Intermediate French

Learn French for free with these free French lessons for intermediate learners! Often with audio recorded by native speakers.

All about “fuir”, a French verb you don’t need to avoid

by 3 Comments Categories French conjugation, French Vocabulary Updated on
A man runs in a field of tall grass or wheat. We see him in the middle ground,the wheat is all around us and at eye level nearly in the foreground.

There’s no need to run away from the French verb fuir! It may look a bit strange, but once you understand its basic meaning, it’s easy to use.  Let’s learn how to conjugate fuir, what it means, and how it differs from its cousin, the verb s’enfuir. Fuir conjugation Fuir is an irregular verb that’s conjugated with …

READ LESSON

Voilà: What’s the meaning of the popular French word?

by 10 Comments Categories French Vocabulary Updated on
An overhead image of three girls pointing at the screen of a laptop computer on a coffee table in front of them. We can only see their legs, feet, and parts of their torsos, as well as their arms. We can see two of the girls are blonde. They are wearing jeans in different colors and sweaters or peasant blouses. The girl in the middle has jeans with large holes in the knees.

Voilà is a word you’ve probably heard at least a few times before, even in languages other than English. But maybe you’re wondering what exactly voilà means, and how to use it in French. Looking for an explanation of all things voilà?  Here it is! What does voilà mean? Voilà essentially means “here or there something/someone is”. By extension, …

READ LESSON

The delicious guide to le goûter and snacking à la française

by 8 Comments Categories French Culture Updated on
Two cookies, perhaps ginger snaps, sit on a black table. One is flat on the table while the other cookie is propped up against the first one.

In a country famous for its pastries and viennoiseries, not to mention cheese, bread, and other goodies, French people have quite the selection of things to snack on! But there’s a twist: In France, it’s usually a no-no for adults to eat between meals. On the other hand, French kids have their own special snack …

READ LESSON

Getting to the bottom of the French words “dessous” and “dessus”

by 4 Comments Categories French Vocabulary Updated on
Three young women in denim jackets stand together with arms linked. We see their upper legs and torsos, up to their necks. We can see that two of the girls are blonde and the other is brunette. They seem to be outdoors, since their hair is blowing in the wind, but we can't make out the background. Below their open jackets, each wears a white t-shirt. Each has painted nails - red, pink, and hot pink, respectively - and each is wearing some kind of jewelry. The woman on the left is wearing a long necklace with a gold pendant. The one in the center is wearing a necklace with stones and a pendant of a ring and leather tie, and the one on the right is wearing a wedding ring and a watch.

In French, you’ll often come across two similar words that are actually each other’s opposite: dessous and dessus. What is the difference between dessous and dessus? What do they mean? And how are they used? Let’s learn about these two sometimes tricky words that can turn the world upside-down! What do dessous and dessus mean? Dessous essentially means “under(it)” or …

READ LESSON

What’s that special something behind the phrase je ne sais quoi?

by 3 Comments Categories French Vocabulary Updated on
In a patch of light, probably the projection of a sunny window onto a gray wall, a woman runs her hand along the wall. The rest of the scene is in darkness. We can make out part of her back and her sleeve. She is wearing a black sequined long-sleeved top.

Je ne sais quoi is a French phrase that’s crossed over into English. But if you’re wondering what it means, you’re not alone. According to Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary, it ranks in the 1% of the site’s most looked-up words.   What does je ne sais quoi  mean? Is it used differently in French and English?  Let’s …

READ LESSON