Français

French

Romance

FamilyRomance Speakers~320M ScriptLatin CountriesFrance, Belgium, Switzerland, Canada, Africa Official in29 countries + EU/UN Vitalitysafe ISO 639-3fra Glottocodestan1290

Also known as: French, Français, Francais

French (français; ISO 639-1: fr) is a Romance language descended chiefly from the Gallo-Romance varieties of northern Gaul and written in the Latin script with diacritics and ligatures such as œ. It is the official language of France and holds official status in many other countries and international organizations, with major speech communities in Europe, Africa, the Americas, the Caribbean, and the Pacific. Its sound system includes phonemic oral and nasal vowels, and context-sensitive processes such as liaison, elision, and schwa deletion. French nouns have two grammatical genders, while verbs inflect for tense, mood, person, and number; basic clause order is subject–verb–object. Written Standard French is highly codified, but pronunciation, vocabulary, and grammar vary substantially across regions and registers.

Where it is spoken

31 core words in French

Water

eau

/o/

Fire

feu

/fø/

Sun

soleil

/sɔlɛj/

Moon

lune

/lyn/

Star

étoile

/etwal/

Mother

mère

/mɛʁ/

Father

père

/pɛʁ/

I

je

/ʒə/

You

tu

/ty/

Name

nom

/nɔ̃/

Eye

œil

/œj/

Hand

main

/mɛ̃/

Heart

cœur

/kœʁ/

Love

amour

/amuʁ/

Tree

arbre

/aʁbʁ/

House

maison

/mɛzɔ̃/

Dog

chien

/ʃjɛ̃/

Cat

chat

/ʃa/

Eat

manger

/mɑ̃ʒe/

Drink

boire

/bwaʁ/

One

un

/œ̃/

Two

deux

/dø/

Hello

bonjour

/bɔ̃ʒuʁ/

Thank you

merci

/mɛʁsi/

Good

bon

/bɔ̃/

Cuckoo

coucou

/kuku/

Woof

ouaf ouaf

/waf waf/

Computer

ordinateur

/ɔʁ.di.na.tœʁ/

Sushi

sushi

/su.ʃi/

Dopamine

dopamine

/dɔpamin/

At sign (@)

arobase

/aʁɔbaz/

Sources

Words compared

Compared with related Romance languages

Meaning FrenchCameroonian FrenchFrench (Senegalese)French (Haitian)French (African)French (Belgian)French (Swiss)
Water eau /o/ eau /o/ eau /o/ eau /o/ eau /o/ eau /o/ eau /o/
Fire feu /fø/ feu /fø/ feu /fø/ feu /fø/ feu /fø/ feu /fø/ feu /fø/
Sun soleil /sɔlɛj/ soleil /solɛj/ soleil /sɔlɛj/ soleil /sɔlɛj/ soleil /sɔlɛj/ soleil /sɔlɛj/ soleil /sɔlɛj/
Moon lune /lyn/ lune /lyn/ lune /lyn/ lune /lyn/ lune /lyn/ lune /lyn/ lune /lyn/
Star étoile /etwal/ étoile /etwal/ étoile /etwal/ étoile /etwal/ étoile /etwal/ étoile /etwal/ étoile /etwal/
Mother mère /mɛʁ/ mère /mɛʁ/ mère /mɛʁ/ mère /mɛʁ/ mère /mɛʁ/ mère /mɛʁ/ mère /mɛʁ/
Father père /pɛʁ/ père /pɛʁ/ père /pɛʁ/ père /pɛʁ/ père /pɛʁ/ père /pɛʁ/ père /pɛʁ/
I je /ʒə/ je /ʒə/ je /ʒə/ je /ʒə/ je /ʒə/ je /ʒə/ je /ʒə/
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Word order compared

Compare with major world languages

French
Je voudrais essayer un costume que j' ai vu dans un magasin en face de l'hôtel
أنا أريد أن أجرب بدلة رأيتها في محل مقابل الفندق
试穿 酒店 对面的 商店 看到的 那套西装
I want to try on a suit I saw ‌in a shop across from the hotel
Ich möchte einen Anzug anprobieren den ich in einem Geschäft gegenüber vom Hotel gesehen habe
मैं होटल के सामने एक दुकान में देखा सूट को पहनकर देखना चाहता हूँ
私は ホテルの 向かいの お店 見た スーツを 試着 したいです
Я хочу примерить костюм который я увидел в магазине напротив отеля

Compare with closely-related languages

Jo vull provar-me un vestit que vaig veure en una botiga davant de l'hotel
French
Je voudrais essayer un costume que j' ai vu dans un magasin en face de l'hôtel
Eu quero probar un traxe que vin nunha tenda fronte ao hotel
Io voglio provare un abito che ho visto ‌in un negozio di fronte all'hotel
Io voglio pruvà nu vestito ca aggio visto dinto a nu negozio 'nfronte a l'hotel

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