French & German Comparative Tutorial I: Learn Two Languages Simultaneously
 

 


Basic Phrases

English French German
Good morning Bonjour Guten Morgen
Good day/afternoon Bonjour Guten Tag
Good evening Bonsoir Guten Abend
Good night (going to bed) Bonne nuit Gute Nacht
Hello / Hi Bonjour / Salut Hallo / Tag
Bye Salut / Coucou Tag / Tschüss / Tschau
Goodbye Au revoir Auf Wiedersehen
Thank you (very much) Merci (beaucoup) Danke (schön)
You're welcome De rien Bitte schön
Don't mention it Il n'y a pas de quoi Nichts zu danken!
Please S'il vous plaît Bitte
How are you? (formal) Comment allez-vous? Wie geht es Ihnen?
How are you? (informal) Ça va? Wie geht's?
I'm (really) good. Je vais (très) bien. Mir geht's (sehr) gut.
I'm fine / OK. Ça va. Es geht.
What's your name? (f) Comment vous appelez-vous? Wie heißen Sie?
What's your name? (in) Tu t'appelles comment? Wie heißt du?
My name is… Je m'appelle… Ich heiße…
Where are you from? (f) D'où venez-vous? Woher kommen Sie?
Where are you from? (in) Tu es d'où? Woher kommst du?
I'm from…. Je suis de… Ich bin aus…
How old are you? Quel âge avez-vous? Wie alt sind Sie?
How old are you? Tu as quel âge? Wie alt bist du?
I'm ___ years old. J'ai ___ ans. Ich bin ___ Jahre alt.
Yes / No Oui / Non Ja / Nein
Do you speak … ? (f) Parlez-vous … Sprechen Sie…
Do you speak … ? (inf) Est-ce que tu parles … Sprichst du…
I (don't) speak… Je (ne) parle (pas)… Ich spreche (kein)…
I (don't) know Je (ne) sais (pas). Ich weiß (nicht).
Do you understand? (f) Comprenez-vous? Verstehen Sie?
Do you understand? (inf) Est-ce que tu comprends? Verstehst du?
I (don't) understand Je (ne) comprends (pas). Ich verstehe (nicht).
Can you help me? (f) Pouvez-vous m'aider? Können Sie mir helfen?
Can you help me? (inf) Est-ce que tu peux m'aider? Kannst du mir helfen?
Of course. Bien sûr Na klar.
I would like… Je voudrais… Ich möchte…
Where is / are … ? Où est / sont… ? Wo ist / sind… ?
Excuse me Excusez-moi Entschuldigung!
Pardon me Pardonnez-moi Verzeihung!
I'm sorry Je suis désolé(e). Es tut mir leid.
Come in Entrez Herein
See you tomorrow A demain Bis morgen
See you later / soon A tout à l'heure / A bientôt Bis später / Bis bald
Mister / Misses / Miss Monsieur / Madame / Mademoiselle Herr / Frau / Fräulein
Nice to meet you. Enchanté(e). Angenehm.
Same here / likewise. Enchanté(e). Freut mich.
Pardon? Comment? Wie bitte?
How do you say … ? Comment dit-on … ? Wie sagt man … ?
What's the matter? Qu'est-ce qu'il y a? Was ist los?
What's happening? Qu'est-ce qui se passe? Was passiert?
There is / are… Il y a… Es gibt…
What is it? Qu'est-ce que c'est que ça? Was ist das?
Right? N'est-ce pas? Nicht wahr?
That depends Cela dépend Es kommt darauf an
I don't think so Je ne crois pas Ich glaube nicht
I think so Je crois que oui Ich glaube schon
I don't mind Ça me dérange pas Es macht mir nichts aus
It doesn't matter. Ça ne fait rien Das macht nichts
I have no idea. Je n'ai aucune idée Ich habe keine Ahnung
I don't care. Ça m'est égal Das ist mir egal.
I'm tired / sick. Je suis fatigué(e) / malade Ich bin müde / krank
I'm hungry / thirsty. J'ai faim / soif Ich habe Hunger / Durst
I'm cold / hot. J'ai froid / chaud Mir ist kalt / heiss
I'm bored. Je m'ennuie Mir ist langweilig
I forgot. J'ai oublié Ich habe vergessen
I have to go. Je dois y aller Ich muss gehen
Welcome! Bienvenue Willkommen
Let's go! Allons-y Gehen wir
Good luck! Bonne chance Viel Glück
Have fun! (f / inf) Amusez-vous bien ! / Amuse-toi ! Amüsiert dich! / Amüsieren Sie sich!
Bless you! A tes souhaits ! Gesundheit!
Cheers! Santé ! Prost!
Pay attention! / Be careful! Fais gaffe / Faites attention Paß auf / Passen Sie auf
Don't worry! (inf) Ne t'en fais pas Keine Angst
Shut up! (f / inf) Taisez-vous / Tais-toi Seien ruhig / Sei ruhig
Congratulations! Félicitations Herzlichen Glückwunsch
Merry Christmas Joyeux Noël Frohe Weihnachten
Happy New Year Bonne Année Gutes Neues Jahr
Happy Easter Joyeuses Pâques Frohe Ostern
Happy Birthday Bon anniversaire Alles Gutes zum Geburtstag
Enjoy the meal! Bon appétit Guten Appetit
Have a safe journey! Bon voyage Gute Reise
Have a good holiday! Bonnes vacances Einen schönen Urlaub
Have a nice day! Bonne journée Schönen Tag noch
I love you. (sing.) Je t'aime Ich liebe dich
I miss you. (sing.) Tu me manques Du fehlst mir


