Going through customs can be a bit stressful for everybody. This is especially true if you’re doing it in another language such as French. Here’s you’ll learn all the important phrases and vocabulary words you’ll need to know for passing through passport control in French. Note that the word “passport” is the same: “le passport”. This is an audio lesson. Click on any of the French phrases and listen!

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Have you always loved French cuisine and wanted to know the top dishes? Here you’ll find a list of the best and most famous French foods. These include the world-famous “Coq-au-Feu”, “Boeuf Bourguignon”, “Pot-au-Feu”, “Soupe à l’Oignon” and many more. Impress your friend with perfect French pronunciation by clicking on any of the French food vocabulary or the pictures, listening and repeating!

L’Andouillette (f) The Andouillette is a sausage dish which has its origins in the south of France. These sausages are made of pork or veal, are quite savory and usually list intestines as an ingredient.	Le Bifteck-Frites The “Steak Fries” dish is one of the most popular among French families as a noon or evening meal. It consists of a pan-fried Rib Eye steak (Entrecôte) served rare with a healthy serving of French fries.	La Blanquette de Veau This is a classic French veal dish. The veal is cooked in butter. It’s called “blanquette”, or “white-ette” because neither the meat nor the butter is browned. The dish is usually served with white rice.
Le Boeuf Bourguignon Beef Bourguignon or “Beef Burgundy” is a beef stew dish which has its origins in the Burgundy region. The beef is braised in a red wine and stewed with potatoes, carrots and onions.	Le Boudin Blanc In French “Boudin” is a word used to describe sausage. The “Boudin Blanc” is a white sausage that usually contains pork liver or heart meat. These sausages also popular in the US state of Louisiana.	La Bouillabaisse Bouillabaisse is a fish stew dish that originates in southern France and particularly the city of Marseille. The fish is stewed with veggies such as leeks, onions & tomatoes as well as local herbs & spices.
La Brandade “Brandade de morue” is a fish dish which has origins in Nimes, a city in southern France. The dish consists of cod fish and olive oil and is flavored with lemon, garlic, thyme and onions.	Le Cassoulet Cassoulet is a stew dish which has its origins in the southern French Languedoc region. The dish consists of white beans stewed with pork lard, shank and rind as well as sausages.	Le Chicon au Gratin The “Chicon au Gratin” dish consists of Belgian endives covered with sliced ham, white wine sauce and cheese. The dish is baked an commonly eaten in northern France and Belgium.
La Choucroute Garnie “Choucroute Garnie”, or “Garnished Sauerkraut” is a classic Alsatian dish and is also called Choucroute d’Alsace. The dish consists of sauerkraut garnished with various deli meats.	Le Confit de Canard “Confit de Canard” or “Duck Confit” is a dish with origins in Gascony (south-west France bordering Spain). The dish consists of duck leg that’s preserved in its own fat and deliciously seasoned.	Le Coq-au-Vin The “Coq-au-Vin”, or “Rooster in Wine” is a classical French chicken dish. The chicken is cut into pieces and cooked with onions, carrots and mushrooms and lardons. Rice or pasta is served with the dish.
La Crêpe Suzette The “Crepe Suzette” is on of the most famous French crepes. The dish consists of a crepe served with a “Suzette” sauce, which is caramelized sugar and butter. The dish is served with an orange sauce.	La Fondue “Fondue” is a typical dish of the French Alps region as well as Switzerland and Italy. The dish consists of dipping pieces of bread or meat into a pot of melted cheese. The cheese consists of several kinds of cheese as well as white wine.	Les Escargots In French, the word “Escargot” means snails. “Les Escargots” is a classical French appetizer. The snails are removed and cooked with wine and garlic sauce, then put back into the shells. They are eaten with special utensils.
Les Moules-Frites “Moules Frites” is an extremely popular dish in Northern France and in Belgium. It consists of serving mussels (les moules) with French fries (les frites).	Les Pommes Duchesse Pommes Duchesse consist of a mixture mashed potatoes and egg that’s forced through a piping bag into rose-like shapes and baked. They are typically served with a meat dish.	Le Pot-au-Feu “Pot-au-Feu” or “pot on the fire” is one of the most classic French dishes. The dish consists of taking various cuts of beef and slowly stewing them with vegetables such as carrots, leaks, celery and onions.
La Quiche Lorraine “Quiche Lorraine” is a quiche dish that originated in the Lorraine region and is now popular all over the world. The dish consists of an open pastry covered with a salt custard smoked bacon or lardons.	La Raclette “La Raclette” is a cheese dish that has its origins in Switzerland. Raclette is a type of cheese that’s heated. Then, it’s poured into the plate and over other ingredients including potatoes, mushrooms and meats.	La Salade Niçoise The Salad Niçoise has its origins in the southern French city of Nice but is now famous everywhere. The salad consists of lettuce, tomatoes, peppers, red onions, egg, tuna, anchovies and olive oil.
La Soupe à l’Oignon French Onion Soup is arguably the most famous French soup. The dish is said to have been invented by King Louis IV. The soup consists of onions cooked in beef broth topped with gruyère cheese and croutons.	Le Steak au Poivre The “Steak au Poivre” literally means “Pepper Steak”. Essentially, it’s a piece of high-end filet mignon steak pan friend in butter and topped with a layer of pepper corns. The steak is covered with a cognac and cream reduction.	La Tartiflette The Tartiflette has its origins in the mountains Haute-Savoie region. The dish consists of potatoes topped with an au gratin of Reblochon, the regional cheese, lardons and onions.

