describing yourself in french essay

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How to Describe Yourself in French

Last Updated: September 9, 2022 Fact Checked

This article was co-authored by Language Academia . Language Academia is a private, online language school founded by Kordilia Foxstone. Kordilia and her team specialize in teaching foreign languages and accent reduction. Language Academia offers courses in several languages, including English, Spanish, and Mandarin. There are 7 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 439,930 times.

Describing yourself is an important skill personally and professionally. You may wish to meet or date someone, get to know a friend better, or present yourself in a professional context. The rules for describing yourself in French are similar to how you would do it in English, but there are a few distinctions to be aware of. Using these guidelines you will have a basic structure that you can expand on to provide a more personalized description of yourself.

Describing your Personality

• The French word for first name is “prenom” (prey–nom). You could say “Mon prénom est...” (mon prey-nom ey) which means “my first name is...”
• The French word for surname is “nom de famille” (nohm dhe fah-mee). In a professional or commercial transaction if someone asks for your "nom" be sure to provide your last name rather than your first.

• Consult a dictionary to find pronunciations of specific numbers.
• You can also describe your age group more generally using the phrase “je suis” (zhe swee) followed by an adjective. “Jeune” (zhuhn) means young. “Vieux” (vee-euh) indicates an elderly man, while “vieille” (vee-ay) indicates an elderly woman. “Je suis jeune” means “I am young.”

• You can also say “my hair is...” followed by a color. The phrase for this is “Mes cheveux sont...” (meh chuh-vuh son). Consult a dictionary for the appropriate color.
• The same construction works to describe your eye color. You would say “Mes yeux sont ...” (mehz-yuh son) which means "my eyes are..." Note that in this case you pronounce the s at the end of “mes” because the next word begins with a vowel.

• “Fort” (for) means strong, while “faible” (febl) means weak.
• “Petit” (petee) for men or “petite” (peteet) for women means small or short.
• “Grand” (grahn) for men or “grande” (grahnd) for women means large or tall.

• Content (cohn-tahn) means happy, while triste (treest) means sad. You would say "je suis triste" to convey "I am sad."
• Fatigué (fah-tee-gay) means tired. You would say “je suis fatigué” to convey "I am tired."

Describing Your Activities

• Male occupations that end with “eur” (euhr) often change to “euse” (euhz) for women. For example, a massage therapist would be either a masseur or a masseuse.
• Male occupations that end in “ier” (ee-ay) often add an extra e to become ière (ee-ehr) for women. A farmer would be either a fermier or a fermière.
• Male occupations that end in a consonant may add an extra e to become feminine. For example, a male student is an “étudiant” (ay-tood-eeon) while a female student is an "étudiante" (ay-tood-eeont). Note that the final consonant is pronounced only in the female form.
• Many occupations have only one form, regardless of gender, such as "professeur" which means teacher.

• “I like” is “j’aime” (zhehm). "I love" is “j’adore” (zha-dor). “J’aime lire” (zhehm leer) means “I like to read.”
• The words “ne” and “pas” on either side of the verb negate the phrase, indicating dislike. "I do not like" is “je n’aime pas” (zhe nem pah). “Je n’aime pas chanter” (zhe nem pas chan-tay) means “I do not like to sing.”

• Mon (mohn) or ma (mah) are used as possessives, when you wish to indicate that you like something that belongs to you. Mes (meh) indicates a possessive plural. [5] X Research source
• Mon is used when the noun is masculine, indicated in the dictionary by the letter m. “J’aime mon chat” means "I like my cat." Note that it does not matter if you are male, it matters that cat (chat) is a masculine noun.
• Ma is used when the noun is feminine, indicated in the dictionary by the letter f. “J’aime ma tante” means "I like my aunt." Again, it matters that aunt is a feminine noun, not that you are a man or a woman.
• Mes indicates a possessive plural noun, such as “my aunts” or “my cats.” You would say “j’aime mes tantes” or “j’aime mes chats.” [6] X Research source

• If this is too challenging it may be easier to use the above recommendations for sharing hobbies, simply saying “I like sports” or “j’aime les sports.”
• This construction also works to describe personality traits. For example gentil/gentille (zhantee/zhanteel) means nice. You would say “je suis gentil” if you are a man or "je suis gentille" for a woman.

Printable Phrase Guides

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• ↑ https://omniglot.com/language/phrases/french.php
• ↑ https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/zjx947h/articles/z7ftwty
• ↑ https://ecampusontario.pressbooks.pub/frenchcopy/chapter/2-4-the-verb-etre/
• ↑ http://www.languageguide.org/french/grammar/gender/
• ↑ http://www.thefrenchexperiment.com/learn-french/possessive-adjectives.php
• ↑ https://www.lawlessfrench.com/grammar/possessive-adjectives/
• ↑ http://www.languageguide.org/french/grammar/adjectives/

About This Article

To describe yourself in French, start by learning some of the basic French phrases for introducing yourself, like “Je m’appelle” and “Je suis” to tell people your name and something about yourself. For example, “Je suis blonde” tells people that you’re a blonde, while “Je suis fatigué” means “I’m tired!” To talk about your interests, use the word “J’aime” to say that you love or like something! Scroll down to learn how to use the appropriate adjectives for your gender! Did this summary help you? Yes No

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LinguaJunkie.com

A very cranky language blogger dishing out brutal language tips.

How to Introduce Yourself in French in 10+ Lines + Audio

Want to speak French? Yes? Good – keep reading.

This is for those that truly want to learn the language. Here’s how you introduce yourself in French in 10 easy lines… and this might take you 2 to 3 minutes or less. You can also listen to audio by pressing the play button.

There’s also a PDF for these phrases at the end!

But if you’re JUST looking for the ONE French phrase, it’s this:

• My name is ______.
• Je m’appelle ______.

1) Bonjour, enchanté(e) de faire votre connaissance.

“Hello” and “Nice to meet you” are must-know phrases. Any introduction will probably will start with these words.

• Hello, it’s nice to meet you.
• Bonjour, enchanté(e) de faire votre connaissance.

You should also listen and hear real French – Press play below. Try this Free Lesson from FrenchPod101.com (click here to visit) for the complete explanation about introducing yourself!

Press play to listen below.

Now, let’s say someone asks for your name in French.

They would say….

2) Comment t’appelles-tu?

• What’s your name?
• Comment t’appelles-tu?

3) Je m’appelle ______.

This is simple. To say “my name is” in French, you just need the phrase “Je m’appelle.” Then say your name. For example, if the name is Linguajunkie, it would be like this…

• Je m’appelle Linguajunkie.

Here’s another example:

• Je m’appelle Robert. Comment t’appelles tu ?
• My name is Robert. What’s your name?

4) Je viens de ____.

So, where are you from? America? Europe? Africa? Asia? Just stick the name of your country inside this phrase. We’ll use France as an example.

• Je viens de France .
• I’m from France .

5) J’habite à ______.

What about now – where do you live? Just fill in the blank with the country or city (if famous) into this phrase. I’ll use Paris as an example.

• J’habite à Paris .
• I live in Paris .

6) J’apprends le français depuis _____.

How long have you been learning French for? A month? A year?

• J’apprends le français depuis un an .
• I’ve been learning French for a year .

7) J’apprends le français sur _____.

Where are you learning French? At school? At home? This would be a great line to know and use when you’re introducing yourself. Here’s my example:

• J’apprends le français sur FrenchPod101.com .
• I’m learning French at FrenchPod101.com .

8) J’ai  ___  ans.

Here’s how to say how old you are in French. Just add the number in. You will want to know French numbers from 1 to 100 , so click the link to review and find out how to say your age in French.

• J’ai      ans.
• J’ai 27 ans.
• I’m 27 years old .

9) Je suis ______.

What about your position? Are you a student? Yoga teacher? Lawyer for the potato industry? Potato salesman? Super important question that people like to ask (and judge you about – Hey, I’m just a blogger! ). Just use “ani” meaning “I” and add your position.

• Je suis enseignant (e).
• I’m a teacher .

Here are some examples of other jobs:

• ingénieur – engineer
• programmeur – programmar
• infirmière – nurse
• professeur – professor
• employé de bureau – office worker/clerk
• ouvrier de société – company worker
• gérant – manager
• secrétaire – secretary
• docteur – doctor
• agent comptable – accountant
• officier de police – police officer
• pompier – firefighter
• avocat – lawyer
• cuisinier – cook

10) Un de mes passe-temps est la lecture. _____.

Now, let’s move onto personal interests – hobbies! My hobbies are languages, linguajunkieing and such. How about you? You’ll definitely need this line when introducing yourself in French.

Here’s an example to use:

• Un de mes passe-temps est la lecture.
• One of my hobbies is reading.

11) J’aime écouter de la musique.

Now, this is just another example line about your hobbies . You can use something else where.

• J’aime écouter de la musique.
• I enjoy listening to music.

So now you know how to introduce yourself in French.

Remember, if there’s only ONE phrase you’ll remember me, Lingajunkie, let it be:

If you want a French PDF lesson for this Introductions lesson, check out the link below. You can download it for free.

Let’s recap the French phrases for self-introduction:

I’m sure there’s a ton more you can say – but this is an easy, simple start that any beginner can put to use. It’s all about starting easy. Here are the French lines for your self-introduction.

See if you can introduce yourself below. Leave me a comment.

I read all comments!

Hope you enjoyed this!

– The Main Junkie

P.S. I highly recommend this for French learners. If you REALLY want to learn French with effective lessons by real teachers – Sign up for free at FrenchPod101 (click here) and start learning!

Merci,this helps alot

Wow I love this it help a lot

Merci beaucoup

merci becoup

I found this very useful as I prepare myself for the oral test thanx for this

how to say daddy in french

THANKS FOR THIS!!

merci madam

how do you say ” I am taking 6 classes this semester” ?

merci bonjour je m’appelle Malveer J’habite a mosh

um…could you write an introduction for students?????

