French to English Translator
Translate French to English for free, with the context a word-for-word tool drops.
What changes when you translate French to English
Translating French into English changes more than the words. English has very little inflection and instead relies heavily on word order and helper verbs, with a huge vocabulary drawn from both Germanic and Romance roots. English requires an explicit subject in nearly every sentence and marks questions with word order, so translations into English often need pronouns and auxiliaries that the source language leaves out. 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.
French and English: key differences
French and English diverge on grammatical gender, formality, and articles. Each row below is a place where swapping words one for one produces the wrong English sentence.
| Feature | French | English |
|---|---|---|
| Grammatical gender | two genders (masculine, feminine) | no grammatical gender |
| Formality | informal and formal second person | no formal/informal distinction |
| Articles | definite and indefinite, marked for gender and number | definite and indefinite |
French to English example sentences
Full sentences translated from French to English:
| French | English |
|---|---|
| Pourriez-vous me dire si vous êtes disponible mardi matin ? | Could you tell me whether you are available on Tuesday morning? Professional email arranging a meeting · formal — Formal vous is maintained in both the conditional request and the following clause |
| Nous venons de terminer la relecture du rapport. | We have just finished reviewing the report. Workplace status update · neutral — Venir de plus the infinitive expresses the recent past rather than physical movement |
| Elle a fait envoyer les documents au service juridique. | She had the documents sent to the legal department. Account of an administrative task · neutral — The causative faire plus infinitive distinguishes arranging an action from doing it oneself |
| Mes grands-parents me manquent quand je voyage pour le travail. | I miss my grandparents when I travel for work. Personal conversation · neutral — With manquer à, the person missed is the grammatical subject and the experiencer is an indirect object |
| N'oublie pas de joindre la photo avant d'envoyer le message. | Don't forget to attach the photo before you send the message. Instruction to a friend · informal — Negative tu imperative and de plus infinitive after oublier |
| La réunion est reportée jusqu'à nouvel ordre. | The meeting has been postponed until further notice. Company announcement · formal — Jusqu'à nouvel ordre is the conventional correspondence formula, not a literal rendering of notice |
| Elles sont arrivées plus tôt que prévu, malgré les embouteillages. | They arrived earlier than expected, despite the traffic. 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 French to English phrases
Everyday expressions translated from French to English:
| French (Français) | English |
|---|---|
| Bonjour | Hello |
| Bonne nuit | Good night |
| Merci | Thank you |
| S'il vous plaît | Please |
| Comment allez-vous ? | How are you? |
| Comment vous appelez-vous ? | What is your name? |
| Je t'aime | I love you |
| Excusez-moi | Excuse me |
| Où sont les toilettes ? | Where is the bathroom? |
| Au revoir | Goodbye |
About the English language
English (English) is spoken by about 1.5 billion people across the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and as the world's lingua franca. It belongs to the Germanic (Indo-European) language family and is written in the Latin alphabet.
- Native name
- English
- Speakers
- 1.5 billion
- Language family
- Germanic (Indo-European)
- Writing system
- the Latin alphabet
- Word order
- subject–verb–object
French to English 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.
French to English translation FAQ
How accurate is AI French to English translation?
The translator uses a modern AI language model that understands context, so French to English results read more naturally than word-for-word tools. For legal, medical, or other high-stakes text, have a fluent speaker review the output.
What is Bonjour in English?
Bonjour is how you say hello in French. The common-phrases table on this page shows more French expressions with their English meanings.
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.