Language of the Day: Common French Phrases
Canada is a bilingual country with two official languages: English and French! Let’s look at some common French phrases. Fun fact, in French the word “mosaic” is “mosaïque!”
Students in Canada start learning French in school by Grade 4 when they are 8 or 9 years old, if not earlier. Most official documents and signs, as well as text on packages are written in both languages.
And if you’ve ever been to the province of Quebec, including Montreal and Quebec City, you will have noticed that French is spoken much more widely than English.
Although English and French both use the roman alphabet and share some similar words, they are very different languages, especially the grammar structure and pronunciation!
Here are some of the most common French phrases:
“Bonjour” means “hello” or “good day”
“Bonsoir” means “good evening” and is pronounced ‘bon-swar’
“Au revoir” which is pronounced ‘oh- ri-vwaw’ means “goodbye”
“Je m'appelle” means “My name is" and is pronounced ‘juh-muh-pell’
“Merci” which is pronounced ‘mayer-see’ means “thank you”
“Merci beaucoup” means “thank you very much.” “Beaucoup” is pronounced ‘bo-coo’
“Excusez-moi” means “excuse me” and is pronounced ‘excuse eh-mwaa’ which sounds similar to the English version.
“Je ne comprends pas” means “I do not understand” and is pronounced ‘juh-nuh-cawm-praw-pa.’ Here is word “comprends” is similar to the English word “comprehend” which also means “understand!”