[…] learn bonus lines for introducing yourself in French in part […]

Bonjour , enchante de faire votre connaissance. je m’appelle Gloria Ewoigbe . Je viens de Nigeria. J’ai 17 ans. J’habite ‘a England . J’apprends Francais depuis trois mois. j’apprends Francais ‘a mon Ecole, ma maison et sur French pod 101 .com un de mes passe -temps est la lecture. J’aime ecouter la Chritienne musique . J’aime Paris repas il est de’licious. Je suis une etudiante . Aussi J’aime Dieu. Et Toi? qui es -tu?

[…] This next section of French phrases contains basics you’d need for conversations. Like, how to say “yes,” “thank you,” “how are you,” or even introduce yourself in French. […]

whats up yo

Thank you for helping

It was not easy and unable to understand for a 7 class child

Very nice! I love it! It helped me a lot!!

Wow I can’t read?

agréable de vous rencontrer copains

Mille merci

Merci, C’est tres simple et utile 😉

How To Talk About Yourself in French (many audio examples)

Talking about yourself in French can be fun if you're hanging out with French speaking friends, students or co-workers.

The situations of life in which you need to present yourself are countless : school, job interviews, professional meetings, administrative stuff, social encounters, dating ...

Introducing yourself in French, that is, saying out your name, age, home country, occupation etc, is not so different than in your native language.

Where things start to differ from culture to culture, is what you actually choose to say about yourself as a French speaker.  And of course the way you choose to say it.

For example, French people often find it unpleasant when a person is talking about him/herself in a self-confident way, which they often consider as bragging.  E.g, talking openly about your qualities or achievements.

In this article, we hear Fred, a French guy, talking about himself, perhaps recording a quick presentation video for a social website.  After hearing the presentation, we comment the spoken French phrases and expressions he's using.

Here's Fred's presentation :

Salut, moi c'est Fred, j'ai 36 ans, je suis de Toulouse, diplômé d'une école de commerce. Je suis commercial chez un concessionnaire auto. Je suis du genre extraverti, sociable, j'adore les contacts. Mon trip à moi, c'est de sortir, m'amuser, mater le foot avec les potes, délirer avec les filles... Je suis quelqu'un de cool, je n'aime pas me prendre la tête.  Je laisse couler ! Je suis célibataire. j'ai été avec quelqu'un pendant deux ans, mais ça n'a pas marché. Je ne supportais plus ses reproches, pourquoi tu fais ci, pourquoi tu fais pas ça ... Sur mon lieu de travail, je vois souvent passer de jolis petits lots... Et sur Facebook aussi. Mon job, c'est pas ma vie.  Je fais mon boulot, je ne cherche pas midi à 14h. Mon chef est du genre chicaneur, alors que moi je suis plutôt zen. Je n'aime pas trop les objectifs, les évaluations, et les patrons prise de tête. Je ne suis pas non plus très fan des clients qui posent des tonnes de questions !

Listen to the audio :

And here's the English version :

Hey, Fred here, 36, from Toulouse, business school graduate. I work as a salesman at a car dealership. I'm the extraverted type, social guy, I love contacts. I get kicks from going out, having fun, watching soccer with my boys, hanging out with the girls... I'm  a mellow person,  don't like to complicate things.  I just let things roll. I'm single.  I was involved with someone for two years, but it didn't work out. Could no longer stand her complaints, why are you doing this, why don't you do that ... In my workplace I see some hot little numbers go by ... And on Facebook as well. My job is not my life.  I do my work, I try not to complicate things too much. My boss is kind of a nitpicker, whereas I'm more of an easy-going person. I'm not crazy about sales quotas, evaluations, and picky managers. Nor am I a big fan of customers who ask tons of questions !

Talking about yourself in French : who you are, basic information

Fred starts his talk by introducing himself : his name, his age, his home town, his education.

For his name, he uses the phrase :

"Salut, moi c'est Fred"

This is a colloquial way in French to introduce oneself, a bit like saying "Hey, Fred here !"  When talking about yourself, you would only use " Moi c'est ... " in very informal and relaxed situations, e.g. a friend circle.  Otherwise, you would use a more classic :

"Je m'appelle Fred"  or "Mon nom est Fred"

For his age, he could have gone on using an informal style by omitting "j'ai" :

"Salut, moi c'est Fred, 36 ans ..."  (I'm Fred, 36.)

He says "je suis de Toulouse", I'm from Toulouse.  Other ways he could have said it include :

"Je viens de Toulouse" (I come from Toulouse) or "Je suis toulousain"  (I'm a "Toulousan")

He then adds :

"diplômé d'une école de commerce"  (I have a degree from a business school)

Note he omits "je suis" this time.  It's worth noting that the French are highly averse to repeating words - word repetition is considered a very bad thing in French.   French speakers always look for alternative words or phrases to avoid repetition, even if that affects the clarity of the sentence.

For example, in a news report in French about the president of the United States, the journalist will say "the President of the United States" once, but will then refer to him as "the tenant of the White House", or other similar contrived phrases .

Here, the offending phrase would be "je suis", which was already used in "je suis de Toulouse".

There are lots of "ecoles de commerce" (business / management schools) all over France, from small, less competitive ones, to top prestigious schools such as H.E.C. and INSEAD.   Business and Engineering are two of the most common degrees college graduates earn.

Fred goes on saying :

"Je suis commercial chez un concessionnaire auto".

When talking about yourself and your occupation in French, you typically use the construct " être + occupation " :

"Je suis entrepreneur" (I'm an entrepreneur)

"Elle est boulangère"  (she's a baker)

"Il est jardinier"  (he's a gardener)

Click here for more examples on discussing your occupation at a cocktail party.

Note he uses the phrase "concessionnaire auto" ( car dealership).  Native French speakers love to shorten words in everyday spoken French, here "concessionnaire auto" is short for "concessionnaire automobile".

Click here for more word shortening examples in spoken French.

Talking about yourself in French : your personality and tastes

Referring to himself, he says :

"Je suis du genre extraverti"  (I'm the extraverted kind)

"Etre du genre" is frequently used in spoken French when talking about yourself or someone else, to mean being of a certain type  :

"Je suis du genre poli"  : I'm the polite type

"Elle est du genre timide"  : she's a shy kind of girl

"Ils sont du genre stressé"  : they are the stressed out kind

We also use " je suis plutôt + adjective "  for a similar meaning :

"Je suis plutôt calme (comme garçon)"  :  I'm more of a quiet boy

Or, combining the two constructs, you can say :

"Il est plutôt du genre nerveux !"  (he's more of the nervous type)

The phrase  "j'adore les contacts" is commonly used in French to mean "I love social interactions" - an important aspect of a person's personality, both in the personal or professional realm.

Fred then starts a sentence with :

" mon trip, c'est  ... "

This is a colloquial French phrase to say : the things that I like, the things that make me tick, my thing is.  A phrase you may often employ when talking about yourself :

"Son trip c'est le sport !"  (sports are what makes her tick)

"C'est quoi ton trip dans la vie ?"   (what's your thing in life ? What do you like ?)

"Moi,  mon trip, c'est la danse"  (danse is my thing)

Fred is a party guy, likes to go out and have fun :

"Sortir, m'amuser"  (go out, have fun)

Another way to say "sortir" is "faire la fête" (to party) :

"J'adore faire la fête !"

He could have used "s'éclater" instead of "s'amuser" :

"J'aime m'éclater"  (I like to have fun, have a ball)

As he talks about himself and the things he likes to do, he says :

"Mon trip, c'est de mater le foot avec les potes"

The verb " mater " is a very colloquial, even slanguy French word for "to watch".   It's often used in slang to mean "check out", often in the context of checking out girls / guys :

"Il n'arrête pas de mater les filles"  (he keeps checking out the girls)

"Arrête de mater !"  (stop staring !)

In our dialogue, there's no sexual connotation, but using the verb "mater" sounds cooler and more relaxed, a reference to the population that most frequently uses these words, i.e. the "cool and tough" youth population in rough city areas.

French speakers frequently say :

"On va mater un film ?"  (shall we watch a movie ?)

or "on va se mater un film ?"

"On mate un petit match de tennis" (we're watching a tennis game for a little while)

Fred likes to watch soccer games with his friends :

"avec les potes"

The word " pote " is another colloquial French term for friends, buddies, pals :

"Je vais au restau avec un pote"  (I'm going to the restaurant with a buddy)

"Avec des potes on part en Grèce"  (with my buddies we're going to Greece)

Saying " avec les potes " (vs. "avec mes potes") is like saying "with the boys", or if it's a woman speaking, "with the girls", suggesting your everyday friends.

He also says "délirer avec les filles", which in French literally means talking crazy with the girls, talk nonsense, babble, rave.  The expression " délirer " normally refers to being delirious, but is often used in spoken French to mean hanging out and talking about fun stuff.

So here, "délirer avec les filles" really means "hanging out with the girls".

Other examples :

"On s'est posé et on a déliré pendant deux heures"  (we hung our and talked about fun stuff for 2 hours)

"On a bien déliré à propos de musique"  (we talked away about music)

"On s'est fait un délire toute la soirée"  (we talked about fun stuff all evening)

The phrase "se faire un délire" is often used instead of just "délirer".

Fred then says :

"Je suis quelqu'un de cool"

French speakers often use " je suis quelqu'un (de, qui) " when talking about themselves, referring to themselves in the third person.  For example, you may talk about yourself saying :

"Je suis quelqu'un de très patient"  (I'm a very patient person)

"C'est quelqu'un de très ponctuel"  (she's a very puntual person)

"je suis quelqu'un qui n'aime pas les disputes  (I don't like arguments)

French people are often keen on being modest, and quite averse to what they see as bragging.  So, when talking about yourself, using "je suis quelqu'un de (+ adjective)" will often be perceived as more pleasant than "je suis (+ adjective)", because it's a more indirect way of referring to your own self  : you're NOT the center of the universe !

