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Read a French story. Hear the words. Understand the context. Explore free guides for English speakers, then use the level quiz to choose a starting point.
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One story. Three ways into the French.
Start with a version that feels comfortable. Press play to hear it, then try the next version. This excerpt explores a French word you will hear every September: la rentrée.
A1–A2 · Start simply
Le mot sert à beaucoup de choses. Il y a la rentrée littéraire (beaucoup de livres), la rentrée politique (les partis reviennent), la rentrée sociale (les syndicats). Pour les Français, la vraie année commence en septembre, pas en janvier.
B1–B2 · Add detail
Le mot travaille encore plus que ça. Il y a la rentrée littéraire, quand des centaines de romans paraissent d’un coup, la rentrée politique, quand les partis tiennent leurs universités d’été, et même la rentrée sociale, quand les syndicats décident si l’automne sera calme ou bruyant. Ajoutez « de la rentrée » à presque tout : un Français comprend qu’il s’agit du vrai début de l’année. Pas janvier. Septembre.
C1–C2 · Explore the style
Le mot en fait bien davantage. Il existe une rentrée littéraire, où des centaines de romans paraissent simultanément, une rentrée politique, où les partis tiennent leurs universités d’été et choisissent leurs batailles de l’année, et jusqu’à une rentrée sociale, où les syndicats jaugent si l’automne sera paisible ou tapageur. Accolez « de la rentrée » à presque n’importe quoi : un francophone saisit aussitôt qu’il s’agit de la version de septembre, du vrai commencement de l’année. Non pas janvier. Septembre.
Understand the key phrase
La rentrée littéraire means the autumn literary season, when new books arrive. Here, rentrée is about a fresh start, not just going back to school. Listen again and notice the other uses of the word.
An excerpt from our archive. The latest stories appear below, in publication order.
Start with a story. Keep exploring.
Choose one of the latest Briefings below. Read the English context, open a French version and listen to the words. Then choose your next step: read, watch or study.
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Read the briefing →
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Three small choices. How would you answer?
Choose an answer in your head, then open the correction. These are questions 2, 3 and 10 from Round 1, “Arrival in Nice”, page 52. The explanations below are added for this preview.
1. Translate: “a suitcase”
- un valise
- le valise
- une valise
- la valise
Show answer & explanation
Valise is feminine. Une means “a”; la means “the”. Learn the noun with its article.
2. Translate: “She is 29 years old.”
- Elle est 29 années.
- Elle est 29 ans.
- Elle a 29 ans.
- Elle a 29 année.
Show answer & explanation
French uses avoir for age: elle a + a number + ans. English uses “is”, which makes this an easy habit to carry over.
3. Server: Bonjour. Vous désirez ? You want one coffee politely.
- Donne-moi un café.
- Je voudrais un café, s’il vous plaît.
- Je veux un café maintenant.
- Je voudrais une café, s’il vous plaît.
Show answer & explanation
Je voudrais makes a polite request, and café is masculine: un café. The other choices are too direct here or use the wrong article.
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