Translate English to French
French is spoken by over 300 million people across five continents, from Paris and Brussels to Montreal, Dakar, and Beirut. Whether you are drafting an email to a supplier in Lyon, preparing a menu description for a bistro, or helping a friend with homework, this translator turns your English text into French in seconds. Just paste your words above and click translate.
Common English to French translations
| English | French | Pronunciation | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hello | Bonjour | bon-ZHOOR | ||
| Good evening | Bonsoir | bon-SWAHR | ||
| Thank you | Merci | mehr-SEE | ||
| Please | S'il vous plaît | seel voo PLEH | ||
| How much does this cost? | Combien ça coûte? | kom-bee-EN sah KOOT | ||
| Where is the train station? | Où est la gare? | oo eh lah GAR | ||
| I do not understand | Je ne comprends pas | zhuh nuh kom-PRON pah | ||
| Can you help me? | Pouvez-vous m'aider? | poo-vay voo meh-DAY | ||
| I would like a coffee | Je voudrais un café | zhuh voo-DREH un kah-FAY | ||
| The bill, please | L'addition, s'il vous plaît | lah-dee-see-ON seel voo PLEH | ||
| Nice to meet you | Enchanté | on-shon-TAY | ||
| Goodbye | Au revoir | oh ruh-VWAHR | ||
| I need help | J'ai besoin d'aide | zhay buh-ZWAN DED | ||
| Excuse me | Excusez-moi | ex-koo-zay MWAH |
Tips for English to French translation
French nouns carry gender just like Spanish, but the patterns are different. A car is feminine (la voiture), a train is masculine (le train), and a beach is feminine (la plage). Unlike Spanish, French has no reliable ending-based rule that works consistently. The safest habit is to memorize each noun with its article from the beginning.
French uses two forms of “you” and the choice matters more than in most languages. Tu is reserved for close friends, family, and children. Vous covers everyone else: strangers, colleagues, older people, and anyone you want to address respectfully. Using tu with someone you barely know can come across as rude. When in doubt, go with vous and wait for the other person to suggest switching.
Negation in French always uses two words: ne before the verb and pas after it (je ne sais pas means “I do not know”). In spoken French, the ne is frequently dropped, so you might hear je sais pas. Written French, however, expects both parts. If your translator drops the ne, add it back before sending anything formal.
English and French share thousands of words that look similar (nation, direction, information, culture), but pronunciation is completely different. Resist the urge to read French words with English sounds. The nasal vowels, silent final consonants, and liaisons between words give French its distinctive rhythm. Clicking the speaker button next to each phrase in the table above will help you hear these differences clearly.
About the French language
French evolved from Vulgar Latin in northern Gaul and became a distinct language by the 9th century. It served as the international language of diplomacy and culture for several hundred years and remains one of the most studied foreign languages worldwide. It holds official status in 29 countries, making it the second most geographically widespread official language after English.
The language exists in several major varieties. Metropolitan French (spoken in France) differs from Canadian French (spoken mainly in Quebec) in pronunciation, vocabulary, and some grammar. African French, used across more than 20 countries, has its own regional expressions and rhythms. Despite these differences, all varieties share the same written standard, so a text written in Dakar reads the same as one written in Paris.
Frequently asked questions
Completely free. There is no registration, no word limit per day, and no premium version. You can use it as many times as you need.
The output follows standard written French, which is understood in both France and Canada. Some vocabulary differs between regions (courriel in Canada vs. email in France for the same concept), but the grammar is identical.
Yes. Every row in the phrase table has a speaker button for both English and French. Click it to hear the sentence read aloud. You can also use the main translator to listen to longer results.
Accents change both pronunciation and meaning. Ou means “or” while où means “where.” A is a verb form while à is a preposition. Leaving out accents can confuse readers and occasionally change the meaning of your sentence entirely.
For routine correspondence it works well. For high-stakes communication (contracts, proposals, press releases), have a native speaker review the output. Small errors in register or formality can make a poor impression in French business culture.
Tu is informal singular “you” for friends and family. Vous is formal or plural. In professional settings, always use vous unless the other person invites you to switch. Getting this wrong is one of the fastest ways to seem impolite in French.
This page is set up for English to French. For the reverse direction, visit our French to English translation page.
The tool accepts up to 100 words per request. For longer texts, break them into sections and translate each one. Shorter input consistently produces better output quality.
Yes. Nothing you type is stored or shared. The text is processed in real time and disappears when you leave the page.
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