Click here for more about why you need to be modest in French.

Fred also adds :

"Je n'aime pas me prendre la tête."

In colloquial spoken French, the phrase " se prendre la tête ", possibly a reference to the gesture of holding your head when dealing with a complex issue, is a very colloquial expression for saying : to make simple things more complicated than they are, or to worry about things too much.

So Fred is saying he doesn't like to complicate his life by worrying about things unuyly. In other words, he lets things slide.

" je laisse couler "  (I let things slide, flow, I don't get hung up about anything)

Note that "se prendre la tête avec quelqu'un" means to have an argument, a quarrel, with someone.

Talking about yourself in French : your love life

He then goes on to talk about his love life.  He's currently single, but hasn't always been :

"j'ai été avec quelqu'un pendant deux ans"  (I was with someone for 2 years)

When talking about yourself and your relationship status in French, you typically use " être avec " for being in a relationship :

"Je suis avec une française en ce moment"  (I'm dating / going out with a French woman these days)

"Je suis avec quelqu'un depuis longtemps"  (I've been in a relationship for a long time)

Note how "être avec" translates literally to "to be with" in English, which has a similar meaning.  To clearly express the notion of a relationship, you typically add an element of time in the sentence ("depuis longtemps").

Fred doesn't say "depuis deux ans" but " pendant deux ans", because his relationship has already ended - another cue is his use of "j'ai été" (passé composé).

He then adds "mais ça n'a pas marché"  (it didn't work out)

The phrase "ça marche" (and "ça marche pas") is extremely common in everydat colloquial French.  You use " ça marche /   ça a marché " (or negative) to express that something succeeded or failed :

"Ça a marché tes exams ?"  (did your exams work out well ?)  Note the shortened word "exam", normally "examen".

"Ça marche le boulot ?"  (is your work going well ?)

"J'ai posé ma candidature mais ça n'a pas marché"  (I applied but it didn't work out)

Note that it's particularly common in French to use "ça n'a pas marché" when referring to a relationship.

In everyday spoken French, you'll also hear the phrase "ça marche" used for "OK", "sure", "deal", or "see ya" :

"On se voit demain ?"  "Ça marche !"  (shall we meet tomorrow ? Sure)

"Bon à plus tard !"  "Ça marche !"  (see you later !  See you)

Fred then explains why his relationship ended :

"Je ne supportais plus ses reproches"

The verb " supporter " in French typically means to stand, to bear, to put up with :

"Je dois te supporter toute la journée"  (I have to put up with you all day)

"J'ai du mal à supporter cette situation"  (I have trouble putting up with this situation)

"Je ne la supporte pas !"  (I can't stand her)

Click here to watch a video dialogue and lesson in French about people who can't stand either either (uses the word "supporter")

Fred can't stand his girlfriend's constant complains, accusations : " reproches "

"Tu me fais beaucoup de reproches"  (you blame me for  / blame me for too many things)

"Il te reproche de ne pas l'écouter" (he blames you for not listening to him)

He gives an illustration of his girlfriend's nagging :

"pourquoi tu fais ci, pourquoi tu fais pas ça ..."  (why do you do this, why don't you do that)

Fred goes on to explains how he meets women as a single guy, including at work :

"Sur mon lieu de travail"

This French phrase is commonly used to refer to the place where you work.  It's typically an office space or a public place such as a restaurant, but it can be something else, for example if you work outdoors.

In Fred's case, he's referring to the car showroom where he works as a sales person.

"Je vois souvent passer de jolis petits lots"

The French phrase " joli petit lot " refers to a pretty girl, an expression that brings up images of a petite, neat-looking and well-dressed woman seeking to purchase a new vehicle.

Stronger French expressions to designate a hot looking girl include :

"une pin-up" (old fashion) "un canon" "une bombe" "une beauté" (a beauty) "un bonnasse" (a hottie, vulgar)

He uses the phrase " je vois passer ", meaning"I see them walk by".  So while Fred is standing in the showroom waiting for customers to walk in, he watches pretty girls as they look around and check out the cars for sale.

He also checks out pretty girls on social networks.  Judging from his talk,  one may believe Fred is a real lady-killer, seducing women all day both offline and online...

Talking about yourself in French : work life

Fred goes back to his self-description, saying his job is not the center of his life :

"Mon job, c'est pas ma vie."

He could have said alternatively "ma vie c'est, pas mon job".  That is, he has a life outside of work, work is actually not that important.

The French phrase :

"je fais mon boulot" (I do my job)

is often used by public-sector employees (fonctionnaires) or people with low motivation at work.  It's a bit like saying "I do what I have to do, what they pay me for".

This idea is further confirmed by the phrase that follows :

"je ne cherche pas midi à 14 heures"

This French expression literally means "I don't look for noon at 2 oclock", possibly referring to the position of the hands of a clock.  Common English translations of this expression include :

"I don't overthink things" "I don't make a mountain out of a mole hill"

French speakers commonly say, in everyday life :

"Il ne faut pas chercher midi à quatorze heures"

that is, there's no need to look for complicated things, this matter is simpler than it looks.

For example, someone you know is looking upset, and you're wondering if you've said or done something wrong.  You talk to a common friend about it, and he says :

"Elle est juste fatiguée, il ne faut pas chercher midi à 14 heures"   (she's just tired, don't work your brain too much trying to figure out what's wrong)

Talking about his boss, Fred says ".

"mon chef est du genre chicaneur"  (my boss is the nitpicking kind)

In French, the verb "chicaner" means to nibble / quibble :

"On ne va pas chicaner pour quelques centimes !"  (we're not going to quibble over a few cents)

Note that in Canadian French (Québec), "chicaner" is used in a different way and means arguing, quarreling.

In contrast to his boss, Fred says he's a mellow kind of guy :

"Je suis plutôt zen"

French speakers use the word "zen" a lot when referring to a relaxed, serene person or situation :

"Elle est très zen"  (she's very calm, serene, collected)

"c'est plutôt zen ici !"  (this place is quite calm, relaxed)

Fred adds "... alors que moi je suis zen". When talking about yourself in French, you can use the the phrase "alors que moi"  (whereas I ...) to highlight a contrast with someone else :

"Il a les yeux bleus, alors que moi j'ai les yeux marrons"  (he has blue eyes whereas I have brown eyes)

"Je n'aime pas trop les objectifs, les évaluations, ni les patrons prise de tête."

The phrase " je n'aime pas trop " is very frequently used in colloquial French conversation.  We typically mean "I don't like", but in French saying "je n'aime pas" is considered a strong statement which can be unpleasant to the listener.

In general, French speakers use "pas trop" a lot to mitigate their negative statements :

"Je n'aime pas trop les fruits"  (I don't like fruits)

"Elle n'a pas trop la forme"  (she's not in good shape)

"On ne regarde pas trop la télé" (we don't watch TV)

Of course, there are cases where " pas trop " actually means "not too much", but if you've been around French people for long enough, you probably noticed it's often used as a way to damper negative statements.

In Fred's case, he's clearly saying he does NOT like sales objectives, evals and picky managers.  We can even safely say he actually HATES those things.

Notice the phrase "les patrons prise de tête".  It's a very colloquial French phrase related to the phrase "se prendre la tête", which as we saw earlier, means to make things complicated, to worry a lot about small things.

So " prise de tête " is used as an adjective to refer to someone who "prend la tête", that is someone who is a pain, who creates complication and stress to others (as opposed to self for " se prendre la tête").

"Ce type est vraiment prise de tête !"  (this guy is really a pain) = "il me prend la tête"  (he stresses me out, makes me anxious)

Fred says :

"Je ne suis pas non plus très fan des clients qui posent des tonnes de questions !"

The French phrase " je ne suis pas fan de " (I'm not a fan of) is another way of saying "je n'aime pas trop", which in turn typically means "je n'aime pas" :

"Je ne suis pas fan de la nourriture asiatique"  (I'm not a fan of Asian food)

"Je ne suis pas très fan de la musique classique"  (I'm not crazy about classical music)

Fred is not a big fan of clients who ask tons of questions.  The colloquial French phrase "des tonnes de" is similar to the English "tons of" :

"Il n'a pas des tonnes de fric"  (he doesn't have tons of money - "fric" is slang)

"Il y a des tonnes de rochers"  (there are tons of rocks)

"On n'a pas des tonnes de possibilités"  (we don't have tons of options)

An alternative phrase you can use for "des tonnes de" is "des tas de" :

"Il y a des tas de gens qui font pareil" (there are tons of people who do the same)

Wrapping up

I hope what you've learned through Fred's self-presentation will be helpful to you the next time you need to talk about yourself in French.

I also hope you are more a professional worker than Fred is ...  But even if you are, ne vous prenez pas trop la tête ! Ne cherchez pas toujours midi à quatorze heures.

If you liked this article, leave me a comment below !  And please share it with your friends using the buttons below the comments.

Until next time !

Click to download the MP3 files for this article (zip)

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One Comment

Great Article!

Again, there are so many informal, colloquial phrases in it that are just not taught in schools and institutions. For example, “c’est mon trip” was something I’ve heard when among French friends but did not really know what it meant!

Also found it interesting just how much French speakers hate repetition with such a passion!

Comments are closed.

Talking about yourself in French 🇫🇷

Talking about yourself in French is one of the first you’ll have to do. 

Especially if you’re looking for a penpal, want to go a bit deeper with natives in France, or just simply journal about yourself in French.

