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Beginning Vocabulary


Bonjour everyone!

For this task, I will be giving you some conversational vocabulary, and this will effectively be your first lesson.

 

Bonjour Hello (lit. Good Day)

Audio

 

Note that I don't pronounce the n. In French, vowel + n + consonant means that you pronounce the vowel nasally, and then the next consonant. You should be able to hear it in my audio.
 

Comment ça va? How are you? (lit. How is it going?)

Audio

 

Similar to my last note, note how I don't pronounce it like the English 'Comment.' The 'o' makes more of an 'o' sound, and the 'ent' kind-of sounds like a nasally 'ah'
 

Bien Well

Audio


 

You don't technically need to know this, but this word is one syllable. When you have an 'i' and another pronounced vowel after it, the 'i' makes a 'y' sound. So, it's kind of pronounced like bja (with a nasal a)

 

Mal Poorly Audio
Comme-ci, comme-ça So-so (lit. Like this, like that) Audio
Enchanté(e)

Nice to meet you! (lit. enchanted)

 

Note: You use the (e) in parentheses if you are a girl

Audio

 

Same note as 'Bonjour' -- I do not pronounce the 'n's.
 

nom

Name

 

Note: If you are asking for first and last names separately, prénom refers to first name, nom refers to last

Audio

 

This is actually pronounced the same was the word for no in French, 'non', if you have ever heard it before.
 

Je m'appelle ___(nom)___ My name is ___(name)____

Audio

 

Of course, replace 'bla bla bla' with your name.
 

Comment t'appelles-tu? What is your name?

Audio

 

Another little note that you don't really need to know: the 'u' in 'tu' does not make an 'oo' sound, it is very tight. Eventually you will be able to recognize it easily, but don't fret over it for now.
 

For this task, all that I ask you to do is study the vocabulary and think of potential minimalist conversations that you could have. Listen to the audio, memorize the spelling, and speak. I don't care if you are talking to your dog, I promise just saying the words out loud will improve your oral fluency ten-fold.

Then, if possible, please record an audio conversation between you and another classmate (or friend, girlfriend, boyfriend, whatever), and post it in the comments. I can give you feedback and help you along, if you do!

Task Discussion