Learning a new language can be frustrating. You’re excited to be able to converse, but your skills haven’t quite caught up to your expectations. When your understanding of French is greater than your ability to speak it or you can catch the gist of what’s being said but can’t speak well enough to answer, this list is meant for you.

 

Sometimes one word is all you need to get your point across, and sometimes one word is all you can really manage to say. Learn to say a few of these one word answers and you’ll be having (short) conversations in no time.

 

·         Yes: Oui

·         No: Non

·         Maybe: Peut-être

 

·         Now: Maintenant

·         Later: Plus tard

·         Always: Toujours

 

·         Here: Ici

·         There:  Là-bas

·         Somewhere: Quelque part

·         This: Cette

 

·         Bad: Méchant

·         Good: Bon

·         Great: Magnifique

·         So-so: Comme ci comme ça

 

·         Huh?: Hein?

·         Seriously: Sérieusement

 

Practice makes perfect, and you should practice speaking your new language every chance you get, but until your vocabulary gets to where you want it to be you may have to stick to one word answers for a while.

 

Is it frustrating keeping your conversations short and sweet? What methods do you have for speeding up vocabulary acquisition?