Bref, you need to be able to introduce yourself, express who you are, your opinions, where you come from,…

And that’s exactly what we are going to learn right now with 5 ready to use sentences.

Don’t worry, I’m not asking you for an essay about yourself… The key word here is PRACTICAL.

5 sentences to talk about yourself in French

Ok so we are going to learn how to describe yourself (your tastes, your goals,…). 

Keep in mind, the sentences below are made to be easily customisable.

In the video, I go in more details about how to customise them (what verb to use, what forms, in what order,..). AND, I gave you examples.

Ok, c’est parti.

• Je suis passionné(e – for girls ) de… (+ noun ) – I am passionate about…
• J’adore… (+ verb ) – I like to…
• Je veux… (+ verb ) – I want to…
• Mon ( film ) préféré(e – if feminine ), c’est… – My favourite ( movie ) is…
• Je suis fan de… – I am a fan of…

Now, it’s your time to use it. Leave me a comment with a sentence about you! 

Please use the video to learn how to pronounce the sentences correctly. 

BECOME A CONFIDENT FRENCH LEARNER

In the 6-day course, you'll : - discover how to truly commit to learning french, - learn why immersion might not work as you expect, - access hand-picked resources for accelerated learning, - and master strategies to tackle and overcome common hurdles, traveling in france without speaking french 🇫🇷.

Travelling in France without speaking French is possible. Not speaking French will not get you into any MAJOR problem.  In case of emergency there will always be

I don’t like language textbooks and I’m a language teacher 😱

👉 MORE HERE 👈 It’s the reflex of most wannabe language learners – THE TEXTBOOK. In most cases, the textbook is going to collect the dust

Do French people speak English? 🇬🇧 🇺🇸 🇫🇷

Do French people speak English? Short answer – it depends. Long answer in the article.

3 thoughts on “Talking about yourself in French 🇫🇷”

What about age ,state,nationalism,etc?

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How to Describe Yourself in French

Valerie is an experienced writer and editor with an extensive backgrounds in health, education, parenting, and nonprofit operations.

Learn about our Editorial Policy .

If you're just starting out learning French, one of the first things you'll be asked to do is to describe yourself. Whether you're learning to say your name, express your state of being or use adjectives to describe yourself, this is the most basic of tasks when speaking French.

Describing How You Look

Start off with "je suis..." ( zuh swee ), which means "I am." This is similar to English and the French sentence would be constructed the same way. However, in French, if you are a female, you must use the feminine ending of the adjective. In the adjective charts below, the feminine form of the word is listed second.

• Examples of How to Introduce Yourself on Online Dating Sites & Apps

Physical Appearance

Consider some of these adjectives to express your physical attributes.

• Male: Je suis petit.
• Female: Je suis jolie.
• Male or Female: Je suis jeune. (Not all adjectives have differentiated male and female endings.)

To describe your eye color in French, you start with the phrase "j'ai les yeux..." (zhay layz yuh...) and follow by a color in the chart below. French word order is different; the color goes after the noun.

• J'ai les yeux bleus.
• J'ai les yeux noisette.

Note: In this case, some of the adjectives are plural and must have an 's' on the end while others do not. The general rule of thumb is that names of flowers, fruits or jewels used to define a color are the same whether they are describing a masculine, feminine or plural noun. In the example above, marron as a noun is a chestnut, and noisette is a hazelnut.

Describing Your Personality

You can use the same structure to describe your personality as you did your physical appearance. To start, use "je suis..." If you are female, make sure you use the feminine form of the adjective.

• Male: Je suis fou.
• Female: Je suis contente.
• Male or female: Je suis sympathique.

Expressing How You Feel

Similar to describing your personality, you will start off using "je suis..." As noted below, not all adjectives have a different feminine form, but if they do, it is listed second.

• Males: Je suis heureux.
• Females: Je suis nerveuse.
• Male or female: Je suis triste.

State of Being and Avoir

Sometimes, you might want to describe a need or how you're feeling in a given situation. In French, a lot of these phrases take the verb "avoir," which means "to have." In other words, in French, rather than saying "I am afraid" like you would in English, you say "I have fear." To say "I have," use "j'ai..." (zhay). These do not need to be changed if you are female.

Basic Introductions

While introducing yourself isn't exactly describing yourself, these are phrases that would come up if someone ever asked you to talk about yourself.

Speaking With Confidence

Once you master some basics, do your best to introduce yourself with confidence. You'll find, for the most part, that French people are very gracious in helping you learn their language. The old adage rings true - practice makes perfect. So practice as often as you can, and soon you'll find you can introduce and describe yourself with ease. Bonne chance!

Simple-French

Simple French Lessons Online and Other Things Too

Lesson 4: Talk about Yourself

Learn how to briefly  talk about yourself in French. Learn how say what your name and age are, where you live (city and country), what you do for a living , what you like doing , where you work and what languages you speak . Audio text with interactive exercises to improve your learning.

Read the text below and listen to the audio for pronunciation. Next, do the reading comprehension exercise and answer the questions at the end. For any problems with comprehension, take a look into the Notes section.

1. Text: Talk About Yourself in French

[wp-svg-icons icon=”volume-medium” wrap=”i”]

Bonjour. Je m’appelle  Marie. J ’ ai 27 ans et j ’ habite à  Nantes, en France. J ’ ai toujours vécu dans cette ville. Je suis professeur de français et je  travaille à l’Université. J’ aime apprendre les langues étrangères . Je parle anglais et espagnol. J’aime également  sortir avec des amis et voyager. Je suis déjà allée* en Allemagne, en Pologne, en Espagne,  en Angleterre et en Irlande. Et toi, quels pays as -tu visités ?

[su_spoiler title=”Vocabulary”]

habiter à Nantes / à Paris / à Rome travailler à l ‘hôpital / à la radio / au centre commercial J ‘ ai vécu : I have lived / I lived … aimer apprendre / manger / voyager / rencontrer

[/su_spoiler]

[su_spoiler title=”Grammar”]

Le présent et le passé (Le passé composé )

A. simple present tense:.

 – Le présent : current actions and situations, habits, general truths

• Je m’appelle Marie.
• J’habite à Nantes.
• Je parle espagnol.
• Je suis professeur.

Conjugation example:

The most common French verb group is the the “-er” group, that all the verb that end on “er”. Examples: parler, habiter, aimer, s’appeler.

All of them conjugate the same way, by adding the appropriate suffixes to the stem (its base)  of the verb.  -e, -es,-e, -ons, -ez, -ent

B. Past Tense

 –  le passé composé : completed actions in the past..

être / avoir + verb (past participle).

Whether you need to use être or avoir depends on the verb.

Eg. avoir + vivre

• Je vis à Nantes. I live in Nantes .
• J’ ai vécu à Nantes. I lived / have lived in Nantes .

Eg. être + aller

• Je vais à Berlin. I go to Berlin.
• Je suis allé à Berlin. I have been to Berlin.
• Je vais à l’école. I go to school.
• Je suis allé à l’école. I went to school / I have been to school.

! I have been to Spain = Je suis allé en Espagne = J’ai visité Espagne. 

! Je suis allé e  = you add the “e” at the end of the “allé” when you “Je” refers to a girl. It exists and is visible only in writing.

Le passé composé conjugation

The “s” in this sentence should appear if “Vous” refers to more than one person. If it is “vous” as in the polite and formal way of addressing someone, the “s” is dropped.  

[su_spoiler title=”Phonetics”]

3. Exercises

Reading Comprehension: 

[su_spoiler title=”Explanation of the exercise”]

[content id=”439″]

[xyz-ihs snippet=”talk-about-yourself-3-with-check”]

4. Homework

• what your name is and how old you are
• where you live (city, country)
• what kind of work you do and where you work
• what you like doing
• what foreign languages you speak
• what countries you have visited
• Quel est ton prénom ?
• Quel âge as-tu ?
• Que fais-tu dans la vie ? (Où travailles-tu ?)
• Qu’est-ce que tu aimes faire ?
• Quelles langues étrangères parles-tu ?
• Quels pays étrangers as-tu visités ?
• Learn by heart the answers you have created.

One Reply to “Lesson 4: Talk about Yourself”

1. Je m’appelle Juan. 2. J’ai 23 ans. 3. Je suis étudiant. 4. J’aime voyager aussi. 5. Je peux parler espagnol, italien, anglais et français. 6. J’ai visité 3 pays étrangers: France, Italie, Grande Bretagne.

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Describing yourself in french (with pronunciation guide)

Early on in my learning French journey, I had to figure out how to describe myself. To help, I put together this list of topics, from describing my relationship status to describing my favorite foods.

Here are some sample sentences in French with various adjectives, both masculine and feminine, that describe various aspects of one’s identity.

Describing yourself in french (with a pronunciation guide)

Talking about your body type in french :.

• Je suis mince et musclé. (I’m thin and muscular.)
• Je suis de grande taille et robuste. (I’m tall and robust.)
• Je suis mince et tonique. (I’m slim and toned.)
• Je suis petite et pulpeuse. (I’m short and curvy.)

Talking about Your Height in French :

• Je mesure un mètre soixante-quinze. (I’m 1.75 meters tall.)
• Je suis assez grand(e), je mesure un mètre quatre-vingt. (I’m fairly tall, I’m 1.8 meters tall.)

Talking about Your Nationality in French :

• Je suis canadien(ne). (I’m Canadian.)
• Je suis français(e). (I’m French.)

Talking about Your Job in French :

• Je suis enseignant. (I’m a teacher.)
• Je suis ingénieur. (I’m an engineer.)
• Je suis enseignante. (I’m a teacher.)
• Je suis ingénieure. (I’m an engineer.)

Talking about Your Hobbies in French :

• Mes hobbies sont la lecture et le jogging. (My hobbies are reading and jogging.)
• J’aime cuisiner et jouer au tennis pendant mon temps libre. (I like cooking and playing tennis in my free time.)

