How do you say first, second, and third in French? Luckily for English speakers, ordinal numbers in French are actually quite easy! Almost every number just follows the same format: we just add -ième, with only a few exceptions that we’ll explain below. Let’s dive straight in with our list Keep reading...
French accent marks: A quick guide to the five French diacritics
French accent marks are among the defining features of the language, appearing abundantly in any written text. Accent marks in French are integral features of the words in which they appear, so words are spelled incorrectly when they’re omitted. The French alphabet has the same 26 letters as in English, but Keep reading...
Bonjour Mon Ami ! 12 ways to say Friend in French
Making French-speaking friends throughout your language learning journey is an excellent way to build in language practice that doesn’t feel like practice. But how do you refer to these friends in French? In this post, we’ll walk you through the basics of how to say friend in French, from noun Keep reading...
An vs Année, Jour vs Journée, and Nuit vs Nuitée: Subtle French word pairs
Navigating the subtleties of a new language can be a fascinating journey. In French, certain word pairs carry nuanced differences that can significantly impact the meaning of a sentence. In today’s post we’ll explore three such pairs: an vs année, jour vs journée, and nuit vs nuitée. These words each have distinct meanings Keep reading...
Bonjour: Meaning in English, history, and uses
What does bonjour mean in French? In today’s post we’ll focus entirely on bonjour, which is the most common greeting in the language. We’ll cover the standard bonjour meaning in French, its translations, and some history of the term. We’ll discuss when bonjour is used, we’ll see which expressions include bonjour, and we’ll Keep reading...
Faire Conjugation: Every tense of To Do in French
Faire, meaning to do in French, is one of the most common verbs in the language. Today we’ll present every faire conjugation chart for easy reference, in every tense and mood. First we’ll conjugate faire in all of the simple tenses of each mood, and then we’ll cover the compound tenses. The Keep reading...
A certain je ne sais quoi: The secrets of this enigmatic expression
A certain je ne sais quoi: Meaning and uses of this enigmatic expression Have you ever heard someone say that something has a certain je ne sais quoi? Or perhaps you’ve even heard this French expression used on people, that someone has a certain je ne sais quoi about them? Sure, Keep reading...
Goodbye in French: Mastering the Art of Farewell
The French language is renowned for its elegance and charm, particularly evident in the subtle nuances between all our potential greetings and farewells. Whether parting with a gesture of affection, a promise of future meetings, or a simple acknowledgment of the day’s end, our options for saying goodbye in French are Keep reading...
Boire Conjugation: Every tense of the verb for To Drink in French
Boire, meaning to drink in French, is one of the most useful verbs in the language. Whether we’re talking about drinking water or wine, or whether it’s a person or an animal who drinks, you’ll surely want to know your boire conjugation. Boire is an irregular verb, so many of its tenses Keep reading...
Plurals in French: A full guide on how to form le pluriel en français
How do we form plurals in French? Often it’s as simple as adding an -s, just like you do in English. Words with certain endings, however, have different rules for forming their French plurals. So which French plurals end in -x, and which ones remain unchanged? What about pluralizing compound nouns in Keep reading...