Pronunciation

Vowels in French and German are pure, so make sure not to add an extra yuh or wuh sound that is common in English, i.e. say ee, not ee-yuh. French has 12 vowels and German has 16. Some of these vowels (highlighted) do not exist in English. And it should be noted that some dialects of French, such as Quebecois, do have some of the same vowels as German and English that are missing from the standard French dialect: [ɪ], [ʏ], and [ʊ]. I'm using the International Phonetic Alphabet symbols for the pronunciaton.

 

French Vowels
German Vowels
English Pronunciation
[i] vie, midi, lit, riz [i] viel, ziehen meet, eat
[y] rue, jus, tissu, usine [y] kühl, Süden ee rounded / long vowel
    [ɪ] Tisch, bitte mitt, it
    [ʏ] hübsch ih rounded / short vowel
[e] blé, nez, cahier, pied [e] Tee, Ähre mate, wait
[ø] jeu, yeux, queue, bleu [ø] schön, böse ay rounded / long vowel
[ɛ] lait, aile, balai, reine [ɛ] Bett, Hotel met, wet
[œ] sœur, œuf, fleur, beurre [œ] zwölf, Köchin eh rounded / short vowel
[a] chat, ami, papa, salade [a] Mann, danke mop, not
[ɑ] bas, âne, grâce, château [ɑ] kam, Ahnung ah / longer vowel than [a]
[u] loup, cou, caillou, outil [u] gut, Kuh boot, suit
    [ʊ] muss, Bus put, soot
[o] eau, dos, escargot, hôtel [o] Sohn, Franzose coat, goat
[ɔ] sol, pomme, cloche, horloge [ɔ] Stock, Post caught, bought
[ə] fenêtre, genou, cheval, cerise [ə] Wette, bitte cut, what
    [ɐ] Wetter, Mutter uhr / also short vowel like [ə]

 

In addition to these pure vowels, French has 4 nasal vowels and 3 semi-vowels, while German has 3 diphthongs. (These same diphthongs exist in English.)

