Learn French đŸ„

Bonjour, comment ça va? 👋 ! Here’s our curated content for training your passive understanding of the language.

Instructions (tap to open)

⏰ Time spent here also counts towards your streak.

Language competency consists of active vocabulary, but also passive vocabulary and natural pattern recognition. Train essential listening skills, understand grammar and morphing patterns.

Knowing Basic Phrases allows you to stay in the language instead of switching to English. Listening-Reading videos is a comfortable yet intense training of your listening skills. It also allows you to explore the country through videos.

If you want to really be comfortable, have lessons. What makes Lingophant unique is that you can create your 100% personalised vocabulary from conversations. 45 minutes per week with a friend or a teacher is already enough input for a constant stream of engaging sentences to practice between lessons.

📔 Basic Phrases

These phrases are the perfect point of departure for serious learners. They help you stay in the language, without needing to switch to English. And you internalize patterns.

Unlock them one-by-one in the app, and memorize them from the “Practice” tab.

Basic Phrases — 17 phrases
Introductions — 20 phrases
Useful Reactions — 26 phrases
Clarifications — 18 phrases
Learning Languages — 20 phrases
Interests, Opinions, Preferences — 24 phrases
Travel Phrases — 21 phrases
Smalltalk — 22 phrases
Politeness — 8 phrases

This is just to get you started. For personalized phrases, we recommend sessions of 45 minutes with a native speaker.

  • Know 300 phrases and you can make jokes and impress people
  • Know 600 phrases and you can hold basic conversations
  • Know 1000 phrases and you start communicating effortlessly

And because of working with audio, you’ll get compliments on your pronunciation a lot. We promise!

🎧 Train your listening skills with proper documentaries

We have selected enjoyable documentaries and reportage channels. Watch them, listen to the language, and build a natural intuition. Some polyglots swear by this method — 30 minutes a day builds working proficiency.

ARTE (4.88m subs)

ARTE (view channel) – Bienvenue sur ARTE, la plateforme culturelle europĂ©enne. Histoire, sciences, culture pop, reportages d’investigations ou documentaires complets : prenez le temps de comprendre le monde.

Le Monde (2.23m subs)

Le Monde (view channel) – Bienvenue sur la chaĂźne YouTube du Monde. Chaque jour, des vidĂ©os et des documentaires pour comprendre l’actualitĂ©. International, politique, sciences, histoire, pop culture… Rejoignez-nous pour y voir plus clair !

HugoDĂ©crypte – Grands formats (1.98m subs)

HugoDĂ©crypte – Grands formats (view channel) – Chaque semaine, sur cette chaĂźne, des grands formats, reportages, dĂ©bats, etc. Bienvenue. 👋

Cash Investigation – France TĂ©lĂ©visions (680k subs)

Cash Investigation – France TĂ©lĂ©visions (view channel) – Cash Investigation est une Ă©mission de France 2, prĂ©sentĂ©e par Elise Lucet.

LCP – AssemblĂ©e nationale (474k subs)

LCP – AssemblĂ©e nationale (view channel) – LCP-AssemblĂ©e nationale, la chaine qui cultive une libertĂ© de ton et une exigence de sens et donne Ă  voir et Ă  comprendre la politique et l’actualitĂ© parlementaire autrement.

TV5MONDE (1.00m subs)

TV5MONDE (view channel) – La chaĂźne de tĂ©lĂ©vision internationale francophone.

DOCS EnquĂȘtes & SociĂ©tĂ© – FranceTV Distribution (283k subs)

DOCS EnquĂȘtes & SociĂ©tĂ© – FranceTV Distribution (view channel) – 📰 Bienvenue sur DOCS EnquĂȘtes et SociĂ©tĂ©

Reportages et investigations (368k subs)

Reportages et investigations (view channel) – Retrouvez les meilleurs reportages d’investigation et enquĂȘtes journalistiques des plus grandes Ă©missions – EnvoyĂ© spĂ©cial, Zone interdite, En quĂȘte d’actualitĂ©, etc. – qui questionnent et Ă©clairent faits de sociĂ©tĂ©, sujets d’actualitĂ©, monde des affaires


Des Racines et des Ailes – France TĂ©lĂ©visions (218k subs)

Des Racines et des Ailes – France TĂ©lĂ©visions (view channel) – ChaĂźne officielle de l’Ă©mission Des Racines et Des Ailes. Ne manquez pas nos prochaines vidĂ©os, abonnez-vous ! #DRDA

Tistrya (557k subs)

Tistrya (view channel) – Reportages – Documentaires – Interviews

Tony Comiti (100k subs)

Tony Comiti (view channel) – Bienvenue sur cette chaĂźne de documentaires de sociĂ©tĂ© et d’investigation, rĂ©alisĂ©s en France et partout dans le monde.

