💡 Reminder: Click any French phrase in blue to copy it, then paste into Google Translate to hear the pronunciation!
I. Les Jours de la Semaine — Days of the Week
Here's a beautiful surprise — in Portuguese, the days are numbered (segunda-feira, terça-feira...). But French, like English, names them after celestial bodies. The Latin roots are still there though, and you'll recognize them:
lundi
🇧🇷 segunda-feira
Monday
Luna → moon day 🌙
mardi
🇧🇷 terça-feira
Tuesday
Mars → Marte ♂
mercredi
🇧🇷 quarta-feira
Wednesday
Mercure → Mercúrio ☿
jeudi
🇧🇷 quinta-feira
Thursday
Jupiter → Júpiter ♃
vendredi
🇧🇷 sexta-feira
Friday
Vénus → Vênus ♀
samedi
🇧🇷 sábado
Saturday
Saturne → Saturno ♄
dimanche
🇧🇷 domingo
Sunday
Dominicus → the Lord's day ☀
🇧🇷 Notice: sábado / samedi and domingo / dimanche — the weekend days are clearly cousins! And French doesn't capitalize days of the week, just like Portuguese.
📅 Useful day phrases
| French | Sounds like... | English |
|---|
| Quel jour sommes-nous ? | kel ZHOOR som NOO | What day is it? |
| Nous sommes lundi | noo SOM luhn-DEE | It's Monday |
| aujourd'hui | oh-zhoor-DWEE | today |
| demain | duh-MEHN | tomorrow |
| hier | ee-YEHR | yesterday |
| le week-end | luh wee-KEHND | the weekend |
| Le marché est le samedi | luh mar-SHAY eh luh sam-DEE | The market is on Saturday |
II. Les Mois — The Months
This is where your Portuguese brain gets a free ride. Look at these — you basically already know them all:
janvierjaneiro
févrierfevereiro
marsmarço
avrilabril
maimaio
juinjunho
juilletjulho
aoûtagosto
septembresetembro
octobreoutubro
novembrenovembro
décembredezembro
🇧🇷 Free vocabulary! Every single month is recognizable from Portuguese. Just learn the French pronunciation and you're done. Also like Portuguese, French doesn't capitalize months.
📅 Saying dates
| French | English | Pattern |
|---|
| le quinze mai | May 15th | le + number + month |
| le premier janvier | January 1st | Only the 1st uses premier (first) |
| le vingt-cinq décembre | December 25th | All other dates use the number |
| Nous sommes le quatorze mai | Today is May 14th | Nous sommes + le + date |
⚠️ Just like Portuguese! Dates use day-before-month: le 15 mai = 15 de maio. Not month-first like American English. Your brain already works this way.
III. Quelle Heure Est-il ? — What Time Is It?
French tells time with il est + the hour + heures (hours). It's simpler than you think. And remember — France uses the 24-hour clock in formal settings (schedules, appointments), but the 12-hour clock in everyday conversation, just like Brazil.
⏰ The building blocks
| French | Sounds like... | Meaning |
|---|
| Quelle heure est-il ? | kel UHR eh TEEL | What time is it? |
| Il est... heures | eel EH... UHR | It is... o'clock |
| et quart | ay KAHR | quarter past |
| et demie | ay duh-MEE | half past |
| moins le quart | mwehn luh KAHR | quarter to |
| midi | mee-DEE | noon |
| minuit | mee-NWEE | midnight |
| du matin | doo mah-TEHN | in the morning (AM) |
| de l'après-midi | duh lah-preh-mee-DEE | in the afternoon (PM) |
| du soir | doo SWAHR | in the evening |
⏰ See it in action
8:00
Il est huit heures
It's eight o'clock
8:15
Il est huit heures et quart
It's quarter past eight
8:30
Il est huit heures et demie
It's half past eight
8:45
Il est neuf heures moins le quart
It's quarter to nine
12:00
Il est midi
It's noon
0:00
Il est minuit
It's midnight
3:10
Il est trois heures dix
It's ten past three
6:50
Il est sept heures moins dix
It's ten to seven
🇧🇷 Portuguese brain shortcut: You already say "são oito e meia" — French says il est huit heures et demie. Same logic! And "quinze para as nove" = neuf heures moins le quart — French just says "nine hours minus the quarter." Think of moins as "menos."