French nasal vowels
French semi-vowels
German Diphthongs
[] gant, banc, dent [w] oui, Louis [aɪ] ein, mein, nein
[ɛ̃] pain, vin, linge [ɥ] lui, suisse [aʊ] auf, kaufen, Baum
[œ̃] brun, lundi, parfum [j] oreille, Mireille [ɔɪ] neu, Gebäude, Deutsch
[õ] rond, ongle, front        

 

The distinction between [a] and [ɑ] as well as between the two nasals [ɛ̃] and [œ̃] is disappearing in France, but not in Quebec!

 

French Consonants

The pronunciation of certain consonants in French depends on the spelling and/or origin of the word. Other consonants are pronounced relatively the same as in English, except h is silent and s is pronounced like z when it is between two vowels. The French r is probably the hardest consonant for English speakers to pronounce correctly as it is much further back in the throat. This sound varies according to the area of France too. For example, it is pronounced as a voiced uvular trill [R] in the Parisian accent, but as an alveolar trill [r] in the south of France.

 

ex + vowel egz examen, exercice eg-zah-mawn, eg-zehr-sees
ex + consonant eks exceptionnel, expression ek-sehp-see-oh-nel, ek-spreh-see-ohn
ch (Latin origin) sh architecte, archives ar-shee-tekt, ar-sheev
ch (Greek origin) k orchestre, archéologie ohr-kehs-tr, ar-kay-oh-loh-zhee
ti + vowel (except é) see démocratie, nation day-moh-krah-see, nah-see-ohn

 

German Consonants

There are a few German consonants that do not exist in English, and some consonant combinations that are not common in English. Notice that the German r is similar to the French r, but again, this pronunciation changes according to the location in the countries that speak German, i.e. [R] in northern Germany and [r] in southern Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

 

Spelling IPA Sample words How to pronounce:
ch (with vowels e and i) [ç] Chemie, mich, nicht Make yuh sound voiceless (no vibration of vocal cords)
ch (with vowels a, o, u) [x] Buch, lachen, kochen Make kuh sound a fricative (continuous airflow)
pf [pf] Apfel, Pferd, Pfanne Pronounce together as one sound
z [ts] Zeit, Zug, Tanz Pronounce together as one sound
j [j] ja, Januar, Junge yuh
qu [kv] Quote, Quiz, Quitte kv
st / sp (at beginning of syllable) [ʃt] / [ʃp] Stadt, sprechen sht / shp
sch [ʃ] schenken, schlafen sh
th [t] Theater, Thron t
v [f] Vater, verboten f
w [v] Wasser, warm v
ß [s] Straße, groß s
s (before vowel) [z] Salz, seit, Sitz z

 

In addition, the sounds [b], [d], and [g] lose their voicing at the end of a syllable in German, so they are pronounced as their voiceless counterparts [p], [t], and [k], respectively. However, the spelling does not reflect the pronunciation.

 

Stress

In general, stress falls on the last syllable in French and the first syllable in German. However, French is a syllable-timed language so the rhythm is measured in syllables of equal weight; whereas German and English are stress-timed languages, so stressed syllables occur at a regular rate, and the unstressed syllables are shortened (sometimes with a change in the pronunciation of the vowel). Therefore, the time required to pronounce a French word/sentence depends on the number of syllables, while in German and English, it depends on the number of stressed syllables (regardless of the number of unstressed syllables).

 


Alphabet

English
French
German
A ah ah
B bay bay
C say tsay
D day day
E uh ay
F eff eff
G zhay gay
H ahsh hah
I ee ee
J shee yoht
K kah kah
L ell el
M emm em
N enn en
O oh oh
P pay pay
Q kew koo
R air ehr
S ess ess
T tay tay
U ew oo
V vay fow
W doo-blah-vay vay
X eeks eeks
Y ee-grek irp-se-lon
Z zed tset

 

There is another letter in written German, ß (es-zet ), pronounced like [s]. However, this letter is only used after long vowels or diphthongs, and it is not used at all in Switzerland.

