Learn French with Babbel’s Fast, Fun, and Easy Lessons

If you have always wanted to learn French, you’re not alone: millions of people study the language every day around the world. And it’s no wonder! French is a language that has a rich culture and history. The French language can take you around the world, and it’s one of the fastest growing languages in the world.

But you might have a lot of questions about why you should learn French or what it takes to get started — or why it’s even worthwhile at all. The good news is you can rest assured that learning the French language is an effort worth undertaking. With the right resources to guide you on your journey, you’ll see your efforts pay off.

Why Learn French?

Learning French offers benefits that go way beyond just communication (though of course, that’s a big benefit). As one of the most widely spoken languages globally, French opens doors to diverse cultures, literature, and art, enriching personal experiences and broadening perspectives. Plus, French is a key language in fields including science, technology, and culinary arts. Understanding French can enhance travel experiences in French-speaking countries, allowing for deeper connections with locals and a more immersive cultural experience. If you’re ready to jump in, you can test your first lesson for free. If you’re still unsure, let’s dive a little deeper into all the reasons you might want to tackle the language.

Exploring The Benefits Of Learning French

Learn French For Travel — When the spirit of adventure strikes, don’t let language barriers hold you back. When you have French in your back pocket, you have a passport to a whole new world. There are more than 300 million people on Earth who speak French, and it’s an official language in 29 different countries across North America, Africa, and Europe.
Take The French Language Abroad — Whether you’re looking to enroll at a foreign university and have a more alternative college experience, find a job at a hostel that lets you hit the beach by day and work at night, or retire in a place with a slower pace of life, living abroad is hands down the best hands-on approach to getting the most immersive language experience possible.
Build Your Business French Skills — Today the world is more connected economically than ever before. If you’re a professional looking for ways to stay competitive and current in the global market, learning French is a no-brainer for success. Western Europe and Africa are both emerging markets full of opportunity for businesses.
Immerse Yourself In French Culture — To read the literature of decorated French-speaking authors like Victor Hugo, Guillaume Apollinaire, and Charles Baudelaire is to truly engage with the language. Through the lens of French you get a more active immersion in more contemporary French-language media like podcasts, radio shows, audiobooks, and TV shows.

Learn French Basics: French Lesson For Beginners

Learning French Pronunciation

French pronunciation is notoriously difficult for non-native French speakers, especially when they are confronted with a French word that looks nothing like it’s pronounced from how it’s spelled (think hors d'oeuvres, for one). The French language is full of funky orthography and very specific pronunciations — silent letters, clusters of vowels and sounds that don’t exist in English. Don’t worry if you can’t master a typical French accent or French pronunciation right away; it takes time and practice! The best way to remember the rules is just to practice over and over, especially by talking (even if it’s just talking to yourself at the beginning).

French Vocabulary

Learning French vocabulary isn’t as hard as you might think. It takes time and practice, but you’ll find there are a lot of French words and phrases that are connected with expressions you already know.

French is a descendant of the Vulgar Latin spoken by the common people of the Roman Empire. Though English isn’t in the same language family as French, more than a quarter of English words come from Latin, and roughly the same number of English words come from the French language. And there are thousands of Greek words that have made their way into both English and French, too. When you see the French words artiste, académique, or génération, for example, you’ll have no trouble guessing their English equivalents.

Basics Of French Grammar

French Verbs And French Verb Conjugations

When you’re starting to learn French grammar, the first topic you’ll want to tackle is how the verbs work. After all, every sentence has a verb! You can recognize when a word you come across is a French verb by noticing the word’s ending. French verbs end in one of three endings: -er (like the verb danser, “to dance”), -ir (like avertir, “to warn”) or -re (like perdre, “to lose”).

To be used in sentences, these verbs need to be conjugated. Many French verbs are “regular” because they all follow the same consistent pattern of conjugation, generally divided into three categories: -er, -ir, or -re verbs. There are, however, many French verbs — including aller (“to go”), être (“to be”), and avoir (“to have”) — whose conjugations are irregular and must be memorized separately.

