Practice French with native speakers

Textbook French is tidy. Spoken French drops letters, glues words together and says on where the book says nous. To hear it, chat with people who speak it every day: on Speakblend you swap languages with French speakers who are learning English. It is free on iPhone and Android.

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Where French is spoken, and what changes from place to place

French is spoken in Europe, the Americas, Africa and the Pacific, and each region has its own habits:

  • France: week-end, bisous to sign off a friendly message, and ne often skipped in speech (je sais pas).
  • Belgium and Switzerland: septante (70) and nonante (90) instead of soixante-dix and quatre-vingt-dix; déjeuner is breakfast and dîner is lunch.
  • Québec: tu comes quickly; people magasinent (go shopping) during the fin de semaine (weekend).
  • West and Central Africa: an official language in Senegal, Côte d'Ivoire, Cameroon and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, usually alongside local languages, with words of its own, like Ivorian s'enjailler (to have a good time).

Paris and Brussels are on UTC+1 (UTC+2 in summer), Montréal on UTC-5 (UTC-4 in summer), and Dakar and Abidjan on UTC+0 all year. Use the nationality filter to meet speakers from one country or several; profiles list each person's native language and the languages they are learning.

10 conversation starters in French

Test yourself

With the translation off, work out each bubble first, then tap Translate. Tap a hidden reading to show it.

  1. Salut ! Ça va ?

    Hi! How's it going?

  2. Tu viens d'où ?

    Where are you from?

    Spoken word order puts the question word last.

  3. Tu fais quoi dans la vie ?

    What do you do for work or study?

  4. Tu fais quoi ce week-end ?

    What are you doing this weekend?

    In Québec, cette fin de semaine.

  5. Pourquoi tu apprends l'anglais ?

    Why are you learning English?

  6. On se tutoie ?

    Shall we say tu?

    Useful if you started with vous.

  7. Ça se dit vraiment ?

    Do people actually say that?

  8. Tu peux parler un peu plus lentement ?

    Can you speak a bit more slowly?

  9. C'est quoi, ton coin préféré dans ta ville ?

    What's your favorite spot in your city?

  10. Je t'envoie un vocal !

    I'll send you a voice message.

    Un vocal is everyday French for a voice note.

Common mistakes English speakers make in French

"Je suis 20 ans."

You have an age in French: j'ai 20 ans.

"Je suis excité."

For looking forward to something, say j'ai hâte or trop bien !; excité can sound like the wrong kind of excitement.

False friends.

Actuellement means "currently", a librairie is a bookshop, and assister à means "to attend".

Avoiding on.

Natives use on far more than nous: on va au cinéma ? means "shall we go to the movies?".

Tu or vous.

Peers in a chat usually say tu. With someone older, start with vous and let them propose tu.

How translation and voice messages help

  • Spoken French blurs words together: t'es où ? for tu es où ?, j'sais pas for je ne sais pas, and vous avez runs into one sound through liaison. Voice messages are where you learn to hear it. Play a vocal at 0.5x, scrub back over the blurry part, then try 1.5x or 2x once it is clear.

  • Translation covers 130+ languages. Translate a single message from its menu and the result appears under the original. Slang such as chelou ("weird") or relou ("annoying") can trip up any translation, so when one looks off, ask your partner.

  • Voice calls are audio only, which keeps the focus on listening. Small daily messages count as well: Champagne, the third tier of your friendship's Passport stamp after Ink and Silver, asks for a 7-day chat streak.

A sample exchange in French and English (illustrative)

Written for this page as an example; not a real member conversation. Priya, in Bangalore, is learning French. Hugo, in Lyon, is learning English.

  1. Priya

    Salut Hugo ! Tu viens d'où exactement ?

    Hi Hugo! Where exactly are you from?

  2. Hugo

    De Lyon ! Et toi ? Your French is good!

  3. Priya

    Merci ! Je suis 26 ans et j'habite à Bangalore.

    Thanks! I'm 26 and I live in Bangalore.

  4. Hugo

    Small thing: j'ai 26 ans. In French you "have" your age.

  5. Priya

    Ah oui, j'ai 26 ans ! Tu peux m'envoyer un vocal ?

    Can you send me a voice message?

  6. Hugo

    Bien sûr ! And you send me one in English?

French practice: questions and answers

Should I learn French from France or Québec?

Learn the one you will use. Both share grammar and spelling; the differences are mostly in accent and vocabulary, and speakers understand each other. Filter by nationality to meet people from France, Canada, Belgium, Switzerland or Senegal.

Should I say tu or vous on Speakblend?

With people around your age, tu is the norm. With someone older, start with vous and switch when they suggest it.

Can I practice French out loud?

Yes. Send voice messages or start a voice call from your chat. Speakblend has no video calls; calls are audio only.

Is Speakblend free?

Yes, on iPhone and Android. MAX is optional (weekly, monthly or yearly) and adds extras such as profile-visitor notifications and 5 undos a day.

Download Speakblend free on the App Store or Google Play.

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