 


Numbers

English French German English French German
zero zéro null      
one un eins first premier (ère) erste
two deux zwei second deuxième zweite
three trois drei third troisième dritte
four quatre vier fourth quatrième vierte
five cinq fünf fifth cinquième fünfte
six six sechs sixth sixième sechste
seven sept sieben seventh septième siebte
eight huit acht eighth huitième achte
nine neuf neun ninth neuvième neunte
ten dix zehn tenth dixième zehnte
eleven onze elf twentieth vingtième zwanzigste
twelve douze zwölf      
thirteen treize dreizehn one-half une moitié eine Hälfte
fourteen quatorze vierzehn one-third un tiers ein Drittel
fifteen quinze fünfzehn one-fourth un quart ein Viertel
sixteen seize sechzehn      
seventeen dix-sept siebzehn once une fois einmal
eighteen dix-huit achtzehn twice deux fois zweimal
nineteen dix-neuf neunzehn three times trois fois dreimal
twenty vingt zwanzig      
twenty-one vingt et un einundzwanzig      
twenty-two vingt-deux zweiundzwanzig      
twenty-three vingt-trois dreiundzwanzig      
thirty trente dreißig      
forty quarante vierzig      
fifty cinquante fünfzig      
sixty soixante sechzig      
seventy soixante-dix siebzig      
eighty quatre-vingts achtzig      
ninety quatre-vingt-dix neunzig      
hundred cent einhundert      
hundred one cent un hundert eins      
two hundred deux cents zwei hundert      
thousand mille eintausend      
two thousand deux mille zwei tausend      
million un million eine Million      


Articles & Demonstratives

 

French only has two genders (masculine and feminine), while German has three (masculine, feminine, and neuter). There is no distinction among these genders for the plural forms. German also has a case system that changes the article (and sometimes the noun) according to its function in the sentence. Nominative means the subject of the sentence, accusative is the direct object, dative is the indirect object, and genitive shows possession (though the genitive case is used less often in speaking than in writing).

Definite Articles (The)
French
German
Masculine Feminine Plural Masculine Feminine Neuter Plural
le la les   Nominative der die das die
* Use l' for nouns beginning
with a vowel and sometimes h,
regardless of the gender
  Accusative den die das die
  Dative dem der dem den
  Genitive des der des der


Indefinite Articles (A, An)
French
German
Masculine Feminine Masculine Feminine Neuter
un une   Nom. ein eine ein
      Acc. einen eine ein
      Dat. einem einer einem
      Gen. eines einer eines

Indefinite articles do not have a plural form. In French, you must use des to mean some, but in German, you do not have to express some (just as in English).

Demonstratives (This/That, These/Those + Noun)
French
German
Masc. Masc.* Fem. Plural Masc. Fem. Neuter Plural
ce cet cette ces   Nom. dieser diese dieses diese
*Use cet before masculine
nouns beginning with a
vowel
  Acc. diesen diese dieses diese
  Dat. diesem dieser diesem diesen
  Gen. dieses dieser dieses dieser

Nouns: Gender & Number

 

Nouns in French can either be masculine or feminine. Nouns in German can be masculine, feminine, or neuter. Sometimes the suffix will help you to determine a noun's gender, but in general, you should learn the article with the noun when you study vocabulary. Some proper nouns, such as days of the week or months of the year, are not capitalized in French. All nouns, whether common or proper, are capitalized in German.

Gender
In French, masculine singular nouns generally end with a consonant, - age or -ment. Feminine singular nouns generally end with -ure, -sion, -tion, -ence, -ance, -té, and -ette.

in German, nouns ending in -ant, -ast, -ich, -ig, -ismus, -ling, -or and -us are masculine. Nouns ending in -a, -anz, -ei, -enz, -heit, -ie, -ik, -in, -keit, -schaft, -sion, -sis, -tät, -tion, -ung and -ur are feminine.  Nouns ending in -chen, -icht, -il, -it, -lein, -ma, -ment, -tel, -tum, and -um are neuter.  Nouns referring to things that end in -al, -an, -ar, -ät, -ent, -ett, -ier, -iv, -o and -on, as well as most words with the prefix ge- and most nouns ending in -nis and -sal are also neuter.