French Nouns And French Gender

Each French noun has a grammatical gender, meaning it’s either masculine or feminine. This doesn’t mean that every person, place, object or idea is inherently male or female; it’s just a system of grammatical categorization. Often, French gender marking maps to words in ways you’d expect: la mère (“the mother”) is a feminine noun, whereas le père (“the father”) is masculine. There are patterns of certain word endings that can clue you in to which gender they might be assigned, but also exceptions to every rule.

Adjectives in French usually follow nouns in the sentence and must “agree” with the nouns they modify. This means that their endings must reflect the gender (masculine or feminine) and the number (singular or plural) of the noun to which they refer.

French Etiquette And The French Formal And Informal Address

Unlike English, the French language has two pronouns to address someone you’re speaking to — the informal and the formal “you.” This aspect of linguistic French etiquette might be a little confusing, but it’ll become like second nature to you as you learn French.

In French, the pronoun tu (“you”) is the informal, singular second person pronoun — reserved for when you’re talking to one (and only one) person you know familiarly or with whom you’re friendly, amicable, intimate or on more equal or higher social footing. The pronoun vous (which also means “you”) can be a plural “you,” but it can also be a formal form of address. You use it when you’re talking to a singular someone who’s in a position of respect or authority relative to you, or someone you don’t know very well.

Basic French Phrases And French Greetings

The best place to start when learning French is “hello”! There are many common greetings in French to choose from, including bonjour (literally “good day”), or if it’s late in the day bonsoir (“good evening”). With people you know quite familiarly and personally, a salut! (“hi!”) works well, too.

You’ll also want to get familiar with basic French phrases like Comment allez-vous? (literally “How are you going?”) or Comment vas-tu? in more casual contexts. Comment ça va? (“How’s it going?”) or simply Ça va? are also very popular. You can offer a Bien, et toi? (“Well, and you?”) or a Tout va bien! (“Everything’s going well!”) in response, but if you’re not in high spirits, you can respond with Comme ci, comme ça (“Like this, like that.”) or Pas mal (“not bad”).

To say goodbye in French, an Au revoir! is the classic go-to, and a Salut! will do the trick, too, in more informal situations. À bientôt (“See you soon!”) is also a great option, and so are Bonne journée! (“Have a good day!”) and Bonne soirée! (“have a good evening!”), the “goodbye” equivalents of bonjour and bonsoir.

Beginner Tips And Ways To Learn French Quickly

There’s not a single correct way to learn French. With so many options for your language journey, it’s no surprise that choosing a learning style or method can be overwhelming. Of the millions of people who speak and study French as a non-native language, you’ll find folks who have used all sorts of resources to learn the language, some free, some fairly cheap, and some more of a financial investment. There’s no perfect combination, and it’s up to you to decide which methods work best for you to learn French.

What's The Quickest And Easiest Way To Learn French?

You’ll find that the fastest and easiest way to learn French is the way that offers you the least amount of friction — so if you can’t stand shuffling through textbook pages or you get bored flipping French flashcards, you might want to stick to a method that’s more exciting or engaging. Knowing yourself is key to success.

Learning French In The Classroom

French classroom learning is the most popular option for learners in grade school or university settings. It allows more intensive, regular study with feedback from teachers who know the French language and can correct mistakes as they happen and teach content in an interactive way. Though full-time students make up a large proportion of French classroom learners, plenty of adults enroll in French classes, too. Many cities and communities offer free or fairly cheap language classes, and you’ll be very likely to find them in popular languages like French.

Learning French With A French Tutor Or Native Speaker

Private French tutoring offers a more tailored learning experience than traditional classroom learning with many of the advantages. Having a skilled French tutor at hand who can help you is a great way to improve your skills fast. French tutoring doesn’t have to be inconvenient at all, either. Many sessions take place online instead of in person, including Babbel Live Private Classes.

Tandem learning is a technique where two people who speak different native languages meet up to help each other learn, swapping roles as teacher and student. This is a great method when both people are able to commit significant time, but keep in mind that not everyone is a good teacher. You might understand English grammar subconsciously, but not be able to explain it well to a French speaker (and vice versa for your partner).

Learning French With Language Apps And Online French Courses

There are many top-notch, expert-designed online French courses and programs that run from reasonably priced to very expensive. They allow you to learn French on your own time and are often more interactive and engaging than many free courses and resources. It can be a bit overwhelming given how large the internet is, so do your best to research which methods make the most sense for you.

