French by construction
French · The method

Bricks, rules, and sentences of your own.

Every word you learn is a reusable brick. Checked rules combine them: you build correct sentences you never learnt by heart, then you transform them, listen to them and meet them again in real situations.

The method

Six families of bricks

Every word comes with its phonetic transcription (IPA), its audio and a meaning in context.

People
jeʒə tuty ilil elleɛl nousnu

Subject pronouns are compulsory: the verb alone is not enough.

Actions
boirebwaʁ mangermɑ̃ʒe allerale avoiravwaʁ aimereme

Common verbs, conjugated according to the person. Several forms are spelt differently but sound the same.

Objects and places
théte eauo painpɛ̃ Francefʁɑ̃s restaurantʁɛstoʁɑ̃

Every noun has a gender (le, la). The article changes with the meaning: du thé, le thé.

Operators
ne … pasnə … pa ouiwi oùu quoikwa aussiosi

The negation goes around the verb: ne + verb + pas.

Patterns
Je bois du théS + V + O Je voudrais boirevouloir + inf. Est-ce que tu bois ?est-ce que …

The rules for putting bricks together. Nothing is glued word for word.

Sounds
ouu uy anɑ̃ onɔ̃ rʁ

Nasal vowels, a u and an r that take practice, and lots of silent letters.

In real life

The same bricks, everywhere

At a restaurant, on the move or meeting someone new, a few bricks are enough to make yourself understood.

bistro counter, coffee
At the café
Je voudrais un café, s’il vous plaît.ʒə vudʁɛ œ̃ kafe sil vu plɛI’d like a coffee, please.
Paris metro platform
Getting around
Où est le métro ?u ɛ lə metʁoWhere is the metro?
meeting in a Parisian garden
Meeting people
Tu aimes la France ?ty ɛm la fʁɑ̃sDo you like France?
A session

Fifteen minutes a day

Adjustable from 5 to 30 minutes. Missing a day costs you nothing: your progress waits for you.

Learner with earphones, phone in hand
3 min
Review
Today’s reviews, spaced according to how well you did.
4 min
New bricks
Two or three words, with their audio and phonetic transcription.
5 min
Build
Five sentences to build or transform, with mistakes explained.
3 min
Listen
A question you hear, an answer to give.
an evening with friends in a bistro

Lay your first brick.

Choose your goal and your pace, and the first lesson starts straight away.

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