Number
In French, singular nouns generally add -s (unless the noun already ends in -s, -z, or -x, then they change nothing for the plural), though nouns ending in -au, -eau, and -eu add -x instead (or change -al/-ail to -aux) to form the plural. (Exceptions: festival, carnaval, bal, pneu, bleu, landau, détail, chandail all add -s) There are also seven nouns ending in -ou that add -x instead of -s: bijou, caillou, chou, genou, pou, joujou, hibou

French Irregular Plurals: l'œil - les yeux (eye-eyes); le ciel - les cieux (sky-skies); le jeune homme - les jeunes gens (young man-young men); and three nouns are masculine in the singular, but feminine in the plural: amour, délice, orgue

In German, there are several ways to form the plural of a noun and because there are so many exceptions, it is best to learn the plural form as soon as you learn a new noun. Nevertheless, here are a few rules to keep in mind:

1. Feminine nouns usually add -n or -en.  Nouns that end in -in (such as the female equivalents of masculine nouns) add -nen.

eine Lampe zwei Lampen
eine Tür zwei Türen
eine Studentin zwei Studentinnen

2. Masculine and neuter nouns usually add -e or -er.  Many masculine plural nouns ending in -e add an umlaut as well, but neuter plural nouns ending in -e don't.  Plurals that end in -er add an umlaut when the stem vowel is a, o , u or au.

Masculine Neuter
ein Rock zwei Röcke ein Heft zwei Hefte
ein Mann zwei Männer ein Buch zwei Bücher

3. Masculine and neuter singular nouns that end in -er either add an umlaut or change nothing at all.  Many nouns with a stem vowel of a, o, u or au add an umlaut.

Masculine Neuter
ein Bruder zwei Brüder ein Fenster zwei Fenster

4. Nouns that end in a vowel other than an unstressed -e and nouns of foreign origin add -s.

ein Hobby zwei Hobbys
ein Hotel zwei Hotels

Personal Pronouns

 

English French German English French German English French German English French German
Subject / Nominative
Direct Object / Accusative
Indirect Object / Dative
Object of a Preposition*
I je ich me me mich me me mir me moi mich / mir
you (s / inf) tu du you te dich you te dir you toi dich / dir
he / it il er him le ihn him lui ihm him lui ihn / ihm
she / it elle sie her la Sie her lui ihr her elle sie / ihr
it (neuter) il / elle es it le / la es it lui ihm it lui / elle es / ihm
one on man                  
we nous wir us nous uns us nous uns us nous uns
you (pl / inf) vous ihr you vous euch you vous euch you vous euch
you (formal) vous Sie you vous Sie you vous Ihnen you vous Sie / Ihnen
they (m) ils sie them (m) les sie them (m) leur ihnen them (m) eux sie / ihnen
they (f) elles sie them (f) les sie them (f) leur ihnen them (f) elles Sie / Ihnen

s = singular, inf = informal, pl = plural, m = masculine, f = feminine

Use the forms of tu / du when speaking to a family member, someone younger than you, animals or anyone you want to be informal with. Use the forms of vous for all other meanings of you in French. In German, use the forms of ihr as the plural of the informal du. Use the forms of Sie for all formal communication, whether singular or plural, in German.

Notice that it translates as the same words for he and she in all the forms. The context of the sentence should make it clear as to whether you mean a person or a thing.

*For German pronouns that are the object of a preposition, the form will depend on which case (accusative or dative; and in rare cases, genitive) that the preposition requires. See Prepositions for the lists.


