peux-tu m’aider? (Informal) (Can you help me?)

    
    

31. Je suis perdu(e). (I'm lost.)

    
    

32. Où est ___ ? (Where is ___?)

    
    

33. À gauche / À droite / Tout droit. (To the left / To the right / Straight ahead.)

    
    

34. Quelle heure est-il ? (What time is it?)

    
    

35. Aujourd’hui / Demain / Hier. (Today / Tomorrow / Yesterday.)

    
    

36. J’ai faim. (I'm hungry.)

    
    

37. J’ai soif. (I'm thirsty.)

    
    

38. Je suis fatigué(e). (I'm tired.)

    
    

39. Je suis malade. (I'm sick.)

    
    

40. J’aime bien. (I like it.)

    
    

41. Je n’aime pas. (I don't like it.)

    
    

42. C’est bien. (It's good.)

    
    

43. C’est mauvais. (It's bad.)

    
    

44. Qu’est-ce que c’est? (What is this?)

    
    

45. J’ai besoin de ___. (I need ___.)

    
    

46. Je veux ___. (I want ___.)

    
    

47. Je ne veux pas ___. (I don't want ___.)

    
    

48. À plus tard. (See you later.)

    
    

49. Au revoir. (Goodbye.)

    
    

50. Santé! (Cheers!)

*** When there are two versions (formal and informal), we strongly recommend learning the formal version first. You can never go wrong by being polite. ***

What to do?

Learn 5 per day for 10 days.

That's it.

In 10 days you will have 50 sentences you can use in real life to get concrete results.

After that? Keep up the momentum and build on these sentences every single day.

👉 Got more questions? Head over to our Q&A Section—chances are we’ve already answered it (and if not, we will!).

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