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On in French | Rosetta Stone®

Learn how to say "on" plus other common words in French with Rosetta Stone’s award-winning app.

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How to Say on in French

If you want to say “on” in French, most often you’ll use the word “sur”. That said, any time prepositions are involved, you need to be careful. In French, the word-for-word translation of an English expression that uses “on” may require an entirely different preposition, such as “à”. In fact, you may even need a couple prepositions to work together—e.g., “au bord de” (at/on the edge of). And if you’re trying to say that something is “on”, then you need to choose the correct verb, such as “allumé”.

How you approach learning French really depends on your ultimate objectives. Travel? Business? Something else? Many people start their French journey by picking up common words and phrases and attempting to reproduce the famous French accent—refining how they say á bientôt, au revoir, croissant, macaron, baguette, bonjour, etc. Others may be coming back to French after years of exposure to it in school. Whatever your goals are for learning French, you should consider a language learning program that aligns with your experience, goals and busy schedule in mind.

To build towards conversing in French, start with the basics of common words and pronunciations. Then you can scale naturally towards a much more complex understanding of the French language. That’s why Rosetta Stone’s Dynamic Immersion® method introduces words alongside both visual and audio cues that help you learn vocabulary in the context of true-to-life conversations. The bite-sized lessons are grouped into units that highlight common French phrases you will need for everyday interactions, coupled with practical review that helps learners solidify their French language skills.

Speak Confidently

Your approach to learning the French language will depend on your experience with the language and your personal goals for choosing to learn it. Many people are at the beginning of their language learning journey—perhaps having picked up a few common French words and phrases—and want to learn to replicate the famous French accent. These new French language learners may know just a small handful of words, such as baguette, mademoiselle, au revoir, and amour. Other people may have considerably more experience with the language—perhaps from exposure to travel or academic careers. These intermediate learners may want to acquire more French vocabulary and polish their French speaking skills.

One of the most recognizable characteristics of French is its je ne sais quoi— a somewhat indefinable quality that makes the French accent sound quite alluring. But what you may at first consider to be an elusive aspect of the language is actually just the subtle nuance of French pronunciation. Some of the more unique sounds of spoken French can take time to learn, because the sounds are considerably more nasal than English words. And that is exactly why it’s so important that you learn correct French pronunciation. To do that, there’s no better place to start than learning to make the sounds of the letters of the French alphabet.

You can begin to develop your French language skills by first learning how to accurately pronounce very common French words and phrases:

Bonjour / Hello, Good morning
Au revoir / Goodbye
Oui / Yes
Non / No
Merci / Thank you
Merci beaucoup / Thank you very much
Fille / Girl
Garçon / Boy
Femme / Woman
Homme / Man
Amour / Love
Français / French
S’il vous plaît / Please
Bonsoir / Good evening
Bonne Nuit / Good night
Excusez-moi / Excuse me
De Rien / You’re welcome (casual, informal way)
Je vous en prie / You’re welcome (formal)
Temps / Time
Jour / Day

And here are more common French phrases to get you started:

Je suis désolé(e) / I’m sorry
Comment vous appelez-vous ? / What is your name?
Parlez-vous anglais ? / Do you speak English?
Je m’appelle / My name is
Comment allez-vous ? / How are you doing?
Quelle heure est-il ? / What time is it?
Pouvez-vous m’aider ? / Can you help me?
Combien ça coûte ? / How much is this?
Je t’aime / I love you

Rosetta Stone has decades of experience designing language-learning programs to help students develop the skills to comfortably understand and confidently speak in French. Whether you’re a new learner or an intermediate French speaker, Rosetta Stone lessons can help you improve and advance your skills. Our proven approach to language learning focuses on teaching basic vocabulary and correct pronunciation that you’ll need for real-world, everyday conversations. Coupled together, our language-learning software and award-winning mobile app deliver language lessons that will teach you to understand and be understood in French, anytime and anywhere.

Try Our Award-Winning App

Surround yourself with French whenever, wherever with the Rosetta Stone app.

Download a unit and knock it out on the train or a flight. Select a 5-10 minute lesson and sneak it in while you wait in line or for your ride to show up. And explore dynamic features, like Seek and Speak, where you can point at an object in the real world and get a translation.

The best part? You don’t have to choose between app or desktop. Both come with your subscription and sync, so you can switch between devices seamlessly.

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