Immersion ▾ reportages et documentaires (613k subs)

Immersion ▾ reportages et documentaires (view channel) – Retrouve de nouveaux reportages et documentaires chaque semaine sur notre chaine Immersion !

🎧 Train listening with weird popular YouTube videos

It’s like zapping TV through another linguistic and cultural universe. Watch what native speakers watch. We hope you find something interesting.

đŸ§‘â€đŸ« Grammar overview in 9 chapters

Below is an overview of the most important grammar topics. Each chapter has a short explanation and recommended videos.

While memorizing phrases, you’ll likely recognize patterns from grammar. You can add a note or question to a card and get it answered next time you’re with a teacher.

Present Tense of Core Verbs A1

The French present tense covers not just what is happening right now but also habitual actions and general truths — it does the work of both ‘I speak’ and ‘I am speaking’ in English. Most verbs follow predictable patterns based on their infinitive ending: -er verbs (parler → je parle, tu parles, il parle, nous parlons
), -ir verbs (finir → je finis
), and -re verbs (vendre → je vends
). Within these patterns, the je, tu, il/elle forms often sound identical, which means you can understand a huge amount of spoken French once you know a single stem. The highest-priority irregular verbs to memorise are ĂȘtre (to be), avoir (to have), aller (to go), and faire (to do/make), as these appear in almost every conversation.

A practical approach is to learn each verb as a set of spoken chunks rather than a written conjugation table — notice that ‘je parle’, ‘tu parles’, and ‘il parle’ all sound like ‘parl’, so three written forms collapse into one spoken form. On the app, pay attention to how these four key irregulars appear inside longer phrases (‘j’ai faim’, ‘tu es prĂȘt?’, ‘on va y aller’). Once you internalise this topic, you can describe your daily routine, ask and answer basic questions, and hold the backbone of any present-moment conversation in French.

Noun Gender & Articles (le, la, un, une, les) A1

Every French noun is either masculine or feminine, and this gender determines which article you use: ‘le’ (definite, masculine), ‘la’ (definite, feminine), ‘les’ (plural for both), ‘un’ (indefinite, masculine), ‘une’ (indefinite, feminine). Gender also ripples into adjectives and past participle agreements, so getting a feel for it early pays dividends throughout your learning. There is no foolproof rule, but strong patterns exist: nouns ending in -tion, -sion, -ette, -ure are almost always feminine; nouns ending in -ment, -age, -eau are almost always masculine. In front of a vowel sound, both ‘le’ and ‘la’ contract to ‘l” (l’hĂŽtel, l’Ă©cole), which can make gender harder to hear — making it essential to learn nouns with their article from the start.

The single most effective habit is to always memorise a new noun together with its article as one chunk: not ‘table’ but ‘la table’, not ‘livre’ but ‘le livre’. On the app, treat ‘un cafĂ©’ or ‘la gare’ as an unbreakable unit. This approach means you will naturally produce the right article in speech without pausing to think, and it also prepares you for adjective agreement and other gender-dependent grammar. Once this is internalised, your sentences will immediately sound more natural to native speakers.

Negation with ne
pas (and Spoken Shortcuts) A1

To make a verb negative in French, you wrap it in ‘ne’ before and ‘pas’ after: ‘je parle’ → ‘je ne parle pas’. With reflexive verbs or in compound tenses, ‘ne’ still sits directly before the verb (or the auxiliary). Other common negative pairs follow the same sandwich structure: ‘ne
jamais’ (never), ‘ne
rien’ (nothing), ‘ne
plus’ (no longer), ‘ne
personne’ (nobody). These are high-frequency in real conversations, so learning the pattern once unlocks all of them. In everyday spoken French, however, the ‘ne’ is very frequently dropped entirely, leaving just ‘pas’: ‘je sais pas’, ‘c’est pas vrai’, ‘y’a pas de problĂšme’. This is not sloppy speech — it is the normal register of casual conversation.