Talking about Your Mood in French :

• Je me sens joyeux(se) aujourd’hui. (I feel happy today.)
• Je suis un(e) peu fatigué(e) en ce moment. (I’m a bit tired at the moment.)

Talking About Your Family in French :

• J’ai deux frères et une soeur. (I have two brothers and one sister.)
• Ma famille est très unie et nous aimons passer du temps ensemble. (My family is very close-knit and we enjoy spending time together.)

Talking About Sports in French :

• J’aime le football. (I like football.) Pronounced: zh-em le foo-te-ball.
• Je suis fan de natation. (I’m a fan of swimming.) Pronounced: zhuh swee fan duh na-ta-syon.

Talking about Movies in French :

• J’adore les films d’action. (I love action movies.) Pronounced: zha-dor lay feelm dack-syon.
• Les comédies romantiques sont mes préférées. (Romantic comedies are my favorites.) Pronounced: lay co-may-dee ro-man-teek son may pre-fair-ay.

Talking About Books in French :

• Je préfère les livres de science-fiction. (I prefer science-fiction books.) Pronounced: zhuh pray-fair lay leevr de sy-ens feeck-syon.
• J’aime lire des romans historiques. (I like reading historical novels.) Pronounced: zhem leer day ro-man his-to-reek.

Talking About Music in French :

• J’écoute principalement du rock. (I mainly listen to rock.) Pronounced: zhey-koot pran-see-pal-mon du rock.
• Je suis un(e) grand(e) fan de jazz. (I’m a big fan of jazz.) Pronounced: zhuh swee un gran fan duh jazz.

Talking About the Weather in French :

• J’aime quand il fait chaud. (I like when it’s hot.) Pronounced: zhem kan eel fay sho.
• Je préfère le temps frais et ensoleillé. (I prefer cool and sunny weather.) Pronounced: zhuh pray-fair le ton fray ay an-so-lay-ay.

Talking about the Animals You Like in French :

• Mon animal préféré est le chien. (My favorite animal is the dog.) Pronounced: mon a-nee-mal pre-fay-ray eh le shee-en.
• Ma bête préférée est la panthère. (My favorite beast is the panther.) Pronounced: ma bet pre-fay-ray eh la pan-tehr.

Talking About Your Favorite Countries in French :

• Mon pays préféré est l’Italie. (My favorite country is Italy.) Pronounced: mon pay-ee pre-fay-ray eh lee-ta-lee.
• Ma destination préférée est la Nouvelle-Zélande. (My favorite destination is New Zealand.) Pronounced: ma des-tee-na-syon pre-fay-ray eh la noo-vel zay-land.

Talking about the Coffee You Prefer in French :

• Je préfère le café noir. (I prefer black coffee.) Pronounced: zhuh pray-fair le ka-fay nwar.
• Mon type de café préféré est le cappuccino. (My favorite type of coffee is cappuccino.) Pronounced: mon teep duh ka-fay pre-fay-ray eh le ka-poo-chee-no.

Talking about Your Favorite Cocktails in French :

• Mon cocktail préféré est le Mojito. (My favorite cocktail is Mojito.) Pronounced: mon cock-tail pre-fay-ray eh le mo-hee-to.
• J’adore la Margarita. (I love Margarita.) Pronounced: zha-dor la mar-ga-ree-ta.

Talking about Your Favorite Beer in French :

• Je préfère la bière blonde. (I prefer blonde beer.) Pronounced: zhuh pray-fair la bee-air blon-de.
• Ma bière préférée est la bière brune. (My favorite beer is brown beer.) Pronounced: ma bee-air pre-fay-ray eh la bee-air broon.

Talking about Your Favorite Pizza in French :

• Ma pizza préférée est la Margherita. (My favorite pizza is Margherita.) Pronounced: ma pee-za pre-fay-ray eh la mar-ge-ree-ta.
• J’aime la pizza avec des champignons et du jambon. (I like pizza with mushrooms and ham.) Pronounced: zh-em la pee-za avek dey shom-pee-nyon eh du zham-bon.

Talking about Your Hair Color in French :

• J’ai les cheveux blonds. (I have blonde hair.) Pronounced: zhay lay shev-euh blon.
• J’ai les cheveux noirs. (I have black hair.) Pronounced: zhay lay shev-euh nwahr.

Talking about Your Eye Color in French :

• J’ai les yeux bleus. (I have blue eyes.) Pronounced: zhay layz yuh bleuh.
• J’ai les yeux marron. (I have brown eyes.) Pronounced: zhay layz yuh ma-ron.

Describing Your Skin Color in French :

• J’ai la peau claire. (I have fair skin.) Pronounced: zhay la po kler.
• J’ai la peau foncée. (I have dark skin.) Pronounced: zhay la po fon-say.

Describing Your Activity Level in French :

• Je suis très actif/active. (I am very active.) Pronounced: zhuh swee tray ak-teef/ak-teev.
• Je suis plutôt sédentaire. (I am rather sedentary.) Pronounced: zhuh swee ploo-toh say-don-terr.

Describing Your Humor in French:

• J’aime l’humour noir. (I like dark humor.) Pronounced: zhem loo-moor nwahr.
• Je préfère l’humour absurde. (I prefer absurd humor.) Pronounced: zhuh pray-fair loo-moor ab-surd.

Describing Your Relationship Status in French :

• Je suis célibataire. (I am single.) Pronounced: zhuh swee say-lee-ba-tair.
• Je suis marié/mariée. (I am married.) Pronounced: zhuh swee ma-ree-ay.
• Je suis en couple. (I am in a relationship.) Pronounced: zhuh swee on coo-pl.
• Je suis en train de sortir avec quelqu’un. (I am dating someone.) Pronounced: zhuh swee on train duh sor-teer avek kel-kun.

How to Talk About Yourself in French

Learning how to properly talk about yourself in another language is key to making the best first impression possible when meeting new people. There are a variety of ways to introduce yourself and your personality in each culture, with its particular customs and formulations.

Introducing yourself in French

These are some of the first things you will learn in any French language class, they are key phrases to learn to use when introducing yourself.

Your name, age, and nationality may be some of the first things someone asks of you if you are meeting them for the first time, and knowing these phrases will allow you to make a good first impression.

“ Bonjour, je m’appelle __.” - “Hello, my name is ____.” This is the same formulation regardless of the gender of the speaker. Of course, you can also switch up the salutation itself to better fit the context, such as using “Salut” for a casual one, or “Bonsoir” if it is the evening.

“ Je m’appelle ____, et je viens des Etats-Unis.” - “My name is ___, and I come from the United States.” Of course, you would replace ‘Etats-Unis’ with any place you are coming from, such as ‘Bresil’ for Brazil, ‘Le Royaume-Unis’ for the United Kingdom, and so forth.

“ Je m’appelle ___, j’ai vingt-quatre ans et je viens du Royaume-Unis.” - “My name is ___, I am twenty-four and I come from the United Kingdom.” This phrase, when substituted with the correct name, age, and nationality which applies to you, covers all the basic information needed when meeting someone for the first time.

“ J’ai vingt-neuf ans, et je vais bientôt avoir trente ans.” - “I will soon be thirty.” In French, when saying how old you are, you use the verb “avoir” (to have), meaning it literally translates to “I have twenty-nine years.” If you are close to twenty, thirty, or forty years old, it may be more natural to say you are nearing that decade.

“ Je suis Américaine, mais je vis au Canada.” - “I am American, but I live in Canada.” If you have been living in another country than your natal one for a long time, you may feel that it is a significant part of your identity. By telling someone where you live in addition to where you are from, they may get a better sense of who you are and where you are coming from.

Talking About Your Profession and Studies in French

Work and studies are an important part of most people’s lives. Knowing how to describe where you work or study, and what in what field, can give a person important insight into who you are and what you do in life.

Below, we will show you some basic examples of how to introduce your profession or field of study in French.

“ Je suis étudiante en médecine dans une université Américaine.” - “I am a medical student in an American university.” If you want to say what year of study you are in, you can add “Je suis en troisième année” (I am in third year), “Je suis en masters” (I am doing my masters), and so forth.

“ J’ai fini mes études pour devenir vétérinaire, et pour le moment je fais un stage en Californie.” - “I finished my degree to become a veterinarian, and at the moment I am doing an internship in California.” As with the others, you can always replace ‘ vétérinaire’ with other professions such as ‘banquier’ (banker), ‘ambassadeur’ (ambassador), ‘danseuse’ (dancer), and so forth.

“ Je suis institutrice dans une école primaire.” - “I am a teacher in a primary school.” In French, “école primaire” refers to school from ages six to around ten. Kindergarten is “la maternelle,” middle school is “le college, ” and highschool is “le lycée.”

“ Je vais commencer des études en business à l'automne." - “I will begin business studies in the Fall.” You would use this phrase if you are a soon-to-be university student. In French, the word “business” is borrowed from English, but pronounced with a French accent. You may not be understood if you use an American or British accent when pronouncing the word.

“ Je viens de finir mes études, et je vais commencer un stage à New York.” - “I have just finished my studies, and I am going to start an internship in New York.” In France, internships are often required for students and are much more common than in North America. Students will sometimes do two or three internships over the course of their degree and may have the choice to go abroad for them.

“ Je travaille dans le secteur de la culture.” - “I work in the cultural sector.” In French, it is common to refer to the field you work in by its sector, especially if the profession you are doing covers a wide variety of tasks. It also puts emphasis on the environment and subject of your profession rather than on your job itself.

Talking About Your Interests in French

Interests are an important part of anyone’s personality, and knowing how to describe your interests, passions, and hobbies, is crucial when learning a new language. Knowing these basic formulations will help you deepen conversations in French. They will also be useful when making French friends .

