French for Beginners: Lesson 1 - Greetings

Instructor

• Clara from Leo, East of France
• Native French Teacher

Objective

• Learn basic greetings and introductions in French

Key Vocabulary

Bonjour

• Meaning: Hello (used for both Good morning and Good afternoon)
• Pronunciation: /bɔ̃ˈʒuʀ/
• Breakdown:
  • 'o' and 'n' together sounds like /ɔ̃/
  • 'o' and 'u' sounds like /u/

Introducing Yourself

• "Je m'appelle [Your Name]"
  • Meaning: I call myself [Your Name]
  • Pronunciation: /ʒə mapɛl [Your Name]/

Asking Someone's Name

• "Comment t'appelles-tu?"
  • Meaning: How do you call yourself? (What is your name?)
  • Phonetic:
    • 'e' and 'n' together sounds like /ɑ̃/
    • Open mouth wider for 'e' and 'n'
  • Pronunciation: /kɔmɑ̃ tapɛl ty/

Nice to Meet You

• "Enchanté" or "Enchantée"
  • Meaning: Nice to meet you
  • Note: Add 'e' for feminine form
  • Pronunciation: /ɑ̃ʃɑ̃te/

Expanding Greetings

Good Evening

• "Bonsoir"
  • Pronunciation: /bɔ̃swaʀ/
  • Breakdown: 'o' and 'i' together sounds like /ʃwa/

Good Night

• "Bonne nuit"
  • Pronunciation: /bɔn nɥi/
  • Note: 'Bonne' changes to match the feminine noun 'nuit'

Asking How Someone Is

How are you?

• "Comment vas-tu?"
  • Meaning: How are you? (Literally, how are you going?)
  • Pronunciation: /kɔmɑ̃ va ty/

Responding

• "Je vais bien, merci.
  • Meaning: I am doing well, thank you.
• Pronunciation: /ʒə vɛ bjɛ̃ mɛʀsi/
• "Et toi?"
  • Meaning: And you? (Literally, and yourself?)
  • Pronunciation: /e twa/

Saying Goodbye

• "Au revoir"
  • Meaning: Goodbye
  • Breakdown:
    • 'Au' stands for 'to'
    • 'Revoir' stands for 'see again'
  • Pronunciation: /o ʀəvwaʀ/
• "À bientôt"
  • Meaning: See you soon
  • Pronunciation: /a bjɛ̃to/

Practice Conversations

1. Starting a Conversation

   • Speaker 1 (Black): Bonjour. Je m’appelle Clara. Enchantée.
   • Speaker 2 (Red): Bonjour. Je m’appelle [Your Name]. Enchanté (or Enchantée).

2. Evening Conversation

   • Speaker 1 (Black): Bonsoir. Comment vas-tu?
   • Speaker 2 (Red): Je vais bien, merci. Et toi?

3. Goodbye

   • Speaker 1 (Black): Au revoir.
   • Speaker 2 (Red): À bientôt.

Review

• Repeat the key phrases and practice pronunciation.
• Try to engage in simple conversations using the newly learned phrases.