French has a reputation for being elegant but tricky. The reality? With a sensible plan and a little practice every day, everyday French is well within reach. Here's how to start from absolute zero.
Get the sounds right first
French spelling looks scary until you learn the patterns — and they are patterns. Spend your first sessions on the nasal vowels (on, an, in), the silent final letters, the French r, and liaisons (how words link together). Say everything aloud. Good pronunciation early saves you from fossilised mistakes later.
Your first words do the heavy lifting
Start with greetings (bonjour, salut, au revoir), the essentials (oui, non, merci, s'il vous plaît, pardon), numbers, and the verbs you'll use constantly: être (to be), avoir (to have), aller, faire, vouloir. Learn them inside short sentences: Je voudrais un café, s'il vous plaît.
The grammar that matters at the start
- Gender and articles (le, la, un, une) — learn the article with every noun.
- The present tense of common verbs.
- The passé composé to talk about the past.
- Basic questions — Comment ? Où ? Quand ? Pourquoi ?
The subjunctive and the finer points can wait — they come naturally as you move through A1 and A2.
A realistic roadmap
A1 (introduce yourself, order, shop) in roughly 6–10 weeks; A2 (routine, past, travel) over a few months; B1 (real conversations and opinions — the level many jobs and Canada PR ask for); then B2 (work, study, the news).
One focused lesson a day beats a weekend cram every time. Speak out loud, get corrected, come back tomorrow.
Learn French the easier way
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