“ Je suis passionné par le sport.” - “I am passionate about sports.” This is the basic French formulation to say you are passionate about something, and you can always swap out “le sport” for something such as “les voitures” (cars), “l’histoire” (history), “les langues” (languages), for example.

“ Ma passion dans la vie est le voyage.” - “My passion in life is travel.” Unlike the previous phrase, this French phrase is used to express the ultimate passion you may have in life. By using this phrase, you are communicating that above all else, this is the thing which gives you life. As with the last phrase, you can switch “le voyage” to any passion you may have.

“ J’adore apprendre de nouvelles langues.” - “I love to learn new languages.” For a less intense version, you can also say “J’aime…” instead of “J’adore,” which translates to “I like.” However, “J’adore” is less intense than the English “I love,” meaning that you can use “J’adore” without sounding extreme.

“ Je suis une fan des documentaires sur la nature.” - “I am a fan of documentaries on nature.” This is the feminine version of the phrase, and in the masculine form, you would use “un fan.” This phrase is more casual, and would refer to a general interest or hobby of yours rather than something you are very passionate about. You would also use this in casual, rather than formal, settings.

“ La politique ne m'intéresse pas, je préfère la littérature." - “Politics do not interest me, I prefer literature.” Although we generally speak more about our positive interests, it is good to know how to talk about what you do not like. In this case, by talking about the lack of interest in politics, even more emphasis is placed on literature.

“ J’aime la cuisine, les livres, et les randonnées." - “I like cooking, books, and hiking.” This is a simple and effective way to cover some of your most important interests. After learning more French vocabulary, you will be able to easily substitute any of these terms to fit your personality and the context you are in.

Talking About Your Personality in French

As much as interests, work, and studies are key features of a person, certain personality traits are fundamental to each person, and make us unique as individuals. Knowing phrases on how to talk about certain parts of your personality can help deepen another person’s understanding of who you truly are.

“ Je suis une personne plutôt timide.” - “I am a rather shy person.” No matter the gender of the speaker, when you use the French noun « une personne » to refer to yourself, it is always feminine. (see this article for more on determining the gender of French nouns ). If you are a shy person, letting the person that you are speaking with know can help them understand how you are around people better.

“ Je suis une personne très extravertie.” - “I am a very extroverted person.” If you are traveling alone in a French-speaking country, for example, and tell someone you have just met that you are extraverted, they may be more inclined to have you meet their friends.

“ Je me considère ouvert d’esprit.” - “I consider myself to be open-minded.” Using the phrasing “Je me considère” may be a more humble and appropriate way to say you are open-minded, otherwise it can sound a bit assertive. “Je me considère” is a very eloquent French phrase to know in general when you are describing yourself.

“ On me dit souvent que je suis une personne drôle." - “I am often told that I am a funny person.” Be careful not to switch up the wording by saying “une drôle de personne,” which would translate closely to “a weird person.” Although used less commonly, this phrasing can be used to switch up from the usual “Je suis…” formulation.

“ Je n’ai pas beaucoup de confiance en moi.” - “I do not have much confidence in myself.” A lot of people struggle with insecurity and lack of confidence, and confiding it in someone can help make the relationship stronger. We all have more or less positive personality traits, and knowing how to communicate them all is a good skill to have.

“ Je suis très sensible et j’aime beaucoup aider les autres.” - “I am very sensitive and like to help others.” The French word « sensible » is used more regularly than its English equivalent « sensitive » is used in English, and has less negative connotations. By saying you are sensitive in French, you are saying that you are sympathetic and probably feel a lot of emotions.

“ J’ai tendance à être attiré par les gens calmes.” - “I have a tendency to be attracted to calm people.” The kind of person are attracted to, whether romantic or otherwise, can say a lot about the kind person you are. If you are more on the eccentric side of the spectrum, you may find yourself closer to people who are calm, to create a balance.

Talking About Your Physical Features in French

Physical features are also an important part of what makes individuals unique. Although they may not be as important to what makes up a person, there will always exist situations in which you will need to know how to describe your most basic features. These phrases will help you learn to talk about your physical features in French.

“ Je suis grand, mince, et j’ai les yeux bruns.” - “I am tall, skinny, and have brown eyes.” You could also say “marron, ” which also means brown. That said, while the word “marron” can be used to describe eye color, it is not used in French to describe hair color.

“ J’ai les cheveux courts et noirs.” - “I have short and black hair.” Of course, you can swap this with whatever color or length your hair may be: “bruns” (brown), “chatains” (light-brown), “blonds” (blond), “roux” (dark red) for the color, or “longs” (long), or “mi-longs” (mid-length).

“ J’ai une longue barbe avec la tête rasée." - “I have a long beard and a shaved head.” This style is growing in popularity, so knowing how to say this can help not only to describe yourself, but also help you achieve this specific look if you are looking to change up your style.

“ Je suis petite avec les cheveux frisés." - “I am short with curly hair.” In French, the word “petite” (“small”) refers specifically to height, while in English it tends to be used when referring to someone short and skinny. In French, a “petite” person does not necessarily mean they have a small waist.

“ J’ai une carrure athlétique avec des tatouages sur mes bras.” - “I have an athletic build with tattoos on my arms.” As with the English term “build,” the French word “carrure” refers to someone’s overall body type. It is used more often to refer to an athletic build than anything else.

These phrases are only a starting point into your journey to learn how to talk about yourself in French. But as you acquire more extensive and complex vocabulary, you will be able to better formulate these phrases according to your personal features, whether they are physical, mental, or in terms of lifestyle.

How To Introduce Yourself In French [Essential Phrases]

• Read time 11 mins

Salut ! Bonjour ! Comment vas-tu ?

Are you looking for ways to introduce yourself in French?

Knowing how to introduce yourself in French is a necessary skill; it can help us to make lasting friendships, get off on the right foot with new people, or meet a potential soulmate.

So if you’ve been wondering how to introduce yourself in French, take a look at this guide to learn ways to make a good first impression (and gain a few grammatical hints along the way).

How to introduce yourself in French the formal way: Step one, stating your name

To introduce yourself in French formally, that’s to people you don’t know, or in a work environment, simply say:

Bonjour je m’appelle [your name].

Now, je m’appelle literally translates to English as “I call myself”.

This is similar to the Spanish introductory phrase me llamo . But it is the standard way to tell someone your name and is used to say “my name is”.

You can then follow this up with the following sentence:

Je suis enchanté de vous rencontrer.

Note that the word enchanté here is the masculine single version of this adjective, whereas the word enchantée is the feminine single version of the adjective.

This means that if you’re a male introducing yourself to colleagues, you would use the adjective enchanté , and if you’re a female introducing yourself to colleagues, you would use the adjective enchantée .

What you should also note is that the formal version of making French introductions uses the pronoun vous .

This differs from the informal French introduction, as you will see in the following section.

One quick fact: enchanté or enchantée as an adjective means “delighted” or “pleased”.

How to introduce yourself in French the informal way

So now, let’s look at how to introduce yourself in French informally, which means to friends of friends, or family members related to your spouse who you’re meeting for the first time.

This requires a different register, but it’s less complex than the informal way to introduce yourself in French.

To do it, simply say:

Salut, je m’appelle [your name].

In this instance, did you notice that the introductory greeting word bonjour has been replaced with salut ?

This is because salut is normally used when greeting friends and family.

Quick tip: salut sort of means “hi” in English.

You can continue by saying the following:

Enchanté de te rencontrer.

Now, in this sentence, note that you don’t use the vous pronoun.

This has been replaced with the pronoun te , which must be used if you’re speaking with friends of friends or new family members that you might be meeting for the first time.

If you use vous , your introduction will sound a bit off… as though you’re being prim and proper with close friends.

That’s okay, but you’ll probably want to stick with te if you’re speaking with friends of friends.

What if you’re not sure if the situation is formal or informal?

It’s not always clear whether the situation is formal or informal.

For this reason, it’s always good to have a backup.

Instead of je suis enchanté de vous rencontrer or enchanté de te rencontrer , is just the word enchanté (if your male), or enchantée if you’re female.

What are reflexive pronouns and how to use them when introducing yourself in French?

You might have noticed, when reading this article on how to introduce yourself in French, that in the sentence je m’appelle , there is a strange m followed by an apostrophe.

This m’ is a reflexive pronoun and means that the verb appelle is reflexive.

Reflexive verbs are used when introducing yourself in French or asking someone their name in French.

In many situations, they are the equivalent of using the word myself or yourself in the introductory sentence.

So, let’s go ahead and take a look at the many different reflexive pronouns in the French language:

Reflexive verbs can alter the meaning of a sentence since they make the object of the sentence different.

So in one context, you might use the reflexive s’appeler verb to say “call myself” or you might use it to say “call one another”.

How to introduce yourself in French: Step two, asking someone’s name

As well as knowing how to introduce yourself in French, you’re going to need to know how to ask someone their name in French too.

The way to ask someone their name in French in a formal situation is to ask the interrogative:

Comment vous appelez-vous ?

This would literally translate to the English language as “what do you call yourself?”.

Also take note that the verb appeler must be conjugated with the verb form related to the person you are addressing, so in the following section, we’ve covered how to conjugate the verb appeler . Stick with us to find out!

Asking someone their name with the verb appeler

So, why and how do we need to conjugate the verb appeler to ask someone their name? Well, in one situation you might be asking just one person who you already know because they’re a friend of a friend.

In this case, you’d conjugate the verb appeler in the second person informal form: appelles _and use the reflexive pronoun _se .

In another situation, you might be asking someone to tell you what their friend’s name is.

In this case, you’d conjugate the verb appeler in the third person informal form: appelle .

Comment il s’appelle ?

