How to you say “Where?” in French
In French, the translation for the word “where?” is “Où” (pronounced “oo” as in the English word food). “Où est” means “Where is” an “Où sont” means “Where are”? “Où est-ce que” means “Where is” or “Where are”.
Où est vs où sont
The two most common usages of the word “Où” are “Où est” (Where is?) and “Où sont” (Where are?). “Où est” precedes singular places. For example, “Où est la banque” (Where is the bank?). “Où sont” precedes plural places. For example, “Où sont les toilettes?” (Where is the restroom)?
Où est-ce que
The format, “Où est-ce que” can translate to “Where is, are, do and does”. The full construction is: “Où est-ce + personal pronoun + verb”. For example, “Où est-ce que tu habites?” (Where do you live?). Or, “Où est-ce que vous travaillez”? (Where do you work?).
What does d’où mean?
D’où translates to “from where” as the preposition “de” means “from”. Thus, “D’ou est-ce que tu viens?” and “D’où venez vous?” both translate to “Where are you from?”.
Où vs. ou
In French, both où and ou are homonyms (two words with the same spelling but different meanings). While the word “où” means where, the word “ou” means “or”. The French language uses a accent grave (downward slanting) accent over the -u to distinguish the two words. This lesson offers a complete introduction to French accent marks.
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Many of our students have greatly enhanced their learning by using an app. On these pages we've examined the top-30 apps for learning French. On this pages we've written comprehensive reviews for Pimsleur (great for people struggling with pronunciation), Rosetta Stone and FrenchPod101 (both great for visual learners).
Common phrases using “où” (with audio)
- Où sont les toilettes? Where is the bathroom?
- D’où vennez-vous? Where are you from? (formal or plural)
- D’où viens-tu? Where are you from? (informal)
- Où est la gare? Where is the train station?
- Où est l’hôtel? Where is the hotel?
- Où est la France? Where is France?
- Où est Jean-Marc? Where is Jean-Marc?
- Où est-ce que tu habites? Where do you live?
- Où est-ce que je peux apprendre le Français? Where Can I learn French?
Related lessons:
More resources:
If you've found this post useful you might want to considering looking at our post covering the best apps for learning French. We've looked a total 33 apps and have written comprehensive reviews of Rosetta Stone, Pimsleur and FrenchPod101.
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Bonjour! My name is David Issokson. I'm based in Victor, Idaho (near Jackson, Wyoming) and have helped hundreds of students to learn French online since 2013.