⚠️ Important: For 1:00, French says Il est une heure (not heures — singular!). Every other hour is plural: deux heures, trois heures, quatre heures...
IV. Au Marché — At the Open Market
The French marché is magic — fresh produce, cheese, flowers, bread, fish, everything. If you love food (and I know you do), this is going to be your favorite place. The conversations follow patterns, just like the boulangerie.
🍎 Market vocabulary
| French | Sounds like... | English |
|---|
| les légumes | lay lay-GOOM | vegetables (🇧🇷 legumes!) |
| les fruits | lay FRWEE | fruits (🇧🇷 frutas!) |
| les tomates | lay toh-MAHT | tomatoes (🇧🇷 tomates!) |
| les pommes | lay POM | apples |
| les fraises | lay FREHZ | strawberries |
| le fromage | luh froh-MAHZH | cheese |
| le poisson | luh pwah-SOHN | fish |
| le poulet | luh poo-LEH | chicken |
| les œufs | lay ZUH | eggs |
| les fleurs | lay FLUHR | flowers (🇧🇷 flores!) |
| un kilo de... | uhn kee-LOH duh | a kilo of... |
| une livre de... | oon LEE-vruh duh | a pound of... |
| un morceau de... | uhn mor-SOH duh | a piece of... |
💬 Useful market phrases
| French | English |
|---|
| C'est combien le kilo ? | How much per kilo? |
| Je voudrais un kilo de tomates | I'd like a kilo of tomatoes |
| C'est bien mûr ? | Is it ripe? |
| Je peux goûter ? | Can I taste? |
| C'est de la région ? | Is it from the region? (local?) |
| Qu'est-ce que vous recommandez ? | What do you recommend? |
| C'est frais ? | Is it fresh? |
| C'est très bon ! | It's very good! |
🗣️ A complete market conversation
You
Bonjour, monsieur !
Hello, sir!
Vendor
Bonjour, madame ! Qu'est-ce que je vous sers ?
Hello, ma'am! What can I get you?
You
Les tomates, c'est combien le kilo ?
How much are the tomatoes per kilo?
Vendor
Trois euros cinquante le kilo. Elles sont très bonnes, du jardin !
Three fifty a kilo. They're very good, from the garden!
You
Je voudrais un kilo de tomates, s'il vous plaît.
I'd like a kilo of tomatoes, please.
Vendor
Et avec ceci ?
Anything else?
You
Qu'est-ce que vous recommandez aujourd'hui ?
What do you recommend today?
Vendor
Les fraises sont magnifiques ce matin !
The strawberries are gorgeous this morning!
You
Ah oui, une barquette de fraises aussi.
Ah yes, a basket of strawberries too.
Vendor
Voilà. Ça fait six euros, s'il vous plaît.
Here you go. That's six euros, please.
You
Voilà. Merci beaucoup, bonne journée !
Here you go. Thank you very much, have a nice day!
Vendor
Merci, bonne journée, madame !
Thank you, have a nice day, ma'am!
⚠️ Culture tip: At the French market, the vendor typically handles the produce — don't pick up the fruit yourself unless you see others doing it. Just point and ask. It's considered more polite to let them choose the best ones for you. This is different from most Brazilian feiras where you handle everything yourself!
🔑 Two ways to say "how much": C'est combien ? (how much is it?) and Ça fait combien ? (what does it come to?) — you'll hear both. Ça fait is usually for the total. Listen for "Ça fait six euros" = "Deu seis euros" in Brazilian.
📝 Devoirs — Homework
- Days song: Say the days out loud to a rhythm — lundi, mardi, mercredi, jeudi, vendredi, samedi, dimanche. Repeat until you can do it without looking. Walking Jolie is perfect for this.
- Month challenge: Say your birthday, Roger's birthday, and your anniversary in French. Example: le vingt-trois mars. Paste them into Google Translate.
- Clock practice: Every time you check the time today, say it in French. Even if it's wrong — try! Il est... sept heures et demie.
- Market script: Read the marché dialogue out loud, both parts. Use Je voudrais — your magic word for polite ordering. Imagine you're in a sunny French market choosing the most perfect tomatoes.
- The magic question: Memorize Qu'est-ce que vous recommandez ? — this single phrase will make vendors love you. It says "I trust you, I'm interested, help me." Works everywhere — bakery, market, restaurant.