The Fastest Path to French

Your native‑language playbook to speak sooner, understand more, and actually enjoy the process.

Leverage what you already know Fix the 3 sound anchors Use the 1,000 (and beyond)

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How this guide works

Leverage transfer. We start with what maps from your language: cognates, international words, structure.
Lock the sound anchors. Three quick pillars: nasal vowels, liaison, melody — the rest falls into place.
Use the 1,000 — and beyond. The top ~1,000 cover most daily speech. We get you there fast, then keep going with phrases and themed packs.
Play short, win big. 15‑second encounters, spaced right. Progress sneaks up on you.

Formation timeline

Watch how Latin in Gaul meets Gaulish and Frankish, then flows into Old → Middle → Modern French.

Gaulish Ancient Celtic in Gaul; left place names and subtle sound traces.

Frankish Germanic influence from the Franks; vocabulary and consonant patterns.

Vulgar Latin The everyday Latin that became Gallo‑Romance → Old French.

French Explorer

Roots, relationships, and neat cross‑language patterns — a fun rabbit hole for the curious.

[Explorer preview: lineage, cognates, mini‑graphs]

Open the French Explorer →

Essentials you can use today

Most‑used words (a taste)

le/la • de • être • et • à • en • un/une • avoir • que • pour

dans • ce/cet/cette • il/elle • qui • ne • sur • se • pas • plus • pouvoir

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Starter phrases

Bonjour / Bonsoir • Salut

Merci (beaucoup) • S’il vous plaît • Excusez‑moi

Je voudrais… • Où est… ? • Combien ça coûte ?

Je ne parle pas bien français • Parlez‑vous anglais ?

Au revoir • À bientôt

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How French sounds (friendly)

Nasal vowels

Hum gently; steady and soft. Contrast slowly: an/en • in • on • un. Avoid a hard ‘ng’ ending.

Liaison

Final consonants often go silent (petit, grand, vous) — but link before a vowel: vous‿avez, les‿amis.

Melody

Smooth phrases over punchy stress. Keep it legato; shadow tiny lines for 30–60 seconds.

Read the pronunciation guide →

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Quick facts

Modern French descends from Gallo‑Romance, with notable Frankish influence.
French was the language of diplomacy in Europe for centuries.
Spelling preserves history — many silent letters reflect earlier sounds.
English borrowed massively from French after 1066 (law, cuisine, government).

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French, English, German — one glance

Latin roots cœur • cord‑ • heart • Herz

Family words frère • brother • Bruder

Borrowings beef • bœuf

Same Indo‑European family; English mixes a Germanic base with heavy French/Latin vocabulary.

Misconceptions

“French is just Latin with a new accent.” — Latin‑based, yes, but reshaped by Celtic/Germanic layers and sound shifts.
“French spelling makes no sense.” — It encodes history; patterns appear with liaison, silent finals, and nasal vowels.
“English and French aren’t related.” — Both Indo‑European; English blends Germanic base with huge French/Latin input.

Deeper dives

French Lineage • Latin → Romance • Pronunciation

Master the first 1,000 — and beyond

Get fluent‑feeling fast with playful, 15‑second encounters

~80–90% of everyday speech comes from the most common ~1,000 words. LingoCrush gets you there quickly — then keeps going with phrases and themed packs that stick.

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