1
Introduce yourself. The standard form of self-introduction in French is âje mâappelleâ (zhuh mah-pell) which I means âI call myself.â For example, you might say âje mâappelle Robert.â
The French word for first name is âprenomâ (preyânom). You could say âMon prĂ©nom est...â (mon prey-nom ey) which means âmy first name is...â
The French word for surname is ânom de familleâ (nohm dhe fah-mee). In a professional or commercial transaction if someone asks for your "nom" be sure to provide your last name rather than your first.
2
State your age. In English you state your age as something you are, as in âI am fifteen,â but in French you use the auxiliary verb âavoirâ which means âhave.â You say âJâai ... ansâ (zhai ... ahn) which means âI have ... years.â
Consult a dictionary to find pronunciations of specific numbers.
You can also describe your age group more generally using the phrase âje suisâ (zhe swee) followed by an adjective. âJeuneâ (zhuhn) means young. âVieuxâ (vee-euh) indicates an elderly man, while âvieilleâ (vee-ay) indicates an elderly woman. âJe suis jeuneâ means âI am young.â
3 Describe your coloring. Many descriptive words used in English are actually borrowed from French. Brunette and blonde both mean the same thing in French, but they refer only to women. A man would be brun or blond â in both cases the final consonant should be barely pronounced. âJe suis blondeâ means âI am blonde.â
You can also say âmy hair is...â followed by a color. The phrase for this is âMes cheveux sont...â (meh chuh-vuh son). Consult a dictionary for the appropriate color.
The same construction works to describe your eye color. You would say âMes yeux sont ...â (mehz-yuh son) which means "my eyes are..." Note that in this case you pronounce the s at the end of âmesâ because the next word begins with a vowel.
4
Describe your overall physique. The words to describe beauty are âbeauâ (bo) for men or âbelleâ (bell) for women. Use the construction âJe suisâ (zhe swee) followed by the adjective. âJe suis belleâ means âI am beautifulâ if you are a woman.
âFortâ (for) means strong, while âfaibleâ (febl) means weak.
âPetitâ (petee) for men or âpetiteâ (peteet) for women means small or short.
âGrandâ (grahn) for men or âgrandeâ (grahnd) for women means large or tall.
Indicate your state of mind. The phrase âje suisâ (zhe swee) followed by an adjective can convey whether you are happy, sad or experiencing other feelings. Consult a dictionary to find precisely the adjective you want.
Content (cohn-tahn) means happy, while triste (treest) means sad. You would say "je suis triste" to convey "I am sad."
FatiguĂ© (fah-tee-gay) means tired. You would say âje suis fatiguĂ©â to convey "I am tired."