You might want to ask for the names of several people in French, which will require the vous form of the verb appeler and the reflexive pronoun vous :

Or in the off chance that you’re forming a new band, you might want to ask your bandmates “what are our names?” which will require the nous form of the verb appeler and the reflexive pronoun nous :

Comment nous appelons-nous ?

Let’s look at the conjugation table below to confirm all of the conjugations of appeler , so you know how to ask anyone for their name.

How to ask someone their name in French informally

As mentioned above, there is a different register and word choice required for informal situations.

Here’s how to ask someone their name in French in informal situations:

Comment t’appelles-tu ?

So, here, we have a different sentence structure which uses the pronoun tu instead of the pronoun vous .

How to introduce yourself in French: Step three, talking about where you’re from

When introducing yourself in French, as the dialogue or chat starts to flow, someone might ask you where you’re from.

They might say:

D’où venez-vous ?

Or they might say:

D’où viens-tu ?

As you might have noticed, each of these mean the same thing.

It’s just the register that’s different here.

The first interrogative is the formal vous form, and the second interrogative is the informal tu form; the first interrogative is used in formal situations and the second is used in informal ones.

Part of knowing how to introduce yourself in French is knowing how to respond to this question, so here’s how to do it:

Je viens de [name of country]

Someone who wants to get to know you might also then ask you where you live, which in French would be:

Où habitez-vous ?

Or if they’re a friend of a friend, they will use the informal:

Où habites-tu ?

In response, just use the sentence j’habite à [name of city] .

Introducing yourself in French: Step four, stating your age, hobbies and occupation

Now you’re hitting it off with a person, they might ask you how old you are, what your hobbies are and what your occupation is.

Let’s take a look at each of these in turn.

Talking about how old you are when introducing yourself in French

So, if someone wants to know how old you are, in French they might use the interrogative sentence:

Quel âge as-tu ?

Note that the French interrogative uses the verb avoir , meaning “to have” in English. This means the sentence would literally translate to English as “what age do you have?”

You can respond to this question by saying:

J’ai [number of years] ans

Talking about hobbies when introducing yourself in French

Say you’re preparing for a blind date with a French native speaker. One of the things you’ll want to be able to mention when you introduce yourself in French are your hobbies. They might ask you:

Que fais-tu pendant ton temps libre ?

And if you’re wondering how to introduce yourself in French and make the best impression with your special someone asks you a question like this, here’s how you might respond:

J’aime [state hobby or interest]

For instance, if you like to listen to music, you might say:

J’aime écouter de la musique.

Note that the sentence structure “I like to” in French normally features the verb aimer with a second verb in its infinitive form.

In our example above, the second verb is écouter meaning “to listen”.

Talking about your occupation when introducing yourself in French

One final, but critical thing that might come up when introducing yourself in French is your occupation; someone might ask you:

Quel est ton travail ?

Or, in formal contexts, they’ll ask:

Quel est votre travail ?

Both of these translate to English as “what is your job/occupation?”

If you’re asked about your occupation when introducing yourself in French, here’s the best way to answer.

Just as with the Spanish language, we don’t use the article a when describing our professions in French.

So whereas in English we would say “I am a teacher”, here’s the French equivalent:

Je suis médicin.

It works for any profession, just substitute the profession with your own.

General tips for getting better at self-introductions in French

As it’s sometimes challenging enough to introduce yourself without the grammatical rules here are six crucial tips to help you:

• Listen to introductory conversations in audios, podcasts or French films . Get a feel for the way French native speakers introduce themselves.
• If you’re starting with zero knowledge, sign up to a French course to get started. Introductory dialogues in these courses are useful starting points.
• If you know the basics but are struggling with verb conjugation, grab a stack of flashcards and write all six French pronouns on each one. Shuffle and select a flashcard from your stack. If you receive tu , try to conjugate the verb appeler in the tu form. Make this a habit every day until you get more confident. Repeat the flashcard game with a set of reflexive pronoun flashcards and you’ll be on your way.
• Some other challenges you might face as a French student is making literal translations between English and French. Now, this won’t work very well, particularly because English sentences don’t translate word for word when introducing yourself in French. Just to repeat an example, we don’t normally say “how old are you?” word for word in French. We don’t use the verb to be, either–we’d use the verb avoir in this case. Or, to use another example from this article, we don’t say “I am a writer” in French – it’s not a word for word translation. So, the tip is to avoid literal translations.
• It’s helpful to try and memorise some of these sentences to help you make the best impression. You’ll want to learn to think in French as well, even though this might be a bit challenging at first, so you could record your voice to practice introducing yourself in French. The more you record yourself, the more you’ll remember how to do this.

Make your first impression count in French

Introductions can make a difference to your relationships, but can be challenging in another language like French.

The best way to get better at introducing yourself is to do it often .

Connect with your local French community (ideally in a French-speaking country), or chat with French speakers online.

What are some other important phrases for self-introductions in French?

Comment below.

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Introduce Yourself In French In 7 Best Ways

Are you wondering what the best way to introduce yourself in French is? Introducing yourself to others can be complicated because a proper introduction should include your name, where you live, your job, how old you are, and often even your hobbies. And if this is your first time speaking French, you will have to take note of certain words and phrases.

In general, it is not part of French etiquette to start with an introduction without greeting the other person. After the initial greetings, you are asked basic information about yourself, and you should know the very basic phrases and words to answer appropriately. Here is a complete guide to introducing yourself in French. Keep reading!

Simple French Greetings

In French culture, you always greet other people when meeting them. Here are standard French greetings:

• Bonjour – Hello (or good morning)
• Salut – Hello (informal context, similar to “hi”)
• Bonsoir – Good evening
• Bonne nuit – Good night (typically used when leaving)
• C’est un plaisir de vous rencontrer – It’s a pleasure to meet you (formal version)
• Enchanté de faire votre connaissance – Delighted to make your acquaintance
• C’est un plaisir de faire votre connaissance – it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance

When you complete the conversation and are about to leave, you can say:

• Au revoir – Goodbye
• À bientôt – See you later

À bientôt is an informal option used only when you know a French person, or you can use the formal version au revoir, with strangers.

Remember that in French, in informal situations, you can use the word “ Tu .” However, if you are meeting others in formal situations, you should use “ Vous .” Learn more about the French basic greetings as you study along with Ling.

Best Ways To Introduce Yourself In French

In introducing yourself in French, you have to use a few words to say who you are. Typically, the first thing that others want to know is your name.

During a French introduction, you can say your name in different ways. Here are the most common:

• Je m’appelle… – I am … ( literally translates in “I am calling myself…)
• Je suis… – I am…
• Mon nom est… – My name is…
• Moi c’est… – I am… (used when the other person’s name is said first)
• Mon prénom est… – My first name is…
• Je m’appelle (name), mais je me fais appeler (name) – My name is (name), but I prefer to be called (name)
• Je me présente – I’d like to introduce myself

Note : Sometimes, you are the one who will say your name first saying your name, but there may also be times wherein you will suddenly be asked about your name and where you live and work. For example, your French friends can ask you:

• Comment vous appelez vous? – What is your name? (formal way used with strangers)
• Comment t’appelles tu? – What’s your name? (informal version)
• Quel est ton travail? – What is your job? (informal version)
• D’où venez vous? – Where are you from? (formal)
• Qu’est-ce que tu aimes faire? – What do you like to do? (used with a french friend)
• Qu’est-ce que vous aimez faire? – What do you like to do (used when you just met someone)

You could also be asked où habitez-vous? (Where do you live). This is used with a new french friend or people you don’t know. The informal version is où habites-tu?

Answering Questions During The Introductions

Learning French introductions includes answering common questions when you are asked. Typically, other people want to know basic information to relate with you and have something to talk about.

Where Do You Live – Où Habites-Tu (Vous)?

• J’habite à Paris – I live in Paris
• Je viens de Paris – I come from Paris
• Je viens de France – I come from France

What Is Your Job – Quel Est Votre (Ton) Travail?

• Je suis… – I am… (tell your profession)

You should just say your profession after Je suis without any other word. For example:

• Je suis enseignant – I am a teacher
• Je suis un pilote – I am a pilot
• Je travaille comme (or je suis) réceptionniste – I work as a receptionist

What You Like To Do – Qu’est-ce Que Vous (Tu) Aimez Faire?

• J’aime… – I like …
• Je m’intéresse à… – I am interested in…

For example, you can say:

• J’aime voyager – I like to travel
• J’aime étudier les langues étrangères – I like to study foreign languages

What Languages Do You Speak? – Quelle Langue Parles-tu (Vous)?

When you are making French friends, they may also be curious about your abilities to learn new languages and how many languages you know. So it can be part of the introduction.

• Je parle French et (other languages) – I speak French and …
• J’étudie…  – I am studying…
• J’apprends le Français depuis… – I learn French since…

How Old Are You (Quel Âge As-tu?)

It is perfectly fine to answer the following:

• J’ai (numbers of years) ans – I am (number of years)

Examples Of Introduction In French

Here are some French phrases of how you put together all the above information with a conversation partner.

• Introduce yourself in French when speaking first:
• Bonjour (or salut)! Je m’appelle (name). Comment vous appelez-vous? – Hello! My name is (name). What’s your name?
• Introduce yourself in French when you are asked your name:
• Bonjour je m’appelle (name). Et toi? – Hello! My name is Renée. And you?

You can respond:

• Bonjour! Moi c’est (name). Enchanté(e). – Hello! I’m (name). Nice to meet you.
• Introducing yourself in French in formal contexts
• Pardonnez-moi. Je me présente, (name). Enchanté(e). – Excuse me. My name is (name). I’m pleased to meet you.

Do you want to master the French language? Then, you can continue your progress by reading 50 French Adjectives and 10 Basic French Pronouns .

