What are the most basic French words for beginners?

The nine words that get you through almost any first conversation are: bonjour (hello), au revoir (goodbye), s'il vous plaît (please), merci (thank you), oui (yes), non (no), peut-être (maybe), bien sûr (of course) and désolé (sorry). Learn these before any grammar — they cover greeting, asking, answering and apologising.

How do you say please and thank you in French?

Please is s'il vous plaît (seel voo pleh) with someone you don't know, and s'il te plaît (seel tuh pleh) with a friend, a child or family. Thank you is merci (mair-see); you can make it warmer with merci beaucoup (thank you very much).

Is it désolé or désolée?

Both — désolé is written with one 'e' if you are male and désolée with two if you are female. They sound exactly the same, so the spelling only matters in writing. For a small bump or a squeeze past someone, French speakers usually say pardon or excusez-moi rather than désolé, which is reserved for a real apology.

When should you say bonjour in French?

Every time you enter a shop, a bakery, a lift or a waiting room — before you ask for anything. In France, walking in and asking a question without saying bonjour first is considered rude, and it explains most of the 'cold' service tourists complain about. After roughly 6 p.m., switch to bonsoir (good evening).

How do you pronounce peut-être in French?

Peut-être is pronounced puh-tetr, in two quick syllables. The final 're' is barely voiced — do not say 'et-ray'. It literally means 'can be', which is a nice way to remember it: what can be, maybe is.

Basic French Words for Beginners: The 9 You Need First

You do not need a thousand words to survive your first day in French. You need nine. They are the words that open a conversation, ask for something, answer a question and get you out of trouble — and every one of them is short enough to learn before your coffee goes cold. In my new video a slightly unsettling antique doll runs through all nine with me; below, you get the pronunciation, the moment to use each word, and the politeness rules that native speakers never tell you about.

🎬 The 9 first words of French, said out loud — repeat after me (and after the doll).

The 9 basic French words

Here is the full list from the video, with an English-friendly pronunciation. Say each one out loud as you read it — reading silently teaches your eyes, not your mouth.

bonjour — hello (bon-zhoor)
au revoir — goodbye (oh ruh-vwar)
s'il vous plaît — please (seel voo pleh)
merci — thank you (mair-see)
oui — yes (wee)
non — no (nohn)
peut-être — maybe (puh-tetr)
bien sûr — of course (byan sewr)
désolé — sorry (day-zo-lay)

Bonjour is not optional

This is the single most useful thing a beginner can learn, and it is not a word — it is a rule. In France you say bonjour when you entera place: a shop, a bakery, a lift, a doctor's waiting room. Before the question, before the order, before anything. Walking up to a counter and starting with "Do you have…" reads as genuinely rude, and it is behind most of the "Parisians are cold" stories you have heard. Say bonjour first and watch the same person become helpful.

After about six in the evening, bonjour becomes bonsoir (bon-swar), good evening. And when you leave, you close the loop with au revoir— literally "until the seeing again". Enter with bonjour, leave with au revoir: that alone marks you as someone who knows how France works.

Please: vous or te?

S'il vous plaîthas a hidden choice inside it. It means "if it pleases you", and that "you" comes in two versions:

s'il vous plaît — with a stranger, a shopkeeper, an official, anyone older, or a group. This is your default.
s'il te plaît — with a friend, a child, a family member, a classmate.

As a learner you will never offend anyone by using vous. Use it until the other person invites you to switch — they will literally say on peut se tutoyer("we can use tu"). Guessing wrong in the other direction is the one that stings.

Merci, and the trap that comes with it

Merci is thank you. Merci beaucoup (mair-see boh-koo) is thank you very much. The reply is de rien(duh ryan) — "it's nothing", the French "you're welcome".

The trap: if someone offers you food or a drink and you answer with a bare merci, they will understand no, thank you. To accept, you must say oui, merci or volontiers (with pleasure). One word of difference between a second slice of cake and an empty plate.

Yes, no, maybe, of course

These four are how you answer, and each one has a little more inside it than the dictionary says:

oui — yes. There is a second yes, si, used only to contradict a negative question: Tu n'aimes pas le fromage ? — Si ! ("You don't like cheese? — Yes I do!")
non — no. Said alone it is blunt; soften it with non merci or non, désolé.
peut-être — maybe. Literally "can be", which is a good memory hook.
bien sûr — of course. Literally "well sure". It is warm and enthusiastic: Bien sûr ! is the perfect answer to "Can you help me?"

Désolé, pardon, excusez-moi

French has three ways to apologise and beginners reach for the wrong one. Désolé is a real apology — you did something wrong, you are sorry about it. For the small stuff — squeezing past someone on the metro, bumping a shoulder — French speakers say pardon (par-don). To interrupt someone or get attention, it is excusez-moi (ex-koo-zay mwah).

One spelling note: write désolé if you are male and désolée if you are female. They sound identical, so it only ever matters in a text message.

How to make these stick by tomorrow

Do not memorise the column. Instead, run the scene: imagine walking into a Paris bakery and play it through out loud — Bonjour ! … Un croissant, s'il vous plaît. … Merci. … Au revoir ! Four of your nine words, in the order you will really need them, tied to a place and an action rather than to English translations. Do that once tonight and once tomorrow morning and they are yours for life.

Then add the answers: someone asks you a question, and you have oui, non, peut-être, bien sûr ready. Add désolé for when it goes wrong. That is a complete conversation shape with nine words and no grammar at all.

Where to go next

Once these nine are automatic, the quickest win is to notice how much French you already know without studying — start with French words you already know. If a trip is coming up, add the ten essentials in travel vocabulary in French. Every list I teach from is collected in the French vocabulary hub.

And if you want to actually say these words to a human being who corrects you, I teach one-to-one online — you can book a free 30-minute trial lesson and we will start from exactly where you are. You can also see how I work as a French tutor in Bangkok & online.