French's basic note

French minutes (minutes) have a few twists and turns that you may not expect.

• To say 1 to 30 minutes past the hour, simply say the number of minutes after the hour, like this:

  • Il est deux heures dix. (Literally It is two hours ten; which is to say It is 2:10.)

  • Il est sept heures vingt-cinq. (It is 7:25.)

• For 15 minutes past the hour say, et quart (and a quarter). For example: Il est une heure et quart. (It’s a quarter past one.)

• For 30 minutes past the hour, say et demie (and a half). For example: Il est une heure et demie. (It’s half past one.)

• For 31 to 59 minutes past the hour, say the next hour moins (minus) the number of minutes, like this:

  • Il est quatre heures moins dix. (Literally 4 hours minus 10, or 3:50.)

  • Il est huit heures moins vingt. (Literally 8 hours minus 20, meaning 7:40.)

• For a quarter until the hour, say moins le quart (minus the quarter). For example: Il est trois heures moins le quart. (It is a quarter until 3; meaning 2:45.)

• To abbreviate a time in French, don’t use a colon between the hour and minutes like in English. Instead, use the letter h (for heure), like this: 8h10 (8:10).

• French has specific words for noon and midnight: midi (noon) and minuit(midnight). Those two words are used without saying heures. For example: Il est minuit. Tout le monde au lit! (It’s midnight. Everybody to bed!)

• With the 12-hour clock, you may need to clarify if it’s 8 a.m. or 8 p.m. Could make a big difference! French uses phrases to express the difference between morning (le matin), afternoon (l’après-midi), and evening/night (le soir).

  • du matin (in the morning or a.m.)

    For example: Il part à six heures et demie du matin. (He leaves at 6:30 a.m.)

  • de l’après-midi (in the afternoon or p.m.)

    For example: En hiver il fait nuit à cinq heures de l’après-midi. (In the winter, it’s dark at 5 p.m.)

  • du soir (in the evening/at night or p.m.)

    For example: Ils dînent à sept heures du soir. (They eat dinner at 7 p.m.)

5 Useful French Greetings to Say Hello

1. Bonjour! – Hello! (Also, Good Morning!)

This is your run of the mill, basic French greeting, and it works in any setting, formal and informal alike. It’s probably the first word that most French language beginners learn, and for good reason! It’s only common courtesy to utter a little bonjour to the baker as you walk into the corner boulangerie or to the waiter before you order a coffee on the terrasse of a Parisian café. Not using this greeting is deemed utterly impolite by many and may merit a disdainful glance. Once the sun sets, you’ll want to replace this little pleasantry with bonsoir! (Good evening!) All in all, using either bonjour or bonsoir is your best bet for first greeting someone in either a formal or informal setting.

2. Salut! – Hi!

This is a great greeting to use with anyone you see rather often or someone you know rather well, i.e. a colleague with similar standing as you or a good friend. It is an informal greeting, and should be used as such, since it is not exactly an expression you’ll want to whip out at to begin a business meeting. Note that the ‘t’ on the end of the word is silent, thus following the general rule in French that if a final consonant is not followed by an ‘e’ or other vowel, it is not pronounced.

3. Coucou! – Hey there!

This is an extremely informal way of greeting someone, so reserve this one for close friends and family, otherwise you might get a few quizzical stares. As an added tidbit, the verb phrase faire coucou (à quelqu’un) means to wave at or say hey (to someone), and is also a form of informal language. Adding on to that, the verb phrase jouer à coucou means to play peekaboo, like a mother does with her baby. Thus, you can see the rather playful and familiar tone behind this word.

4. Quoi de neuf? – What’s up ?

While remaining informal, this is a slightly more involved greeting, in that you’re likely to glean more from the person you are speaking with than you would with the traditional bonjour. This literally means ‘what’s new?’ and is an excellent greeting to use with a friend you haven’t spoken with in a while, with the intent of starting a conversation.

5. Allô? – Hello?

While a cognate of English, this is not used in the same capacity as bonjour, in that you cannot use it to greet people on the street. This greeting is used solely on the phone to determine whether or not someone is on the line. It can also be used ironically to get the attention of someone that hasn’t heard you, the point being that it’s as though the person wasn’t there. You probably won’t hear it used in any other situations.

5 Useful French Phrases to Say Goodbye

1. Au revoir! – Goodbye!

This expression, like bonjour, is another go-to standard salutation, usable in virtually any situation: as you leave the hair salon, as you leave the bus, as you take leave from an acquaintance, etc. Like bonjour or bonsoir, it is considered rude to not use this particular expression in public, as well as over the phone, just before hanging up. Yet a lot of French people tend to slur these two words together, so it can sometimes just sound like ‘ohrvwar.’

2. Salut! – Bye-bye!

That’s right, double whammy! Salut can be used to say both hi and bye. As is the case with greeting someone, bidding someone farewell with this expression is also quite informal. Overall, a very useful little word to know.