Learn French With Ling App

Speaking of basics, there are many French words that you will learn as you develop your skills in reading, writing, listening, or speaking. But, don’t exclude yourself from exploring Arabic, Spanish, or Japanese too. Do you want to learn more languages? Or simply know more about French? Then, you can use Ling App . It is a learning app that can help you improve your French and offers the possibility of learning 60+ languages from a mobile device or desktop.

What are you waiting for? Download Ling from App Store and Play Store for free!

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How to Introduce Yourself in French: Essential Greetings, Questions and Phrases

What’s the most important first step when learning French ?

Is it mastering essential daily French phrases ? Is it getting down  travel vocabulary ?

But think about it: for the first conversations you’ll have in French, you’ll need to know how to say hello and introduce yourself.

These easy to use greeting words, phrases and questions will boost your French-speaking skills and give you confidence in your early French conversations.

Simple French Introductions

Basic information about you in french, french pleasantries and goodbyes, how to practice french introductions in the real world, and one more thing....

Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere. Click here to get a copy. (Download)

French is a language that really embraces its greetings, so learning how to greet someone and introduce yourself is especially important in the language.

When you enter a boulangerie    (bakery), épicerie   (grocery store) or bistro     (small restaurant), it’s generally expected that you greet the employees there even if you don’t necessarily require service at that time. 

You can use the informal version with people younger than you or if you find that your conversation partner is referring to you as tu   (you — informal), but it’s often best to start with the formal vous   (you — formal).

Once you’re feeling confident, check out a French greetings quiz from Quizizz  or a more open-ended one from ProProfs to practice your French greetings.

Now that your conversation partner knows your name, they may want to know some more information about you! Sharing basic information is the first step to making French friends and acquaintances.

It’s always good to meet people, but French-speaking friends are especially valuable if you’re trying to learn the language. They can help you with tricky aspects of language-learning as well as introduce you to the culture of France and the Francophone world .

Q : D’où venez-vous ?     (Where are you from? [formal]) Q : D’où viens-tu  ?     (Where are you from? [informal])

This question is generally asking for a country or region of origin, but you’re welcome to name your city or town if it’s a major or well-known one like New York City or London.

A: Je viens de…   (I am from…) 

Or you may be asked:

Q: Où habitez-vous  ?   (Where do you live? [formal]) Q : Où habites-tu ? (Where do you live? [informal])

A: J’habite à…   (I live in…) and the name of the city where you live.

In return, to keep the conversation going, reply:

Q : Et vous ?   (and you? [formal]) Q : Et tu ?   (and you? [informal])

Are you interested in learning how to say country names in French? Practice with this quiz from Sporcle !

As in many parts of the world, it’s sometimes perceived as impolite to ask about age in France, especially if you’re a man asking a woman her age. But if it does come up:

Q: Quel âge as-tu  ?   (How old are you? [informal]) Q: Quel âge avez-vous ?   (How old are you? [formal])

To respond, you can say:

A : J’ai … ans. (I am … years old.)

You’ll notice that in French, you use  avoir (to have) when talking about how old you are, not  être (to be). So, it’s kind of like saying: “How many years do you have?” “I have … years.”

Another common question that people will ask during introductory conversations is “what do you do for work?” In French, you ask:

Q : Quel est ton travail ?   (What is your job? [informal]) Q: Quel est votre travail ?   (What is your job [formal])

To answer, simple say:

A: J e suis …   (I am) and state the job or profession .

Keep in mind that you don’t add the article “a” (un  or  une) before the job in French like in English. For example, you would simply say:

A: Je suis professeur.   (I am a teacher.)

And in order to understand your conversation partner’s response, you’ll want to have a solid vocabulary base of French professions. To practice popular profession names in French, try this quiz from Lawless French .

Learning languages is fun, and since you’re learning French, you’ll probably get asked about what languages you speak. People may ask: 

Q: Quelle langue parles-tu ?   (What language do you speak? [informal]) Q : Quelle langue parlez-vous ? (What language do you speak [formal])

To answer, you say:

A : Je parle…   (I speak…) and then name the language.

You can add multiple languages by linking them with  et  (and).

You can also say what languages you’re studying by saying

A: J ‘ étudie…     (I am studying).

For example, as a learner, you might say:

A: J e parle anglais et j’étudie français     (I speak English and I’m learning French).

Okay, your conversation is going well: you’re past the basics and now you need something interesting to talk about. This is a great time to discuss interests and hobbies. Someone may ask:

Q: Qu’est-ce que tu aimes faire ?   (What do you like to do? [informal]) Q : Qu’est-ce que vous aimez faire ?   (What do you like to do? [formal])

To answer, you can say:

A: J’aime…   (I like) and then list a noun or a verb.

For example, I would say something like:

A : J’aime voyager, lire et étudier les langues étrangères.   (I like to travel, read and study foreign languages).

You could also say:

A: Je m’intéresse à…   (I am interested in) and then name a noun or two, such as: like,

A: Je m’intéresse à la culture française.   (I am interested in French culture).

I would recommend looking up your hobbies and interests in French so you’re prepared, and then taking a look at this Sporcle quiz of common hobbies .

All good things come to an end, don’t they?

When the conversation is over, you could simply say:

Enchanté   (charmed) to indicate you’re happy to meet someone.

In formal contexts, you could say:

C’est un plaisir de faire votre connaissance . (It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance.) C’est un plaisir de vous rencontrer . (It is a pleasure to meet you).

Note the difference in pronoun use here. In the first sentence, you are using the possessive pronoun votre (your), whereas in the second, you have to use the object pronoun vous (you).

To say goodbye, say:

au revoir   (goodbye) à bientôt   (see you later)

À bientôt  is less formal than au revoir , but I’d say it’s an appropriate way to say goodbye to your nouvel ami français     (new French friend).

At this point, you may be thinking: sure, reading and typing these greetings is one thing. But what about when I actually want to say them?

We don’t all have the opportunity to step out the front door and introduce ourselves to a native French speaker. But that’s no excuse not to practice your French listening and speaking skills!

There are hundreds of online resources where you can learn and practice your French greetings: check out the language exchange apps HelloTalk and Tandem for meeting and greeting native French speakers through voice messages and calls.

FluentU takes authentic videos—like music videos, movie trailers, news and inspiring talks—and turns them into personalized language learning lessons.

You can try FluentU for free for 2 weeks. Check out the website or download the iOS app or Android app.

P.S. Click here to take advantage of our current sale! (Expires at the end of this month.)

Try FluentU for FREE!

And with that, my friend, I say  adieu   (goodbye)! You’re off to your first French conversations. Remember—every bonjour or bonsoir could be the first step in a friendship that lasts a lifetime.

FluentU has a wide variety of great content, like interviews, documentary excerpts and web series, as you can see here:

FluentU brings native French videos with reach. With interactive captions, you can tap on any word to see an image, definition and useful examples.

For example, if you tap on the word "crois," you'll see this:

Practice and reinforce all the vocabulary you've learned in a given video with learn mode. Swipe left or right to see more examples for the word you’re learning, and play the mini-games found in our dynamic flashcards, like "fill in the blank."

All throughout, FluentU tracks the vocabulary that you’re learning and uses this information to give you a totally personalized experience. It gives you extra practice with difficult words—and reminds you when it’s time to review what you’ve learned.

Start using the FluentU website on your computer or tablet or, better yet, download the FluentU app from the iTunes or Google Play store. Click here to take advantage of our current sale! (Expires at the end of this month.)

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Learn French the fast and easy way!

French descriptive words for a person

In French, there are a variety of words that can be used to describe a person’s physical appearance and personality traits. Whether you want to compliment someone’s beautiful eyes or describe their outgoing personality, there is a French word that can help you express it. In this blog post, we’ll explore some of the most common French descriptive words for a person.

• Grand(e) – tall
• Petit(e) – short
• Mince – thin
• Gros(se) – fat
• Musclé(e) – muscular
• Fort(e) – strong
• Faible – weak
• Beau / Belle – handsome / beautiful
• Joli(e) – pretty
• Laid(e) – ugly
• Blond(e) – blonde
• Brun(e) – brown-haired
• Roux / Rousse – red-haired
• Chauve – bald
• Barbu(e) – bearded
• Imberbe – clean-shaven
• Personality traits
• Sympathique – friendly
• Antipathique – unfriendly
• Timide – shy
• Bavarde / Bavard – talkative
• Silencieux / Silencieuse – quiet
• Calme – calm
• Nerveux / Nerveuse – nervous
• Drôle – funny
• Sérieux / Sérieuse – serious
• Aimable – kind
• Malhonnête – dishonest
• Honnête – honest
• Débrouillard(e) – resourceful
• Fidèle – loyal
• Infidèle – unfaithful
• Romantique – romantic
• Enthousiaste – enthusiastic
• Heureux / Heureuse – happy
• Triste – sad
• Fâché(e) – angry
• Stressé(e) – stressed
• En colère – furious
• Content(e) – content
• Déprimé(e) – depressed
• Énervé(e) – annoyed
• Ennuyé(e) – bored
• Other characteristics
• Intelligent(e) – intelligent
• Stupide – stupid
• Doué(e) – talented
• Maladroit(e) – clumsy
• Créatif / Créative – creative
• Intéressant(e) – interesting
• Ennuyeux / Ennuyeuse – boring
• Sympa – nice
• Simple – simple
• Compliqué(e) – complicated
• Mystérieux / Mystérieuse – mysterious

Conclusion: In French, there are many different words that can be used to describe a person’s physical appearance, personality, and emotions. By learning some of these descriptive words, you can better express yourself in French and have more meaningful conversations with others. Whether you’re complimenting a friend on their beautiful eyes or describing a colleague’s outgoing personality, there is a French word that can help you express yourself.

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