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.
How a story is told: speech on the page
- French quotation marks are « » — pointed, with a space inside them.
- After a quotation the doing word comes first and the speaker second: dit le renard.
- In longer conversations the marks disappear and each new speaker starts on a line beginning with a dash.
- French cannot drop quekuh“that” where English drops “that”.
Saying, asking, answering
| Dictionary shape | he or she — | English |
|---|---|---|
| diredeer | il diteel dee | to say |
| demanderduh-mah(n)-day | il demandeeel duh-mah(n)d | to ask |
| répondreray-poh(n)-druh | il répondeel ray-poh(n) | to answer |
“Hello,” ditdee“said” le renardluh ruh-nar“the fox”.
« Bonjour », dit le renard.
boh(n)-zhoor, dee luh ruh-nar
The doing word comes before the speaker — English storytelling does this too. The comma sits outside the marks, a space inside them.
Joining words
| French | English |
|---|---|
| etay | and |
| maismeh | but |
| parce quepar-suh kuh | because |
| trèstreh | very |
| un jouru(n) zhoor | one day |
I think that the fox is in the forest.
Je pense que le renard est dans la forêt.
zhuh pah(n)s kuh luh ruh-nar eh dah(n) lah foh-reh
English can drop “that”; French cannot. A quekuh with no English word to match it is this — read past it. penserpah(n)-say is “to think”.
Who spoke, and why
- « Bonjour », dit la souris.
The doing word comes before the speaker.
Show answer +Hide answer −
“boh(n)-zhoor, dee lah soo-ree.” — “Hello,” says the mouse. - Je vais dans la forêt, parce que j'ai faim.
because · I have hunger
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“zhuh veh dah(n) lah foh-reh, par-suh kuh zhay fa(n).” — I am going into the forest, because I am hungry. - Je pense que l'oiseau est dans l'arbre.
One word here has no English match.
Show answer +Hide answer −
“zhuh pah(n)s kuh lwah-zoh eh dah(n) lar-bruh.” — I think the bird is in the tree.