Back to Main Vocabulary Page | Food Words | Meat | Desserts | Fruit | Eating in a Restaurant

On this page you’ll find a complete list of the top-20 most popular French dog breed names (les races de chiens). The good news is that most dog breeds in French are exact same as in English. For example, the Golden Retriever is “le golden retriever” and the Chihuahua is “le chihuahua“. In some situations the French use only the first name of the breed, for example “le labrador” for Labrador Retriever and “le cocker” for Cocker Spaniel. In this list we’ve included “le beauceron” and poodle (le caniche) as they are French breeds. This is an audio vocabulary list. Click on any of the French words or pictures, listen and repeat!

le beagle beagle	le beauceron beauceron	le berger allemand german shepherd
le bichon maltais maltese	le bouledogue bulldog	le boxer boxer
le caniche poodle	le carlin pug	le chihuahua chihuahua
le cocker cocker spaniel	le doberman doberman	le golden retriever golden retriever
le labrador labrador retriever	le pomeranian pomeranian	le rottweiler rottweiler
le schnauzer schnauzer	le setter irlandais irish setter	le teckel dachshund
le terrier de boston boston terrier	le yorkshire terrier yorkshire terrier	le basset hound basset hound

Back To Main Vocabulary Page | Animal Words

Have you ever wondered how to say different kinds of insects (les insectes) in French? On this page you’ll find a complete vocabulary list for french insect words. Some of the translations are quite fun! For example the word for centipede is “le mille-pates“, which literally means, “the thousand feet” as “centipede” is Latin for “hundred feet”. Another fun translation is “la mante religieuse“, which means “religious mantis” or the English, “praying mantis”.  Click on any of the words or pictures, listen, repeat and practice your pronunciation!

la coccinelle ladybug	le papillon butterfly	l’abeille (f) bee
le mille-pattes centipede	le scarabée beetle	la fourmi ant
la mante religieuse praying mantis	la mouche fly	la moustique mosquito
la puce flea	la sauterelle grasshopper	le frelon hornet
l’araignée spider	le cafard cockroach	la guêpe wasp

Back To Main Vocabulary Page | French Animal Names

Have you always dreamed of a vacation to France? Here are France’s top-15 most popular travel destinations (Les Plus Grands Sites Touristiques de France). This list includes the Eiffel Tower, Versailles Palace, Notre Dame de Paris and many more! Learn to say these places with perfect pronunciation by clicking on any of the French words, listening and repeating back.

Le Tour Eiffel	Chamonix	Le Palais de Versailles
Mont Saint Michel	Château de Chambourd	Eurodisney
Le Louvre	Le Centre Pompidou	Futuroscope
Le Musée D’Orsay	La Cathédrale de Strasbourg	Le Château de Fontainebleau
Notre Dame de Paris	La Basilique du Sacré Coeur	L’arc de Triomphe

Back To Home Page | Back To Travel Phrases Page | Paris Travel Destinations

Have you ever wondered how to say different kinds of flowers in French? In this online audio lesson you will learn vocabulary words for flowers (les fleurs) in French! The good news is that a lot of these words are exactly the same as English. This is because flower words in both languages come from Latin. for example, to say “rose” you say, “la rose” and to say “iris” you say “l’iris”. Click on any of the French words, listen and practice your pronunciation.

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la calla calla	la jonquille daffodil	la marguerite daisy
la rose  rose	la tulipe tulip	l’aster (m) aster
le bouquet de fleurs flower bouquet	le chrysanthème chrysanthemum	le freesia freesia
le glaïeul gladiolus	le lys lily	le tournesol sunflower
l’iris (m) iris	l’œillet (m) carnation	l’orchidée (f) orchid

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If you’re new to learning French then you’ll find that mastering the pronunciation can be quite challenging. Of all the sounds in the French language one of the hardest to pronounce correctly is the “R” sound. This is because the part of the tongue and throat that are used to make the sound are very different from English. To make the R sound in French you need to use the back part of your tongue right above your Adam’s apple. Then, you need to vibrate it towards the back of the soft palate of your mouth. In the video below this online teacher does an excellent job teaching the French R. Watch the video now then try it on your own!

On this page you’ll find a complete list of French slang (l’argot) vocabulary words, short phrases and expressions. French slang is extremely rich and colorful and can really add a lot of extra flavor to the language. Having basic knowledge of these words is a great idea as it’ll help you to ingratiate yourself with French people. This vocabulary list is broken down into the following sections: words for people, interjections, family, money, food and being hungry, body parts and physical ailments, class and social status, jobs and professions and finally moods and feelings. A lot of French slang comes from Verlan, which is a type of slang where syllables of words are reversed. Below we’ve included a link to a page about verlan.

