Lessons for English speakers

Learn to read French

A short, active path into reading French: decode real words before revealing their sound, learn the silent endings and the joins between words, follow where the pieces of a sentence sit, and read a small story before opening your first book.

13 core sections · ≈ 34 min + 3 optional lookups · ≈ 51 min with everything

A new reading: try it before revealing help

≈ 3 min

What you'll learn

The pronunciation and the English begin hidden; every word has appeared before.
The story is narrated, so the two book pasts do the work.
Aim for the scene, not a perfect translation; when stuck, find the doing word — the short past.
One line breaks the pattern: a character talks, in the spoken past.

L'oiseau et le renard

Read each group aloud, guess what happened, then reveal.

Il était une fois un petit oiseau jaune. Sa maison était un grand arbre.
it was one time · a small bird, yellow · its house
Show answer +Hide answer −
“eel ay-teh-tewn fwah u(n) puh-tee-twah-zoh zhohn. sah meh-zoh(n) ay-teh-tu(n) grah(n)-tar-bruh.” — Once upon a time there was a small yellow bird. Its house was a big tree.
Un jour, le vent vint, et l'arbre tomba. L'oiseau était très triste.
Two events, then one scene.
Show answer +Hide answer −
“u(n) zhoor, luh vah(n) va(n), ay lar-bruh toh(n)-bah. lwah-zoh ay-teh treh treest.” — One day, the wind came, and the tree fell. The bird was very sad.
Un renard vit l'oiseau. « Pourquoi est-ce que tu es triste ? » demanda le renard.
Two short pasts: vit from voit, demanda from demande.
Show answer +Hide answer −
“u(n) ruh-nar vee lwah-zoh. poor-kwah es-kuh tew eh treest ? duh-mah(n)-dah luh ruh-nar.” — A fox saw the bird. “Why are you sad?” asked the fox.
« Mon arbre est tombé », répondit l'oiseau.
The spoken past — the bird is talking, not narrated.
Show answer +Hide answer −
“moh(n)-nar-bruh eh toh(n)-bay, ray-poh(n)-dee lwah-zoh.” — “My tree has fallen,” answered the bird. The storyteller’s version: “lar-bruh toh(n)-bah”.
« Viens avec moi », dit le renard. « Ma maison est petite, mais elle est bonne. »
An order, so no person word in front of the verb.
Show answer +Hide answer −
“vya(n) ah-vek mwah, dee luh ruh-nar. mah meh-zoh(n) eh puh-teet, meh el eh bon.” — “Come with me,” said the fox. “My house is small, but it is good.”
L'oiseau alla avec le renard. Une petite maison avec un ami est une grande maison.
The last line of a fable means more than it says.
Show answer +Hide answer −
“lwah-zoh ah-lah ah-vek luh ruh-nar. ewn puh-teet meh-zoh(n) ah-vek u(n)-na-mee eh-tewn grah(n)d meh-zoh(n).” — The bird went with the fox. A small house with a friend is a big house.