Parlez-vous francais?
What does Parlez-vous français ? mean? if you hear someone say that to you they are asking "Do you speak French?" After this free French lesson you’ll be able to say how much French you know, and manage a French conversation that is going too fast for you.
Most people are happy to speak more slowly in French when they know that you are learning – all you have to do is ask!
How to pronounce Parlez-vous francais ?
Here are some of the most basic French phrases to get you started. Further on in this lesson we will look at the pronunciation of these and more French phrases.
- Parlez-vous français ? - Do you speak French? (polite form)
- Est-ce que vous parlez français ? - (Is it that) you speak French? (very polite form)
- Parlez plus lentement s'il vous plaît ! - Speak more slowly please!
- Parlez-vous anglais ? - Do you speak English? (polite form)
- Vous parlez français - You speak French (polite form)
- Vous ne parlez pas français - You don’t speak French (polite form)
- Vous parlez bien français - You speak French well
- Vous parlez français couramment - You speak French fluently
- Vous parlez mal le français - You speak French badly
Resources for further reading:
Parlez-vous français ?
There are a couple of ways of asking "do you speak French?". We look at those here, and how you would say "You speak French" as a statement.
Practice Your Pronunciation With Rocket Record
Rocket Record lets you perfect your French pronunciation. Just listen to the native speaker audio and then use the microphone icon to record yourself. Once you’re done, you’ll get a score out of 100 on your pronunciation and can listen to your own audio playback. (Use a headset mic for best results.) Problems? Click here!
Parlez-vous français ?
Do you speak French? (polite form)
Est-ce que vous parlez français ?
(Is it that) you speak French? (very polite form)
Parlez plus lentement s'il vous plaît !
Speak more slowly please!
Parlez-vous anglais ?
Do you speak English? (polite form)
Vous parlez français
You speak French (polite form)
Vous ne parlez pas français
You don't speak French (polite form)
Hopefully you will hear...
Vous parlez bien français
You speak French well
Vous parlez français couramment
You speak French fluently
And not...
Vous parlez mal le français
You speak French badly
Here is a short conversation about speaking French that may occur!
French Conversation
- Claire: Est-ce que vous parlez français?
- Paul: Oui, un peu.
- Claire: Est-ce que vous me comprenez?
- Paul: Oui, mais pouvez-vous parler un peu plus lentement?
- Claire: Bien sûr. Ça va mieux?
- Paul: Oui merci.
- Claire: Est-ce que vous parlez aussi verlan?
- Paul: Je ne sais pas. Qu’est-ce que c’est?
- Claire: Hahaha!
English Translation
- Claire: Do you speak French?
- Paul: Yes, a little.
- Claire: Can you understand me?
- Paul: Yes, but can you speak a little more slowly?
- Claire: Of course. Is that better?
- Paul: Yes, thank you.
- Claire: Do you also speak slang?
- Paul: I don't know. What's that?
- Claire: Hahaha!
So there you have the fundamentals of social interaction in French. After you accomplish that, you'll have a clear enough head to start thinking about what comes next.
If you want more on French questions then check these out: - Saying "How are you?" in French
- Ask "What is your name?" in French
- All about the interrogative word "When?" in French
- Asking "Where?" in French
- The different ways to ask questions in French
À bientôt!
Marie-Claire Rivière and the Rocket French Team
Make It Stick With Rocket Reinforcement
Reinforce your learning from this lesson with the Rocket Reinforcement activities!