A great tip is to learn the full written form first (so you can read and write correctly), then practise recognising the dropped-‘ne’ versions in listening exercises on the app. When you hear ‘je veux pas’, train your ear to map it straight onto ‘je ne veux pas’. Once you master negation, you can disagree, decline invitations, express what you don’t have or don’t do, and navigate misunderstandings — all essential moves in any real conversation.

Asking Questions (Three Strategies) A1

French has three ways to form a question, and all three are used regularly. The simplest is rising intonation: take a statement and just raise your voice at the end — ‘Tu parles anglais?’ This is the dominant form in casual spoken French. The second strategy uses ‘est-ce que’ at the front of any statement: ‘Est-ce que tu parles anglais?’ — this works universally and is widely used in both speech and writing. The third strategy is subject-verb inversion (‘Parles-tu anglais?’), which is formal and common in writing, set phrases, and polite requests. For question words (qui, quoi/que, oĂč, quand, comment, pourquoi, combien), you can combine them with any of these three strategies: ‘OĂč tu vas?’, ‘OĂč est-ce que tu vas?’, or ‘OĂč vas-tu?’ all mean the same thing.

For conversational learners, a practical approach is to master the intonation and ‘est-ce que’ patterns first, since they cover nearly every real-life situation without requiring you to think about inversion rules. On the app, notice which question structure appears in the phrases you learn and try to recognise all three when you hear them. Once you feel confident with questions, you can find out directions, order food, clarify information, and keep conversations going — turning you from a passive responder into an active participant.

Passé Composé (Everyday Past Tense) A2

The passĂ© composĂ© is the main past tense used in spoken French to describe completed actions — what you did, what happened, what you ate. It is formed with an auxiliary verb (avoir or ĂȘtre) in the present tense plus a past participle: ‘j’ai mangĂ©’ (I ate/have eaten), ‘il est parti’ (he left/has left). Most verbs use avoir, but a core group of verbs of motion and state change (aller, venir, partir, arriver, naĂźtre, mourir, etc.) use ĂȘtre — and when ĂȘtre is the auxiliary, the past participle agrees in gender and number with the subject (‘elle est arrivĂ©e’). Reflexive verbs also always use ĂȘtre. The past participle of regular -er verbs ends in -Ă©, regular -ir verbs in -i, and -re verbs in -u, but many common verbs have irregular participles (faire → fait, avoir → eu, ĂȘtre → Ă©tĂ©, prendre → pris).

A smart strategy is to learn the most common irregular participles as fixed chunks attached to their auxiliary — ‘j’ai fait’, ‘j’ai eu’, ‘je suis allĂ©(e)’ — so they become automatic rather than calculated. On the app, listen for the auxiliary as a trigger: the moment you hear ‘j’ai’ or ‘je suis’, your brain should anticipate a participle and a completed action. Mastering the passĂ© composĂ© lets you narrate your day, tell stories, explain what happened, and understand the vast majority of spoken past-tense French.

Adjective Agreement & Placement A2

French adjectives must agree in gender and number with the noun they describe: a masculine singular noun takes the base form (‘un livre intĂ©ressant’), a feminine singular noun adds -e (‘une histoire intĂ©ressante’), plural nouns add -s (‘des livres intĂ©ressants’, ‘des histoires intĂ©ressantes’). Many adjectives have irregular feminine forms — ‘beau’ → ‘belle’, ‘bon’ → ‘bonne’, ‘vieux’ → ‘vieille’ — which are worth memorising as pairs. Placement is equally important: unlike English, most French adjectives follow the noun (‘une voiture rouge’, ‘un homme intelligent’), but a small, high-frequency group of adjectives — known by the mnemonic BAGS (Beauty, Age, Goodness, Size: beau, jeune, bon, grand, etc.) — come before the noun (‘une belle maison’, ‘un grand homme’).