Beyond French Lessons: Immersion French Learning

French immersion programs or some form of French language travel are definitely the most extreme and intensive option, and they’re not for everyone. But without a doubt, immersing yourself in a new culture and a place that doesn’t speak your language will force you to make rapid progress in your target language as you struggle to communicate and understand those around you. You might want to use an app like Babbel to build a foundation before packing your bags, though.

Useful Resources To Learn French

When you don’t have access to French classes and teachers or even native French speakers, there are still plenty of French media resources to help you get on your way to fluency in French. Most of them can be accessed for free online or from a library, or through a subscription for a streaming service.

Using Books To Learn French

If you like to read, you’ll find a whole range of literature written in French that can help you master the French language. There are thousands of French books that make great learning resources for beginner French learners, from culturally renowned classics like Le Petit Prince and the Tintin comic series to longer, more substantive reads like the novels L’élégance du hérisson and Monsieur Ibrahim et les Fleurs du Coran. Using books to learn French is an excellent way to sharpen your reading skills and to understand how the French language is used in a whole wide range of contexts, from historical fiction to fairy tales and everything in between.

Learning French With Audio Lessons, French Songs And French Podcasts

There are many online French audio lessons you can find that can teach you the basics of French vocabulary and grammar without needing to look at a page or a screen. Similarly, French podcasts and French audiobooks are a great way to learn passively while you do something else that requires your visual attention. French podcasts like Parlez Away! are great for beginners, and advanced podcasts like Sur La Route take a more in-depth look at French culture and the French language.

For the more musically inclined, listening to French songs can be a great learning method, too. With songs, a chorus or group of lyrics is often repeated more than once, giving you plenty of opportunities to hear words and phrases over and over.

Learning With French TV Shows And French Movies

You can find a lot of good French content of all different genres and for all learning levels on streaming services. Animated miniseries like Les Grandes Grandes Vacances mix historical fiction with easy-to-follow dialogue for beginners and intermediate learners, and if you want more advanced French, the show Marseille can help you practice the language while engrossing you in a compelling political drama. The movie Le fabuleux destin d’Amélie, known in English as just Amélie, is a classic French film for beginners who want a look at contemporary French life. La belle verte is great for intermediate French learners who have an affinity for science fiction.

The Advantages Of Learning The French Language With Babbel

Babbel is designed by a team of language experts and designers who know all about what it takes to get the most out of learning a new language — so you’re guaranteed a top-quality French learning journey that’s capable, engaging, and fun.

Here are the key ways Babbel French lessons are crafted to get you having real-life conversations in French with confidence, and all for less cost per month than your morning coffee.

Flexibility that works for you. Learning a language is a time commitment. To make it a regular habit, it’s good to have an option that fits your schedule. Babbel’s 5- to 10-minute lessons make it so even if you have only a few minutes, you can do some learning. Or if you can’t look at a screen, you can listen to one of Babbel’s French podcasts while on the go!
Conversation practice from the start. All the grammar and vocab study in the world won’t help you in a conversation if you haven’t tried speaking. From your very first lesson, you’ll have the chance to test your pronunciation with our speech recognition AI, and you’ll hear every new word and phrase voiced by a native speaker. This will help you build up your confidence to go and practice your French in the real world.
Culture and grammar guidance. Babbel doesn’t just throw you in the deep end. Lessons are filled with tips for tackling both the culture and grammar of French, so you can dive deeper into how the language works. There are also a number of lessons that focus on certain aspects of culture specifically, like French food or French slang.
Regular reviews to cement your knowledge. Learning a new French vocab word doesn’t happen just once. You have to keep revisiting it to commit it to your long-term memory. That’s why Babbel’s Review feature uses the idea of spaced repetition to make sure the information sticks.
More resources than ever before. Babbel’s learning goes beyond the self-study app. You can also sign up for Group or Private Babbel Live classes with one of our expert teachers, or play vocab games, or check out the articles on Babbel Magazine.

Learn French With The Babbel App

We’re committed to making sure you get the most out of learning French. Whether you’re just starting out or refreshing what you’ve learned before, Babbel is designed to get you speaking quickly and with confidence. Try a free French lesson with Babbel and how the app will guide you along your language journey.

Test first lesson of every course for free