Verbs: Be, Have, Do

 

 
to be - être & sein
to have - avoir & haben
to do - faire & machen
  être Present Past Future avoir Present Past Future faire Present Past Future
French je suis étais serai   ai avais aurai   fais faisais ferai
tu es étais seras   as avais auras   fais faisais feras
il/elle est était sera   a avait aura   fait faisait fera
nous sommes étions serons   avons avions aurons   faisons faisions ferons
vous êtes étiez serez   avez aviez aurez   faites faisiez ferez
ils/elles sont étaient seront   ont avaient auront   font faisaient feront
                         
  sein Present Past Future haben Present Past Future machen Present Past Future
German ich bin war werde sein   habe hatte werde haben   mache machte werde machen
du bist warst wirst sein   hast hattest wirst haben   machst machtest wirst machen
er/sie/es ist war wird sein   hat hatte wird haben   macht machte wird machen
wir sind waren werden sein   haben hatten werden haben   machen machten werden machen
ihr seid wart werdet sein   habt hattet werdet haben   macht machtet werdet machen
sie/Sie sind waren werden sein   haben hatten werden haben   machen machten werden machen

Notice that French is unlike English and German in the future tense. Rather than using an auxiliary verb before the infinitive, French adds different endings to the verb stem.


Interrogatives / Conjunctions / Adverbs

 

English French German English French German
Who? qui wer there is/are il y a es gibt
Whom? qui wen and et und
(To) Whom? à qui wem or ou oder
Whose? de qui wessen but mais aber
What? quoi was not pas nicht
Where? wo very très sehr
Where to? wohin also aussi auch
Where from? d'où woher that que daß
Why? pourquoi warum never jamais nie
When? quand wann sometimes parfois manchmal
How? comment wie always toujours immer
How much? combien wieviel usually d'habitude gewöhnlich
How long? combien de temps wie lange often souvent oft
Which? quel/le/s welche/r/s although bien que obschon, obwohl
because parce que weil whereas alors que obwohl, als
since / for depuis seit so long as tant que solange
during pendant que während as soon as dès que sobald


Direct Object / Accusative Case & Indirect Object / Dative Case

 

French: The difference between direct and indirect objects in French is usually exhibited with the personal pronouns and/or the preposition à following a verb. Compare these two sentences:

Je le vois. I see him. [Direct object]
Je lui parle. I speak to him. [Indirect object]

The verb voir takes a direct object, while parler takes an indirect object (voir quelqu'un/to see someone vs. parler à quelqu'un/to speak to someone) in French. Sometimes these correspond exactly to English; and sometimes they don't. For example, the verbs répondre and obéir take indirect objects in French, while in English they take direct objects (répondre à quelqu'un/to answer someone and obéir à quelqu'un/to obey someone).

 

German: The case system is much more complicated in German, because there are more cases than in French, but also because the articles, adjectives, and sometimes the nouns, change according to which case they are in. In addition, certain prepositions are followed by the accusative, dative or genitive case depending on what they are and if the preposition expresses movement or location.

Ich habe einen Bruder. I have a brother. [Accusative case]
Ich helfe ihm. I help him. [Dative case]

As in French, German verbs require either the accusative or dative case, and they do not always correspond exactly to the English usage. However, there is usually no preposition after the verb in German to help you with determining the case that is required (haben takes accusative, while helfen takes dative). For both languages, you just have to memorize which verbs take a direct object/accusative case and which verbs take an indirect object/dative case. Plus you have to memorize which prepositions use which case in German (Prepositions).

Dative Plural: In addition to changing the articles according to case, all German plural nouns in the dative case add an -n (unless they already end in -n, then they add nothing).


Days / Months / Seasons

 

