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.
Where the words go, not, and asking
- French word order is English word order: who, then the doing word, then the thing it is done to.
- A little word standing for a person or thing jumps in front of the verb; a whole noun stays behind it.
- “Not” is two words, ne … pas, one on each side of the verb — and French has no helper “do”.
- A question is a statement with the voice going up, or with est-ce quees-kuh on the front — a flag that translates to nothing.
- Sisee is the third answer word: the yes that contradicts a no.
I tetuh“you” voisvwah“see”.
Je te vois.
zhuh tuh vwah
Compare Je vois le renard.“I see the fox.” — a whole noun stays behind the verb; only the stand-ins (me, te, le, la, nous, vous, les) cross over. A le just before a verb is “him” or “it”, not “the”.
I nenuh suisswee“am” paspah a fox.
Je ne suis pas un renard.
zhuh nuh swee pah u(n) ruh-nar
Neither half means anything alone. ne shrinks before a vowel: ce n'est passuh neh pah“this is not”. And English needs “do” to say this; French has no word for it.
One statement, two questions
The question words the stories use
| French | English |
|---|---|
| oùoo | where |
| quikee | who |
| pourquoipoor-kwah | why — literally “for what” |
| qu'est-ce quekes-kuh | what — literally “what is it that” |
The pattern to expect: question word, then the est-ce que flag, then an ordinary sentence.
Order, and asking
- Je te vois.
One little word has crossed to the left of the verb.
Show answer +Hide answer −
“zhuh tuh vwah.” — I see you. - Ce n'est pas un chat.
Find the two halves and the verb they wrap.
Show answer +Hide answer −
“suh neh pah u(n) shah.” — This is not a cat. - Pourquoi est-ce que tu es triste ?
Question word, then the flag that means nothing, then an ordinary sentence.
Show answer +Hide answer −
“poor-kwah es-kuh tew eh treest ?” — Why are you sad?