FlexiLingoIn one line
This area has two halves: the words you say in conversation, and the words you see on forms — and the second half matters more in exams and in administrative life.
Nouns
In conversation
| French | Pronunciation | English | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
le nom | /nɔ̃/ | surname | A1 |
le prénom | /pʁe.nɔ̃/ | first name | A1 |
l'âge (m.) | /ɑʒ/ | age | A1 |
l'adresse (f.) | /a.dʁɛs/ | address | A1 |
le numéro de téléphone | /ny.me.ʁo də te.le.fɔn/ | phone number | A1 |
l'e-mail (m.) | /i.mɛl/ | A1 | |
le courriel | /ku.ʁjɛl/ | email — the formal form | A2 |
la nationalité | /na.sjɔ.na.li.te/ | nationality | A1 |
la profession | /pʁɔ.fɛ.sjɔ̃/ | occupation | A1 |
le métier | /me.tje/ | trade, job | A1 |
la langue | /lɑ̃ɡ/ | language | A1 |
la ville | /vil/ | town, city | A1 |
le pays | /pe.i/ | country | A1 |
On official forms
| French | Pronunciation | English | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
le nom de famille | /nɔ̃ də fa.mij/ | surname | A2 |
le nom de jeune fille | /nɔ̃ də ʒøn fij/ | maiden name | B1 |
la date de naissance | /dat də nɛ.sɑ̃s/ | date of birth | A1 |
le lieu de naissance | /ljø də nɛ.sɑ̃s/ | place of birth | A2 |
l'état civil (m.) | /e.ta si.vil/ | marital status | B1 |
le sexe | /sɛks/ | sex | A2 |
la signature | /si.ɲa.tyʁ/ | signature | A2 |
la pièce d'identité | /pjɛs di.dɑ̃.ti.te/ | proof of identity | A2 |
la carte d'identité | /kaʁt di.dɑ̃.ti.te/ | identity card | A1 |
le passeport | /pas.pɔʁ/ | passport | A1 |
le permis de conduire | /pɛʁ.mi də kɔ̃.dɥiʁ/ | driving licence | A2 |
le code postal | /kɔd pɔs.tal/ | postcode | A1 |
Marital status
| French | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
célibataire | /se.li.ba.tɛʁ/ | single |
marié(e) | /ma.ʁje/ | married |
divorcé(e) | /di.vɔʁ.se/ | divorced |
veuf veuve | /vœf/ · /vœv/ | widowed |
pacsé(e) | /pak.se/ | in a civil partnership |
en couple | /ɑ̃ kupl/ | in a relationship |
Verbs
| Verb | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
s'appeler | /sa.pə.le/ | to be called |
avoir … ans | /a.vwaʁ ɑ̃/ | to be … years old |
habiter à habiter en | /a.bi.te a/ · /a.bi.te ɑ̃/ | to live in |
venir de | /və.niʁ də/ | to come from |
naître | /nɛtʁ/ | to be born |
parler | /paʁ.le/ | to speak |
travailler comme | /tʁa.va.je/ | to work as |
se présenter | /sə pʁe.zɑ̃.te/ | to introduce oneself |
épeler | /e.ple/ | to spell out |
remplir | /ʁɑ̃.pliʁ/ | to fill in (a form) |
Adjectives
| Masculine | Feminine | English |
|---|---|---|
français /fʁɑ̃.sɛ/ | française /fʁɑ̃.sɛz/ | French |
canadien /ka.na.djɛ̃/ | canadienne /ka.na.djɛn/ | Canadian |
étranger /e.tʁɑ̃.ʒe/ | étrangère /e.tʁɑ̃.ʒɛʁ/ | foreign |
né /ne/ | née /ne/ | born |
jeune /ʒœn/ | jeune /ʒœn/ | young |
âgé /a.ʒe/ | âgée /a.ʒe/ | elderly |
majeur /ma.ʒœʁ/ | majeure /ma.ʒœʁ/ | of age (18+) |
mineur /mi.nœʁ/ | mineure /mi.nœʁ/ | under age |
Set phrases
| French | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
Comment vous appelez-vous ? | /kɔ.mɑ̃ vu.z‿a.ple vu/ | what is your name? |
Je m'appelle… | /ʒə ma.pɛl/ | my name is |
Quel âge avez-vous ? | /kɛ.l‿ɑʒ a.ve vu/ | how old are you? |
J'ai trente ans. | /ʒe tʁɑ̃.t‿ɑ̃/ | I'm thirty |
D'où venez-vous ? | /du və.ne vu/ | where are you from? |
Je viens du Canada. | /ʒə vjɛ̃ dy ka.na.da/ | I'm from Canada |
Vous pouvez épeler ? | /vu pu.ve.z‿e.ple/ | could you spell that? |
Ça s'écrit comment ? | /sa se.kʁi kɔ.mɑ̃/ | how is that spelt? |
Je suis né(e) à Toronto. | /ʒə sɥi ne a tɔ.ʁɔn.to/ | I was born in Toronto |
Je suis de nationalité canadienne. | /ʒə sɥi də na.sjo.na.li.te ka.na.djɛn/ | I'm a Canadian national |
Traps
| Trap | Explanation |
|---|---|
nom means surname | The first name is prénom. On a form this distinction is critical. |
Age takes avoir, not être | J'ai 30 ans, not Je suis 30ans is never dropped. |
| No article with a job | Je suis médecin, not un médecinc'est it comes back: C'est un médecin. |
| Languages take a lowercase letter | Je parle français — but the person is capitalised: un Français. |
venir de for origin | Je viens du Canada — with the contraction. For a city: de Toronto. |
e-mail is masculine | un e-mail. The official French form is le courriel, used mostly in Canada. |
personne is feminine, even for a man | Cette personne est arrivée even if the person is male. |
The first row is the one that causes real trouble. English "name" maps onto
nom, and a form asking forNOMthenPRÉNOMlooks like it wants your name and then something else.NOMis your surname. French forms almost always put it first, which is the reverse of the usual English order.
Why forms are listed separately
because administrative vocabulary never comes up in conversation
Words like état civil, lieu de naissance and pièce d'identité never appear in a conversation — but they are on every official form.
And in the exam, the reading section often includes a form or an official letter.
Two words cause the most trouble:
| Word | The trap |
|---|---|
nom | It means surname, not name. Reading it as "name" fills the form in backwards. |
né(e) | On forms, né(e) le… means "born on…". The (e) is for a woman. |
And one cultural point: in France, asking a stranger's age — particularly a woman's — is considered impolite. On a form, yes; in conversation, no.
The same goes for état civil and income. These questions are not asked in a workplace.
The (e) convention is worth recognising in general, because it is everywhere in French forms and signage: né(e), marié(e), étudiant(e). It is the written way of covering both genders in one word — English simply has no equivalent, because its adjectives do not agree.