English French German English French German
Monday lundi Montag afternoon l'après-midi (m) der Nachmittag
Tuesday mardi Dienstag century le siècle das Jahrhundert
Wednesday mercredi Mittwoch dawn l'aube der Tagesanbruch
Thursday jeudi Donnerstag day le jour der Tag
Friday vendredi Freitag dusk la tombée de la nuit die Dämmerung
Saturday samedi Samstag / Sonnabend evening le soir der Abend
Sunday dimanche Sonntag fortnight la quinzaine vierzehn Tage
      holiday la fête der Festtag
January janvier Januar / Jänner hour l'heure (f) die Stunde
February février Februar / Feber half hour une demi-heure eine halbe Stunde
March mars März quarter hour un quart d'heure eine Viertelstunde
April avril April hour and half une heure et demi anderthalb Studen
May mai Mai leap year l'année bissextile das Schaltjahr
June juin Juni midnight la minuit dier Mitternacht
July juillet Juli minute la minute die Minute
August août August month le mois der Monat
September septembre September morning la matin der Morgen
October octobre Oktober night la nuit die Nacht
November novembre November noon le midi der Mittag
December décembre Dezember season la saison die Jahreszeit
      second la seconde die Sekunde
spring le printemps der Frühling sunrise le lever du soleil der Sonnenaufgang
summer l'été (m) der Sommer sunset le coucher du soleil der Sonnenuntergang
autumn l'automne (m) der Herbst time le temps die Zeit
winter l'hiver der Winter today aujourd'hui heute
      tomorrow demain morgen
      week la semaine die Woche
      year l'an (m) das Jahr
      yesterday hier gestern


Time / Weather / Directions

 

English French German
What time is it? Quelle heure est-il? Wie spät ist es?
It is one o'clock Il est une heure es ist ein Uhr
It is five o'clock Il est cinq heures es ist fünf Uhr
It is noon Il est midi es ist mittags
It is midnight Il est minuit es ist mitternachts
half past five cinq heures et demi es ist halb sechs
quarter to five cinq heures moins un quart es ist ein Viertel vor fünf
quarter past five cinq heures et quart es ist ein Viertel nach fünf
twenty to five cinq heures moins vingt es ist zwanzig Minuten vor fünf
twenty past five cinq heures vingt es ist zwanzig Minuten nach fünf
     
What's the weather like? Quel temps fait-il? Wie ist das Wetter heute?
it's nice/beautiful il fait beau es ist schön
it's bad il fait mauvais es ist schlect
it's cold il fait froid es ist kalt
it's hot / warm il fait chaud es ist heiß / warm
it's sunny il fait soleil es ist sonnig
it's rainy/raining il pleut es regnet
it's snowy/snowing il neige es schneit
it's windy il y a du vent es ist windig
it's foggy il y a du brouillard es ist nebelig
it's freezing il gèle es friert
It's cloudy il fait nuageux es ist bewölkt
     
north nord der Norden
south sud der Süden
east est der Osten
west ouest der Westen
northeast nord-est der Nordosten
northwest nord-ouest der Nordwesten
southeast sud-est der Südosten
southwest sud-ouest der Südwesten
     
to/on the left à gauche links
to/on the right à droite rechts
straight (ahead) tout droit geradeaus


Colors & Shapes

 

English French German English French German
red rouge rot square le carré das Viereck
pink rose rosa circle le cercle der Kreis
orange orange orange triangle le triangle das Dreieck
yellow jaune gelb rectangle le rectangle das Rechteck
green vert grün oval l'ovale das Oval
blue bleu blau sphere la sphère die Kugel
purple lila / violet lila / violett cube le cube der Würfel
brown brun / marron braun pyramid la pyramide die Pyramide
black noir schwarz cone le cône der Kegel
white blanc weiß cylinder le cylindre der Zylinder
gray gris grau heart le cœur das Herz
silver argenté silbern star l'étoile der Stern
gold doré golden diamond le diamant der Diamant
      crescent le croissant der Bogen

Because colors are adjectives, they must agree in gender and number with the noun they modify. In French, most adjectives are placed after the noun instead of before the noun as in English and German.


