Expressions

À poil

You don't have to be in your birthday suit to learn about the familiar French expression à poil.

  informalities 

Pronunciation Guides

H muet

The French H muet is not just silent, but essentially non-existent: words that begin with H muet act as if they begin with a vowel.

  A1 - Beginning French • spelling 

Quizzes and Tests

Test Prep Tips

There's more to passing an important test than just studying. Ace yourself with these French test prep tips.

Vocabulary Lists

Apocopes

Many French nouns and adjectives have shortened forms called apocopes, which are created by dropping one or more syllables at the end of the word. Some of these are further modified by adding o to the end.

  adjectives • French Abbreviations - Acronyms - Apocopes • informalities • nouns 

Expressions

Il ne casse pas trois pattes à un canard

Fight mediocrity by learning about the French idiom Il ne casse pas trois pattes à un canard.

  informalities 

Literature

Petit chaperon rouge

This classic fairy tale is written in relatively simple French, making it ideal reading practice for beginners.

  A2 - Low-Intermediate French 

Listening Practice

Les Nymphéas de Claude Monet

Visit le Musée de l'Orangerie to see how Monet's beautiful Water Lilies are displayed to best advantage in specially constructed rooms.

  B2 - Upper-Intermediate French 

Grammar Lessons

Tag Questions

A really easy way to ask questions is by ending a regular statement with an interrogative word or phrase, known as a tag question.

  formalities • informalities • questions 

Expressions

Mieux Expressions

The French adverb mieux literally means ""better" or "best" and is found in a variety of idiomatic expressions. Learn how to say highly successful, leave well enough alone, better than ever, and more with this list of expressions with mieux.

Pronunciation Guides

Semi-vowels

Semi-vowels, aka semi-consonants, are sounds pronounced somewhere between vowels and consonants. Très logique, n'est-ce pas ?

Expressions

Haut comme trois pommes

You're never too short to learn about the French idiom haut comme trois pommes.

  informalities 

Grammar Lessons

Visiter vs Rendre visite

The French verb visiter is a cognate, so it's common to assume that it's a perfect equivalent for "to visit." Unfortunately, it's not.

Listening Practice

Le grand nettoyage de printemps

Clean up your French - and your house - while listening to this audio article about spring cleaning.

  B2 - Upper-Intermediate French 

Grammar Lessons

Numerical Adjectives and Nouns

French and English have five different types of numbers used for different purposes and with varying functions: they act like adjectives and/or nouns.

  adjectives • agreement • nouns • word order 

Holidays and Celebrations

Ramadan

Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. During this holy month, nearly all Muslims are required to fast during daylight hours (sunrise to sunset).