Words for People

Interjections

Family

Money

Food & Being Hungry

Body Parts & Physical Ailments

Class/Social Status

Professions/Jobs

Moods & Feelings

Back To Main Vocabulary Page | Verlan

An adjectives is a word describes something. For example, in “green car”, blue is the adjective because it describes the color of the car. In “big car”, the world “big” would be the adjective. French adjectives can be a bit tricky for students just starting out in learning French. This is because in most situations in French the adjective comes after the noun. So, for example rather than saying the “green car” you’d say the “car blue”, or “la voiture verte” in French. Also, another thing that makes learning French adjectives a bit tricky is that they must agree with the noun that they’re describing in gender (masculine vs. feminine) and number (singular vs. plural). So, to say, “green cars” you’d say “les voitures vertes”. In this situation the word for green (vert) is written with an -es to describe feminine plural.

French Adjective Rules

Now let’s learn the rules of French adjectives. Most simple or regular adjectives take an “s” or the plural, “e” for the feminine form and “es” for the feminine plural form. Let’s use “vert” for green as our example. Here are the four forms:

Masculine: vert – Example Phrase: Je bois du thé vert/I drink green tea.
Feminine: verte – Example Phrase: J’aime la voiture verte./I like the green car.
Masculine-Plural: verts – Example Phrase: Je vois les livres verts./I see the green books.
Feminine-Plural: vertes – Example Phrase: Je vois les feuilles vertes./I see the green leaves.

If the masculine-singular form of an adjective ends in an “E” there is no difference between the masculine and feminine forms. In this situation, a prime example is orange, as in the color orange. Here are the four forms:

Masculine: orange – Example Phrase: J’aime l’homme orange./I like the orange man.
Feminine: orange – Example Phrase: La fille orange est belle!/The orange girl is beautiful!
Masculine-Plural: oranges – Example Phrase: Les livres oranges ne sont pas interéssants./The orange books are not interesting.
Feminine-Plural: oranges – Les voitures oranges roullent très rapidement./The orange cars are going very fast.

If an adjective ends in “s” or “x” then there is no difference between the masculine singular and plural. A prime example is the word “doux”, which means soft. Here are some examples:

Masculine: doux – Example Phrase: Le chiot doux./The soft puppy
Feminine: douce – Example Phrase: J’adore la chanson douce./I love the soft song.
Masculine-Plural: doux = Example Phrase:  Les chiots doux/The soft puppies
Feminine-Plural: douces – Example Phrase: Les voix douces./The soft voices

There are certain situations where adjectives become irregular. This means that specific spelling changes take place for the various forms based on the last letters of adjective. For example, words ending in “N” or “L” must double the N or L and add an “E” feminine form. Our example with be “bon”, which means good. This is ad adjective that goes BEFORE and not after the noun (more on that later).

Masculine: bon – Example Phrase: Le bon garçon/The good boy
Feminine: bonne – Example Phrase: La bonne fille/The good girl
Masculine-Plural – bons – Example Phrase: Les bons garçons/The good boys
Feminine-Plural – bonnes – Example Phrase: Les bonnes filles/The good girls.

Another example of an irregular adjective is when the the masculine-singular ends in “EUX”. In this situation both the masculine-singular and masculine-plural forms end in “EUX” while the feminine-singular ends in “EUSE” and the feminine-plural ends in “EUSES”. A prime example is “heureux”, which means to be happy. Examples:

Masculine: heureux – Example Phrase: Le garçon heureux/The happy boy
Feminine: heureuse – Example Phrase: La fille heureuse/The happy girl
Masculine-Plural: heureux – Example Phrase: Les garçons heureux/The happy boys
Feminine-Plural: heureuses – Example Phrase: Les filles heureuses/The happy girls

Another key aspect to learning French adjectives which you must memorize is that there are certain situations where the adjective is placed BEFORE the noun. These situations usually have to do when you’re describing beauty, age, good and bad as well as size. Here are some examples:

La jolie femme – The pretty woman
La belle femme – The beautiful woman
Le beau monsieur – The beautiful man
Le jeune garçon – The young boy
La veille maison – The old house
La nouvelle voiture – The new car
Le bon garçon – The good boy
La bonne fille – The good girl
La mauvaise fille – The bad girl
Le mauvais garçon – The bad boy
Le grand problème – The big problem

French Adjective Lists

Basic Adjective – These adjectives have to do with describing people. They are the most common in French and you’ll hear them every day.

The next set of adjectives are words that are used to describe the state or condition of an object. They are also useful in describing temperature and weather conditions.

This final set of adjectives deals with words describing non-phyical qualities as well as human emotions. The final words on this list have to do with positive human attributes.

Back To Home Page | French Grammar | Words Describing Emotions

On this page you’ll find a complete list of French vocabulary words that have to do with religion. The first portion of the words below cover general terms that pertain to religions in general such as words for god (le dieu) or spirituality (la spiritualité). The second set of words below covers the main world religions (l’Islam/Islam, le christianisme/Christianity, le judaïsme/Judaism) and their holy books.

Back To Main Vocabulary Page | Science Vocabulary