English to French Translator
Translate English to French for free, with the context a word-for-word tool drops.
What changes when you translate English to French
Translating English into French changes more than the words. French marks grammatical gender on every noun, distinguishes the informal tu from the formal vous, and its spelling preserves many letters that are no longer pronounced. French needs a gender for every noun and a choice between tu and vous, and idioms rarely map word for word, so context-aware translation matters more than dictionary lookup. A word-for-word tool gets the vocabulary right and these things wrong, which is why the translator above reads the whole sentence before it writes anything.
English and French: key differences
English and French diverge on grammatical gender, formality, and articles. Each row below is a place where swapping words one for one produces the wrong French sentence.
| Feature | English | French |
|---|---|---|
| Grammatical gender | no grammatical gender | two genders (masculine, feminine) |
| Formality | no formal/informal distinction | informal and formal second person (tu / vous) |
| Articles | definite and indefinite | definite and indefinite, marked for gender and number |
English to French example sentences
Full sentences translated from English to French:
| English | French |
|---|---|
| Could you tell me whether you are available on Tuesday morning? | Pourriez-vous me dire si vous êtes disponible mardi matin ? Professional email arranging a meeting · formal — Formal vous is maintained in both the conditional request and the following clause |
| We have just finished reviewing the report. | Nous venons de terminer la relecture du rapport. Workplace status update · neutral — Venir de plus the infinitive expresses the recent past rather than physical movement |
| She had the documents sent to the legal department. | Elle a fait envoyer les documents au service juridique. Account of an administrative task · neutral — The causative faire plus infinitive distinguishes arranging an action from doing it oneself |
| I miss my grandparents when I travel for work. | Mes grands-parents me manquent quand je voyage pour le travail. Personal conversation · neutral — With manquer à, the person missed is the grammatical subject and the experiencer is an indirect object |
| Don't forget to attach the photo before you send the message. | N'oublie pas de joindre la photo avant d'envoyer le message. Instruction to a friend · informal — Negative tu imperative and de plus infinitive after oublier |
| The meeting has been postponed until further notice. | La réunion est reportée jusqu'à nouvel ordre. Company announcement · formal — Jusqu'à nouvel ordre is the conventional correspondence formula, not a literal rendering of notice |
| They arrived earlier than expected, despite the traffic. | Elles sont arrivées plus tôt que prévu, malgré les embouteillages. Travel update about a group of women · neutral — An être compound tense marks the feminine plural subject on the past participle · Feminine plural subject |
Common English to French phrases
Everyday expressions translated from English to French:
| English | French (Français) |
|---|---|
| Hello | Bonjour |
| Good night | Bonne nuit |
| Thank you | Merci |
| Please | S'il vous plaît |
| How are you? | Comment allez-vous ? |
| What is your name? | Comment vous appelez-vous ? |
| I love you | Je t'aime |
| Excuse me | Excusez-moi |
| Where is the bathroom? | Où sont les toilettes ? |
| Goodbye | Au revoir |
About the French language
French (Français) is spoken by about 280 million people across France, Canada, Belgium, Switzerland, and much of West Africa. It belongs to the Romance (Indo-European) language family and is written in the Latin alphabet.
- Native name
- Français
- Speakers
- 280 million
- Language family
- Romance (Indo-European)
- Writing system
- the Latin alphabet
- Word order
- subject–verb–object
English to French translation tips
- Choose tu for familiar singular address or vous for formal singular and plural address, then keep the pronouns, possessives and verb forms consistent.
- French nouns have grammatical gender, and determiners and many adjectives agree in gender and number. Past participles also agree in specific constructions, including the être example above.
- English perfect forms do not map mechanically to the passé composé. Recent past, continuing situations and completed events may require different French constructions.
- This bundle uses Standard French as used in France. Vocabulary, pronunciation and some routine expressions differ in other Francophone regions, including Canada.
French false friends to watch for
- actuellement looks like “actually” but means currently.
- librairie looks like “library” but means bookshop.
- sensible looks like “sensible” but means sensitive.
English to French translation FAQ
How accurate is AI English to French translation?
The translator uses a modern AI language model that understands context, so English to French results read more naturally than word-for-word tools. For legal, medical, or other high-stakes text, have a fluent speaker review the output.
How do you say hello in French?
Hello in French is Bonjour. The common-phrases table on this page lists more everyday French expressions, such as Merci (thank you) and Au revoir (goodbye).
How do I keep tu and vous consistent in a French translation?
Specify the relationship and number of addressees. Then review every address pronoun and verb form, because English you does not reveal the tu, singular-vous or plural-vous distinction.
Does this bundle use Canadian French?
No. It defaults to Standard French as used in France. Request Canadian French explicitly when regional vocabulary or institutional wording matters.
Sources
- Académie française: Questions de langue
- Académie française: past-participle agreement with a preceding object
- CNRTL dictionary: manquer
- CNRTL dictionary: librairie
- CNRTL dictionary: sensible
- CNRTL dictionary: actuellement
The language facts and grammar notes on this page are checked against these references.
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