Everyday French from Scratch
Build functional confidence in French by mastering real-world interactions, decoding tricky pronunciation rules, and constructing your own sentences. Designed for beginners, this course takes you from your first polite greeting to effortless everyday conversation.
Like Duolingo, but for Everyday French from Scratch. Tomo turns the whole topic into a game you play five minutes a day, until it actually sticks.
21 levels across 3 sections, about 42 minutes end to end, roughly 8 days at five minutes a day. It moves through First Words and Everyday Survival, Cracking the Sound Code, and Building Real Sentences. It starts from scratch.
Free forever · No credit card · iPhone & Android
Key ideas in Everyday French from Scratch
- In France, "Bonjour" acts as an essential social handshake that must precede any question, order, or request
- Jumping straight to an order like "Un croissant, s'il vous plaît" without saying "Bonjour" first is considered abrupt and impolite
- "Vous" creates respectful social distance and is standard for strangers, service staff, and officials
- "Tu" signals familiarity and is used with family, friends, peers in casual settings, and children
- Using "tu" with an unfamiliar adult in a formal or professional setting can come across as overly familiar or disrespectful
- "Pardon" or "Excusez-moi" is said proactively to soften an intrusion before moving past someone or interrupting them
- French politeness phrases are deployed before friction occurs rather than solely as apologies afterward
- Closing an exchange with a goodbye like "Au revoir" or a well-wish like "Bonne journée" is just as obligatory in France as greeting someone at the start
- "Bonne journée" ("have a good day") and "Au revoir" ("goodbye") are standard exit phrases for shops, cafés, and offices
- "Pardon" and "S'il vous plaît" function as openers and request softeners, not as exit greetings
- "Je ne comprends pas" directly signals comprehension failure without breaking the flow of communication
- Asking someone to repeat more slowly ("pouvez-vous répéter plus lentement ?") invites the speaker to adjust rather than giving up entirely
- French speakers generally welcome clear repair signals rather than silence or guessing
- 'Je voudrais' means 'I would like' and is the standard, polite way to ask for food or goods in French
- 'Je veux' translates directly to 'I want' and sounds demanding or blunt to French speakers
- Adding 's'il vous plaît' reinforces standard French politeness
You've tried the other tabs
Thirty open tabs. Four facts you actually kept.
You watched. You nodded. By Sunday it was gone.
One answer, then back to scrolling.
Eight weeks. You meant to finish. You didn't.
Tomo gives Everyday French from Scratch the Duolingo treatment: levels, streaks, and quick quizzes that test what you just learned. That game loop is what the tabs above never had, so it's the one you actually finish.
Here's what playing it feels like
A real question from this course. Take your best guess.
You walk up to a bakery counter in France. What do you say before anything else?
Get it right to open this lesson and 20 more in the app.
How to learn Everyday French from Scratch, step by step
Go in order. 21 short levels across 3 sections, about 42 minutes in all, five minutes a day.
- 1
First Words and Everyday Survival
- Everyday Politeness and First Encounters
- Ordering Food and Buying Goods
- 2
Cracking the Sound Code
- Matching Written Words to Spoken Sounds
- Deciphering Natural Spoken French
- 3
Building Real Sentences
- Sentence Building and Essential Verbs
- Asking Questions and Finding Your Way
- Describing Daily Routines and Future Plans
3 sections · 7 units · 21 levels. Built to play, not to enroll.
Questions about Everyday French from Scratch
How do I learn Everyday French from Scratch?
Go in order: start with First Words and Everyday Survival, then Cracking the Sound Code, then Building Real Sentences. On Tomo that's 21 short levels, about 42 minutes in all, played five minutes a day. Start free and play the first level in under a minute.
Is there a Duolingo-style app for Everyday French from Scratch?
Yes. Tomo works like Duolingo: short daily lessons, streaks and quick quizzes. Everyday French from Scratch is one of its free courses, and you can type any other topic to get a course of your own.
Is the Everyday French from Scratch course free?
Yes. Everyday French from Scratch is playable on Tomo's free plan, which doesn't expire. No credit card, no waitlist. Download the app and start your first lesson.
How long does it take to learn Everyday French from Scratch?
21 levels across 3 sections, about 42 minutes of play in total. It's built for five minutes a day, so you finish it a little at a time instead of all at once.
Do I need any background to start Everyday French from Scratch?
No. It's pitched at a beginner level, so it starts where you are and builds up. If you can tap a phone, you can start.
Tomo is in ChatGPT
Tomo is also a ChatGPT plugin: the same playable courses, built and played inside your chat.
Add Tomo to ChatGPT- What to ask
- “Make me a Tomo course on black holes.” “Turn this chat into a Tomo course.”
- What you get
- Quick questions with instant feedback, hearts and stars, ready to play in about a minute.
- Where it goes
- No sign-up to start. Connect your Tomo account and your streak carries on in the app.
You pick the voice
Everyday French from Scratch is taught in the Explain Like I'm 5 style: no big words. promise.. Want a different feel? In the app you can spin up the same topic in any of Tomo's teaching styles. Same facts, totally different vibe.
More Language on Tomo
Everyday Italian
Start speaking Italian from your very first conversation. Learn to introduce yourself, order at a café, navigate streets, and build natural sentences with authentic rhythm.
Everyday English in Practice
Start communicating clearly in English through real-world patterns, practical conversation tools, and everyday sentence building. Learn how the language actually sounds in daily life and gain the confidence to handle common interactions with ease.
Everyday French
Start speaking practical French from your very first day. Learn essential survival phrases, navigate shops and cafés, and unlock the patterns behind everyday sentences.
Speaking and Reading Pashto
Learn to speak practical Pashto phrases and read the Pashto script from scratch. Build the confidence to greet locals, shop at bazaars, and understand the distinctive sounds of the language.
Everyday Spoken Tamil
Start speaking one of the world's oldest surviving classical languages through its modern, spoken form. Learn how Tamil structures thoughts, handles polite interactions, and builds sentences without complex clutter.
Speaking Everyday Shina
Start speaking Shina right away with essential phrases for greetings, bazaar banter, and daily chats in Gilgit-Baltistan. Learn core sentence patterns and natural pronunciation without getting bogged down in heavy grammar.
Start Everyday French from Scratch today.
Download Tomo, search Everyday French from Scratch, and play your first lesson in under a minute.