FlexiLingoIn one line
This area has two halves: public places, and the words used in addresses — and the second half is what you need on forms and when finding your way.
Nouns
Public places
| French | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
la ville | /vil/ | town, city |
le village | /vi.laʒ/ | village |
le quartier | /kaʁ.tje/ | neighbourhood |
le centre-ville | /sɑ̃tʁ vil/ | town centre |
la banlieue | /bɑ̃.ljø/ | suburbs |
la mairie | /mɛ.ʁi/ | town hall |
la poste | /pɔst/ | post office |
la banque | /bɑ̃k/ | bank |
l'école (f.) | /e.kɔl/ | school |
l'université (f.) | /y.ni.vɛʁ.si.te/ | university |
la bibliothèque | /bi.bli.jɔ.tɛk/ | library |
le musée | /my.ze/ | museum |
le théâtre | /te.ɑtʁ/ | theatre |
le cinéma | /si.ne.ma/ | cinema |
l'église (f.) | /e.ɡliz/ | church |
la gare | /ɡaʁ/ | railway station |
l'aéroport (m.) | /a.e.ʁɔ.pɔʁ/ | airport |
l'hôpital (m.) | /o.pi.tal/ | hospital |
le commissariat | /kɔ.mi.sa.ʁja/ | police station |
le parc | /paʁk/ | park |
le stade | /stad/ | stadium |
la piscine | /pi.sin/ | swimming pool |
l'office de tourisme (m.) | /ɔ.fis də tu.ʁism/ | tourist office |
le muséeis masculine despite ending ine. The same forle lycée,le café,le thé— nouns in-éeor-éare not automatically feminine.
Addresses
| French | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
la rue | /ʁy/ | street |
l'avenue (f.) | /av.ny/ | avenue |
le boulevard | /bul.vaʁ/ | boulevard |
la place | /plas/ | square |
le pont | /pɔ̃/ | bridge |
le carrefour | /kaʁ.fuʁ/ | crossroads |
le rond-point | /ʁɔ̃ pwɛ̃/ | roundabout |
le feu les feux | /fø/ | traffic lights |
le trottoir | /tʁɔ.twaʁ/ | pavement |
le passage piéton | /pa.saʒ pje.tɔ̃/ | pedestrian crossing |
le coin | /kwɛ̃/ | corner |
le numéro | /ny.me.ʁo/ | number |
le code postal | /kɔd pɔs.tal/ | postcode |
l'arrêt (m.) | /a.ʁɛ/ | stop |
le parking | /paʁ.kiŋ/ | car park |
le parkingis a car park, not the act of parking. A Frenchparkingis the place.le campingworks the same way — it is the campsite.
Verbs
| Verb | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
habiter à | /a.bi.te a/ | to live in |
se trouver | /sə tʁu.ve/ | to be located |
être situé | /ɛtʁ si.tɥe/ | to be situated |
aller à | /a.le a/ | to go to |
passer par | /pa.se paʁ/ | to go via |
traverser | /tʁa.vɛʁ.se/ | to cross |
visiter | /vi.zi.te/ | to visit (a place) |
se garer | /sə ɡa.ʁe/ | to park |
sortir | /sɔʁ.tiʁ/ | to go out |
se promener | /sə pʁɔm.ne/ | to go for a walk |
visiteris for places,rendre visite àis for people.Je visite le muséebutJe rends visite à ma tante.
Adjectives
| Masculine | Feminine | English |
|---|---|---|
grand /ɡʁɑ̃/ | grande /ɡʁɑ̃d/ | big |
animé /a.ni.me/ | animée /a.ni.me/ | lively |
calme /kalm/ | calme /kalm/ | quiet |
historique /is.to.ʁik/ | historique /is.to.ʁik/ | historic |
moderne /mo.dɛʁn/ | moderne /mo.dɛʁn/ | modern |
piéton /pje.tɔ̃/ | piétonne /pje.tɔn/ | pedestrianised |
central /sɑ̃.tʁal/ | centrale /sɑ̃.tʁal/ | central |
proche /pʁɔʃ/ | proche /pʁɔʃ/ | nearby |
bruyant /bʁɥi.jɑ̃/ | bruyante /bʁɥi.jɑ̃t/ | noisy |
propre /pʁɔpʁ/ | propre /pʁɔpʁ/ | clean |
Set phrases
| French | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
Où se trouve… ? | /u sə tʁuv/ | where is…? |
Il y a une banque près d'ici ? | /i.lja yn bɑ̃k pʁɛ di.si/ | is there a bank near here? |
au coin de la rue | /o kwɛ̃ də la ʁy/ | on the corner |
en face de | /ɑ̃ fas də/ | opposite |
à côté de | /a ko.te də/ | next to |
au bout de la rue | /o bu də la ʁy/ | at the end of the street |
de l'autre côté | /də lotʁ ko.te/ | on the other side |
dans le centre | /dɑ̃ lə sɑ̃tʁ/ | in the town centre |
en banlieue | /ɑ̃ bɑ̃.ljø/ | in the suburbs |
Ça se trouve où ? | /sa sə tʁuv u/ | whereabouts is it? |
Traps
| Trap | Explanation |
|---|---|
| No preposition in an address | J'habite rue Victor Hugo, not dans la rue |
la place means both a square and a seat | une place de parking une place au théâtre. |
la bibliothèque is a library | A bookshop is la librairie. |
le feu in the singular means fire | Traffic lights are usually plural: aux feux. |
la banlieue is not neutral | In France it often implies a deprived area — unlike English "suburbs". |
le coin means both corner and neighbourhood | dans le coin means "round here". |
| The number comes before the street | 12, rue de la Paix — with a comma. |
la banlieuedeserves a warning. English "suburbs" suggests comfortable houses and gardens. Frenchbanlieuefrequently carries the opposite connotation — high-rise estates and social difficulty.Il habite en banlieueis not a neutral statement in the way "he lives in the suburbs" is. For the neutral sense, sayen périphérieor name the town.
Writing a French address
the order you need on every form
A French address has a fixed order:
| Line | Example | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| name | Marie Dupont | /ma.ʁi dy.pɔ̃/ |
| street | 12, rue de la Paix | /duz ʁy də la pɛ/ |
| details | Appartement 3B | /a.paʁ.tə.mɑ̃ tʁwa be/ |
| postcode and town | M5V 2T6 TORONTO | /ɛm sɛ̃k ve dø te si to.ʁɔ̃.to/ |
| country | CANADA | /ka.na.da/ |
| Line | What goes there |
|---|---|
| 1 | name |
| 2 | number, comma, type of road, name |
| 3 | details — floor, flat |
| 4 | postcode, then the town in capitals |
| 5 | country |
Three differences from an English-language address:
1. The number is followed by a comma — 12, rue de la Paix. English writes "12 Rue de la Paix" with no comma.
2. The postcode comes before the town, on the same line — the reverse of the North American convention and different from British practice, where the postcode goes last.
3. The town is written in capitals — a postal convention, not emphasis.
And the type of road is lowercase while the street's own name is capitalised: rue Victor Hugo. English capitalises both: "Victor Hugo Street".
In speech there is no preposition either:
J'habite rue de la Paix.— notdans la rue de la PaixJ'habite au 12, rue de la Paix.— with a number,auappears
English says "I live on Rue de la Paix" or "in Rue de la Paix". French says nothing at all.