A reliable learning trick is to absorb adjectives in their natural noun-phrase context from the start rather than in isolation — let the phrases on the app do the heavy lifting. Hearing ‘une robe rouge’ and ‘un beau jardin’ dozens of times will build the right instinct faster than memorising rules. Some adjectives even change meaning depending on position (‘un homme grand’ = a tall man vs. ‘un grand homme’ = a great man), which is a nuance worth watching for. Once you have a feel for agreement and placement, your descriptions will sound natural and your reading comprehension will improve significantly.

Object Pronouns (le, la, les, lui, leur, me, te
) A2

Object pronouns replace nouns that have already been mentioned, letting you speak efficiently without constant repetition. Direct object pronouns (me, te, le, la, nous, vous, les) replace the person or thing directly receiving the action: ‘Tu vois Marie? — Oui, je la vois.’ Indirect object pronouns (me, te, lui, nous, vous, leur) replace an indirect object — typically a person to or for whom something is done: ‘Tu parles Ă  Marc? — Oui, je lui parle.’ The critical structural point is that these pronouns go directly before the conjugated verb in French, not after it as in English: ‘Je le mange’ (I’m eating it), ‘Il nous appelle’ (He’s calling us). In the passĂ© composĂ©, the pronoun goes before the auxiliary: ‘Je l’ai vu.’

The best way to absorb pronoun placement is through high-repetition listening and speaking — notice in app phrases exactly where the pronoun sits relative to the verb, and mimic the whole chunk. A common learner mistake is saying ‘je mange le’ by analogy with English; training your ear to expect the pronoun before the verb will correct this instinct over time. Once you handle object pronouns confidently, your speech becomes dramatically more fluent and natural — you can respond concisely to questions, avoid awkward noun repetition, and follow fast native speech where pronouns are doing most of the referential work.

Talking About the Future (futur proche & futur simple) A2

French has two main ways to talk about the future. The futur proche (near future) uses ‘aller’ + infinitive and is the dominant form in everyday spoken French for plans and intentions: ‘Je vais appeler demain’ (I’m going to call tomorrow), ‘On va manger ici’ (We’re going to eat here). It maps very naturally onto the English ‘going to’ construction and is immediately usable once you know the present tense of aller. The futur simple, by contrast, adds endings directly onto the infinitive (je parlerai, tu parleras, il parlera, nous parlerons, vous parlerez, ils parleront) and is more common in writing, news, and slightly more formal or distant future contexts. Its endings are highly regular and stem from the verb ‘avoir’, which makes them easier to learn as a set.

For conversational learners, it pays to master the futur proche first since it covers the vast majority of real spoken situations, then add the futur simple for recognition and for the dozen or so irregular stems (ĂȘtre → ser-, avoir → aur-, aller → ir-, faire → fer-) that appear in set phrases. On the app, notice when ‘on va
’ or ‘je vais
’ kicks off a future plan and drill it until it feels automatic. With these two patterns under your belt, you can make plans, discuss upcoming events, offer help, and make predictions — all the conversational futures you will actually need.

The Subjunctive: Key Triggers & High-Frequency Forms B1

The subjunctive is a verb mood (not a tense) that French uses to express subjectivity — wishes, doubt, emotion, necessity, and certain conjunctions. It is triggered by specific verbs and expressions: ‘vouloir que’ (to want that), ‘il faut que’ (it is necessary that), ‘ĂȘtre content/triste que’ (to be happy/sad that), and conjunctions like ‘bien que’ (although), ‘pour que’ (so that), ‘avant que’ (before). The subjunctive form of most verbs is built from the third-person plural present stem plus the endings -e, -es, -e, -ions, -iez, -ent — which means for many verbs it sounds identical to the present indicative in speech. The most important irregular subjunctive forms are from ĂȘtre (soit), avoir (ait), aller (aille), and faire (fasse), as these appear constantly.

Rather than trying to learn every trigger rule, a practical strategy is to memorise the most common trigger expressions as fixed chunks — ‘il faut que tu
’, ‘je veux que tu
’, ‘bien qu’il soit
’ — and let the correct subjunctive form come along for the ride. On the app, look out for these trigger phrases as whole units rather than analysing them grammatically each time. Once you recognise and can use the key subjunctive triggers, you can express nuanced opinions, talk about requirements and desires involving other people, and sound markedly more sophisticated — moving your French clearly into B1 territory.