Family

 

English French German English French German
family la famille die Familie mother-in-law la belle-mère die Schwiegermutter
mother la mère die Mutter father-in-law le beau-père der Schwiegervater
mom maman Mutti daughter-in-law la belle-fille die Schwiegertochter
father le père der Vater son-in-law le gendre der Schwiegersohn
dad papa Vati sister-in-law la belle-sœur die Schwägerin
parents les parents die Eltern brother-in-law le beau-frère der Schwager
daughter la fille die Tochter godmother la marraine die Patin
son le fils der Sohn godfather le parraine der Pate
children les enfants die Kinder      
sister la sœur die Schwester girl la jeune fille das Mädchen
brother le frère der Bruder boy le garçon der Junge
wife la femme / l'épouse die Frau toddler le bambin / petit enfant das Kleinkind
husband le mari / l'époux der Mann baby le bébé das Kind
grandmother la grand-mère die Großmutter child l'enfant das Kind
grandfather le grand-père der Großvater teenager l'adolescent(e) der Teenager
grandparents les grands-parents die Großeltern woman la femme die Frau
granddaughter la petite-fille die Enkelin man l'homme der Mann
grandson le petit-fils der Enkel adults l'adulte die Erwachsenen
grandchildren les petits-enfants die Enkelkinder relative le parent der Verwandte
cousin (f) la cousine die Cousine siblings des frères et sœurs die Geschwister
cousin (m) le cousin der Vetter twins les jumeaux / jumelles der Zwilling
aunt la tante die Tante birth la naissance die Geburt
uncle l'oncle der Onkel death la mort der Tod
niece la nièce die Nichte marriage le mariage die Ehe
nephew le neveu der Neffe divorce le divorce die Scheidung
stepmother la belle-mère die Stiefmutter      
stepfather le beau-père der Stiefvater      
stepdaughter la belle-fille die Stieftochter      
stepson le beau-fils der Stiefsohn      
stepsister la belle-sœur die Stiefschwester      
stepbrother le beau-frère der Stiefbruder      

Possessive Adjectives & Pronouns

 

The gender of possessives depends on the noun that they describe, not the person that they refer to.

French Possessives
  masc. fem. plural   masc. fem. masc. pl. fem. pl.
my mon ma mes mine le mien la mienne les miens les miennes
your ton ta tes yours le tien la tienne les tiens les tiennes
his son sa ses his le sien la sienne les siens les siennes
her son sa ses hers le sien la sienne les siens les siennes
its son sa ses its le sien la sienne les siens les siennes
our notre notre nos ours le nôtre la nôtre les nôtres les nôtres
your votre votre vos yours le vôtre la vôtre les vôtres les vôtres
their leur leur leurs theirs le leur la leur les leurs les leurs

Before feminine nouns beginning with a vowel, you must use the masculine possessive adjectives (to avoid the double vowel).

 

German Possessives

masculine
feminine / plural
neuter
  nom. acc. dat gen. nom. acc. dat gen. nom. acc. dat gen.
my/mine mein meinen meinem meines meine meine meiner meiner mein mein meinem meines
your/yours dein deinen deinem deines deine deine deiner deiner dein dein deinem deines
his sein seinen seinem seines seine seine seiner seiner sein sein seinem seines
her/hers ihr ihren ihrem ihres ihre ihre ihrer ihrer ihr ihr ihrem ihres
its sein seinen seinem seines seine seine seiner seiner sein sein seinem seines
our/ours unser unseren unserem unseres unsere unsere unserer unserer unser unser unserem unseres
your/yours euer euren eurem eures eure eure eurer eurer euer euer eurem eures
their/theirs ihr ihren ihrem ihres ihre ihre ihrer ihrer ihr ihr ihrem ihres
your/yours Ihr Ihren Ihrem Ihres Ihre Ihre Ihrer Ihrer Ihr Ihr Ihrem Ihres

Notice that the German possessives follow the same pattern as the indefinite article (ein) and euer loses its second e when the endings are added on.

 

Je prends mon livre, mon stylo et mon sac. / Ich nehme mein Buch, meinen Füller und meine Tasche. I'm taking my book, my pen and my bag.
Elle fait ses devoirs dans sa chambre. / Sie macht ihre Hausaufgaben auf ihrem Zimmer. She does her homework in her room.
La voiture de mes parents est rouge. / Der Wagen meiner Eltern is rot. My parents' car is red.
Mes yeux sont verts. / Meine Augen sind grün. My eyes are green.


Go on to French & German II



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