French rewards careful listening more than careful reading. Spelling and pronunciation diverge significantly, so speaking French well means training your ear from day one — not just memorizing vocabulary.
Lock these in before anything else. They cover greetings, basic questions, and the phrases you reach for when you don't know what to say.
See the full common French words list for the next layer of vocabulary.
Vous is the safe default with strangers, in shops, and at work. Switch to tu only when invited ("on peut se tutoyer ?"). Using tu too early reads as overly familiar.
Past participles agree with the subject when the auxiliary is être (elle est partie), and with the direct object when avoir is used and the object comes before the verb (les pommes que j'ai mangées).
English says "I drink water" — French says "je bois de l'eau" (I drink some water). Mass nouns almost always need du, de la, or de l'.
Mix study modes to train recall, pronunciation, and sentence building together. Short, daily, output-focused beats long, irregular, passive-only.
Tip: Shadow native audio: play a sentence, pause, repeat aloud while imitating tone and rhythm. French pronunciation is muscle memory more than rule memorization.
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Send more internal authority toward your best French-adjacent articles and broader study-system posts.
A practical starting plan for moving from passive study to real daily speaking.
Why timed review improves recall and how to use it without overwhelming yourself.
See the full set of language-learning articles, breakdowns, and practice guides.