3. Je suis désolé(e), mais je dois y aller – I’m sorry, but I have to go

This phrase doesn’t have a particular spot on either end of the formal/informal scale. The main idea with this expression is its sense of urgency, and it is the je dois y aller which relays this message. The pronoun y must be used before the verb aller if no particular location is mentioned. If you want to be more explicit and state exactly where you are going, for example I have to go to school, then the sentence would look like this: Je dois aller à l’école. Another example would be I have to go to the museum: Je dois aller au musée. The Je suis désolé(e) simply shows that you are sorry for leaving, literally meaning I am sorry. Note that when the speaker is feminine, an extra ‘e’ is needed at the end. This doesn’t change the pronunciation of the word, it is merely a grammatical aspect of the language which is only evident on paper.

4. À plus tard! (À plus!) – (See you) later!

This is a useful expression for when you know you will see someone again, such as a friend or classmate, but you’re not quite sure when that will be. It is not particularly formal or informal, granted you will really only use this expression when you know someone well enough to see them on at least a semi-regular basis. Note that pronunciation differs depending on which expression you decide to go with. If you go with the shorter version, the ‘s’ on the end of plus is indeed pronounced. Yep, it’s an exception to the general rule of pronunciation!

5. À tout à l’heure ! – See you soon, See you in a while!

This is the perfect expression to use for if you are parting with friends that you are certain to see again later in the day.

10 Must-know French Sentences for Basic Conversation

1. Comment vous appelez-vous? (What’s your name?)

The most common conversation starter: What’s your name? There’s a more informal way to say this (Comment t’appelles-tu?), but typically when you ask this question, it’s best to use the formal version of the phrase to show respect.

How can I continue the conversation?
Je m’appelle… (My name is…)

The best way to keep this conversation going? Introduce yourself, too. “Appeler” is actually the French verb meaning “to call,” so “Je m’appelle” literally translates to “I call myself.”

This adorable video on FluentU will show you how native French speakers use the informal Comment t’appelles-tu? in real life. To get the most out of this video (and tons of other real French videos, from movie clips to inspiring speeches), check out the FluentU free trial. With a FluentU account, you’ll get interactive subtitles, flashcards, exercises and more with every video so you naturally learn new words and phrases while you watch.

2. Enchanté(e)! (Pleased to meet you!)

This is the simplest and most common way to tell the person you just met, “I’m pleased to meet you.” Other options include, “Enchanté(e) de faire votre connaissance,” (Pleased to make your acquaintance), which is just as formal in French as it is in English, and “C’est un plaisir de vous rencontrer” (It’s a pleasure to meet you), which is formal, but not quite as formal as the former.

Note: The (e) that you see at the end of enchanté(e) is added when a woman is speaking. This of course only matters if you are corresponding through writing, since this extra e does not affect pronunciation at all.

How do I continue the conversation?
There are a lot of ways to continue the initial introduction; you could choose to ask one of the other questions in this list, or say something kind about what they’re wearing, such as, “J’aime bien votre t-shirt” (I like your t-shirt).

3. Je viens de… (I’m from…)

This phrase, meaning “I’m from…” will come in handy after you’ve introduced yourself. You can use this to refer to both your country and your city. For example, I’m from Atlanta, Georgia in the United States, so I could say either “Je viens des Etats-Unis” or “Je viens d’Atlanta.”

Notice how the “de” changes depending on the noun used. Since the word for “United States” in French is plural, it uses “des” rather than “de.” Since “Atlanta” begins with a vowel, and “de” ends with an “e,” you drop the “e” in “de.” This rule applies only for words that end in “e” that are directly next to words beginning in a vowel; words ending in a, o, u and y are never connected in that fashion.

How can I continue the conversation?
D’où viens-tu/D’où venez-vous? (Where are you from?)

It’s possible your conversation partner will ask you this question first, but if they don’t, you can follow up your discussion about your home country or city by asking them where they are from.

There are two different phrases here; the first one that includes “tu” is the informal version of the phrase that should only be used with friends, family or peers. The second version, with the formal “vous,” is most appropriate with people that you have just met, and will probably be the best choice here.

4. J’habite à… (I live in…)

This sentence, meaning “I live in,” will likely follow the question “Where are you from?” For me, that answer is New York City, so I would say, “J’habite à New York.” Be careful, though, because the “à” is only used when you are talking about a city. When you want to refer to the country in which you live, things get a bit more complex.

As a general rule, if the country you live in ends with an “e” in French, it’s a feminine country and you’ll use en. If the country you live in ends with anything but “e” it’s most likely a masculine country and you’ll use au, unless of course the country is plural (like les États-Unis – the United States), in which case you’ll use aux. 

For example:

J’habite à Paris. (I live in Paris).

But…

J’habite en France. (I live in France).
J’habite au Canada. (I live in Canada).
J’habite aux États-Unis. (I live in the United States).

Note: Remember how we dropped the “e” in “de” for the phrase “Je viens de…”? Here, we are doing the same with “Je” and “habite.” The “h” in “habite” is treated like a vowel because the pronunciation of the word actually drops the “h.” For this reason, many words beginning with “h” in French are treated like vowels.

How can I continue the conversation?
Où est-ce que tu habites?/Où est-ce que vous habitez?

This directs the same question back to the other person: “Where do you live?” This will give them a chance to share a little bit about themselves, and will surely bring up some great conversation points, like traveling (if you have visited their home country/city) and culture.

5. Qu’est-ce que vous faites? (What is your profession?)