Start French from
Absolute Zero

Welcome to French — Bienvenue !

Every fluent French speaker in the world was once exactly where you are now — at the very beginning, looking at a foreign language and wondering how on earth it all fits together. The good news is that French, despite its reputation for difficulty, is one of the most learnable languages in the world for English speakers. You already know more French than you realise, and with the right approach, you will be having simple conversations far sooner than you might expect.

This guide is designed for complete beginners — people who have never studied French before, or who tried once and feel they need to start again from scratch. We will move through the essential building blocks of the language in a logical, step-by-step order. By the end of this page, you will understand the French alphabet and its sounds, know how to greet people and introduce yourself, count to one hundred, and construct your first real French sentences.

The French Alphabet

The French alphabet uses the same 26 letters as the English alphabet. However, several letters are pronounced very differently, and French has a system of accent marks that modify the sound or meaning of certain letters. Getting comfortable with these early will save you a great deal of confusion later.

Accent Marks in French

French uses five accent marks, each with a specific function. They are not decoration — they change pronunciation and sometimes meaning. The five accents are:

• L'accent aigu (é) — only appears on the letter e, and changes its sound to a closed "ay" sound, as in the English word "café".
• L'accent grave (è, à, ù) — on e, it creates an open "eh" sound; on a and u it usually distinguishes between words without changing pronunciation.
• L'accent circonflexe (â, ê, î, ô, û) — can change the quality of a vowel, and often indicates a historical letter s that has been dropped (e.g. forêt = forest).
• La cédille (ç) — appears only under the letter c, changing its sound from a hard "k" to a soft "s", as in français.
• Le tréma (ë, ï, ü) — indicates that two adjacent vowels are to be pronounced separately, as in Noël (Christmas).

Essential Greetings — Les Salutations

The most immediate and practical French you will ever use is greetings. French speakers use greetings very consistently in daily life — entering a shop, meeting a colleague, or passing a neighbour all typically involve a brief verbal acknowledgement. Learning greetings is not just about vocabulary; it is your first window into French social culture.

Introducing Yourself — Se Présenter

Being able to introduce yourself is one of the most immediately useful things you can do in any language. In French, introductions follow a simple and consistent pattern. The key verb here is s'appeler — a reflexive verb meaning "to be called" or "to call oneself". Don't worry too much about what "reflexive" means at this stage — just learn the pattern and it will become second nature.

Numbers in French — Les Chiffres

French numbers follow a logical pattern for most of their range, but have some quirks in the 70s, 80s and 90s that often surprise beginners. Learning numbers early is essential because they appear everywhere — prices, ages, times, dates, addresses and phone numbers.

Numbers 1–20

The Famous French Number Quirks (70–99)

French is famously logical in its number system up to 69, but then takes an unexpected turn. Rather than having unique words for 70, 80 and 90, French builds these using mathematical constructions.

The Days of the Week — Les Jours de la Semaine

Note that in French, days of the week are not capitalised (unlike English). The French week also typically starts on Monday, not Sunday — this is reflected in calendars and planners throughout France and most of Europe.

Your First French Sentences

Now that you have greetings, introductions and numbers under your belt, it is time to start building simple sentences. French sentence structure is generally Subject–Verb–Object, very similar to English. The main difference at beginner level is learning to work with grammatical gender — every French noun is either masculine or feminine — and the verb conjugation system.

The Verb Être (To Be)

Être is one of the most important verbs in French — and one of the most irregular. You will use it constantly, so it is worth memorising the present tense forms immediately.

The Verb Avoir (To Have)

Avoir is equally essential. In French, avoir is used not just to express possession but in many expressions where English uses "to be" — most notably for age (j'ai vingt ans — I am twenty years old, literally "I have twenty years").

Grammatical Gender: A Key Concept

One of the first things English speakers encounter in French is grammatical gender. Every French noun is either masculine (masculin) or feminine (féminin). This affects the articles used with the noun (le for masculine, la for feminine), the form of adjectives that describe it, and many other aspects of French grammar.

There is no single foolproof rule for knowing whether a French noun is masculine or feminine — you generally need to learn each noun's gender when you first learn the word. However, there are some patterns that can help. Nouns ending in -age, -ment, -eau, -isme, and -phone tend to be masculine. Nouns ending in -tion, -sion, -ence, -ure, -ette, and -ée tend to be feminine. These are patterns, not rules — there are exceptions — but they give you a useful starting point.

Essential Beginner Vocabulary by Topic

Family — La Famille

Colours — Les Couleurs

Your Next Steps as a Beginner

You have now covered the core foundations of French at A1 level. This is a significant first step — give yourself credit for it. The next phase of your learning journey involves building on these foundations in three directions simultaneously.

First, move into the French Grammar section to begin understanding how French sentences are properly constructed, how verbs change according to subject, tense and mood, and how to use articles and adjectives correctly. Grammar is the engine that turns individual words into meaningful communication.

Second, expand your vocabulary using the French Vocabulary section. The more words you know, the more you can understand and express — and vocabulary learning compounds over time, with each new word making the next one easier to acquire.

Third — and this is crucial — start working on your pronunciation from day one. Visit our French Pronunciation section to learn how French sounds really work. Good pronunciation habits are far easier to build early than to correct later.