100+ Useful Conversational Words & Phrases in French

Are you thinking about learning French but find yourself struggling to find resources that help you start speaking?

When I started out, I certainly did.

Many of the tools that I found when I started learning French were grammar-heavy textbook style resources and they didn’t offer me a lot in terms of day-to-day conversation. Rather than learning how to say “what did you do last weekend?” I had memorized a bunch of rules involving the genders of words or how to use tenses and I was no where near conversing with my fellow French speakers.

So I decided to put something together on my own so that I could feel more confident engaging in language exchanges.

And today, I’d like to share it with you.

In this post you’ll find a short selection of the 100+ conversational phrases and words in French I have available as part of a downloadable PDF that you can get by entering your email in the box below.

Happy French language learning!

Get your free PDF with 100+ Conversational French Words and Phrases

Greetings

English	French
Hey	Salut
Hello/Good day	Bonjour
How are you?	Comment ça va ? / Comment allez-vous ? (form.)
I’m good, thanks.	Ça va bien, merci.
Long time no see.	Ça fait longtemps.

Basic & Polite Phrases

English	French
Please	S’il vous plaît (form.)
Thank you so much	Merci beaucoup
Excuse me	Excusez-moi (form.)
I’m sorry	Je suis desolé(e).
Thank you for your time.	Merci pour votre temps. (form.)

Get the Conversation Rolling

English	French
What’s new?	Quoi de neuf ?
What are you plans this weekend?	Quels sont vos plans ce week-end ? (form.)
How is your family?	Comment ça va votre famille ? (form.)
I heard that…	J’ai entendu que …
Tell me what you think.	Dites-moi ce que vous pensez. (form.)

Getting a Bit of Clarification

English	French
How do you say that in French?	Comment dire ça en français ?
I don’t understand.	Je ne comprends pas ?
What are you talking about?	Vous parlez de quoi ? (form.)
I don’t know.	Je ne sais pas.
Can you please write that down?	Est-ce que vous pouvez l’écrire, s’il vous plaît ? (form.)

Words About Time

English	French
Every day	Tous les jours
Sometimes	Parfois
Now	Maintenant
Later	Plus tard
Plenty	Assez

Exclamations & Transition Words to Take Your Speaking to the Next Level

English	French
Don’t worry!	Ne vous inquiétez pas ! (form.)
Excellent	Excellent
Impossible	Impossible
Look	Regardez (form.)
How horrible!	Quelle horreur !
No problem!	Pas de problème !
That’s good!	C’est bien !
Wow!	Waouh ! Wow !
Exactly	Exactement
That’s a good question.	C’est une bonne question.

Conversation Closers

English	French
I enjoyed speaking with you.	J’ai beaucoup aimé parler avec vous. (form.)
I must go.	Je dois y aller.
Keep in touch!	Restez en contact ! (form.)
Goodbye	Au revoir
I’ll be right back.	Je reviens tout de suite !

*Please note that most of the above examples use formal language, assuming that you’re getting to know the person that you’re speaking with. I have included both the formal and familiar forms of the above phrases in the download PDF for your reference.

Get your free PDF with 100+ Conversational French Words and Phrases

Are you learning French? What are some phrases that you’ve found useful in your target language? I’d love to hear about them in the comments!