Day 4: Question words
Even when you can barely speak, knowing how to ask keeps a conversation alive — because the other person does the talking. Today you take away 6 question words and 20 ready-made questions.
1. The six question words
| Word | Respelling | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Qui | kee | who | Qui est-ce ? Who is it? |
| Où | oo | where | Où est la gare ? Where's the station? |
| Quoi / Que | kwa / kuh | what | C'est quoi ? What is it? |
| Comment | ko-MAHN | how | Comment ça va ? How's it going? |
| Pourquoi | poor-KWA | why | Pourquoi ? Why? |
| Quand | kahn | when | Quand ? When? |
Two more you will use constantly:
| Combien | kohn-BYAN | how much / how many | C'est combien ? How much is it? |
| Quel / Quelle | kell | which / what | Quelle heure ? What time? |
Quoi vs Que: at the end of a sentence it isquoi(C'est quoi ?), at the front it isque(Qu'est-ce que c'est ?).As a beginner you can use only the end-of-sentencequoiform and be understood 100% of the time. It is also what people actually say.
⚠️ Two traps English speakers walk into:— "Comment ?" on its own = "Pardon?", not "How?" It is the polite way to say you did not hear. Very useful.— "Quoi ?" on its own = "What?!" and it is rude — like barking "What?" at someone.Use Comment ? or Pardon ? instead.
2. ★ The easiest way to build a question
French has three ways to form a question. Today you use only the first.
| Method | Example | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| ① Just raise your pitch at the end ← only this today | Vous parlez anglais ↗ | ★ by far the most common in speech |
| ② Stick Est-ce que on the front | Est-ce que vous parlez anglais ? | Day 24 |
| ③ Flip the subject and verb | Parlez-vous anglais ? | Day 24, formal |
All three mean the same thing. ① alone gets you through all 20 sentences below.
⚠️ English textbooks teach ③ first, and it makes learners sound like a 1950s phrasebook.A French person in a café asks Vous parlez anglais ? with a rising tone — not Parlez-vous anglais ?. Save the inversion for writing and for very formal speech.Also note: French has no "do". English inserts a helper verb ("Do you speak…?");French just raises the pitch. There is nothing to translate.
3. Twenty real questions
About people
| # | French | Respelling | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Qui est-ce ? | kee ESS | Who is it? |
| 2 | Comment vous appelez-vous ? | ko-mahn voo za-play VOO | What's your name? |
| 3 | Vous êtes français ? | voo zet frahn-SEH | Are you French? |
| 4 | Vous habitez où ? | voo za-bee-TAY oo | Where do you live? |
| 5 | Vous parlez anglais ? | voo par-LAY ahn-GLEH | Do you speak English? |
About things and meanings
| # | French | Respelling | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | C'est quoi ? | seh KWA | What is it? |
| 7 | Qu'est-ce que c'est ? | kess kuh SEH | What is this? (formal) |
| 8 | Ça veut dire quoi ? | sa vuh deer KWA | What does that mean? |
| 9 | Comment ça s'écrit ? | ko-mahn sa say-KREE | How do you spell it? |
| 10 | Comment on dit ___ en français ? | ko-mahn ohn DEE ___ ahn frahn-SEH | How do you say ___ in French? |
Number 10 is your best weapon today. That one sentence turns every unknown word into a lesson. Use it out loud at least five times this week.
Places and times
| # | French | Respelling | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | Où est ___ ? | oo EH | Where is ___ ? |
| 12 | Où sont les toilettes ? | oo sohn lay twa-LET | Where are the toilets? |
| 13 | C'est loin ? | seh LWAN | Is it far? |
| 14 | Quelle heure est-il ? | kell UR ay-TEEL | What time is it? |
| 15 | C'est ouvert quand ? | seh oo-VAIR kahn | When is it open? |
⚠️ Toilets are always plural in French — les toilettes, so Où sont….And do not ask for "the bathroom" (la salle de bain) in a restaurant — that is the room with a bathtub in it, at someone's home.
Shops and restaurants
| # | French | Respelling | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 16 | C'est combien ? | seh kohn-BYAN | How much is it? |
| 17 | Vous avez ___ ? | voo za-VAY | Do you have ___ ? |
| 18 | Je peux ___ ? | zhuh PUH | May I ___ ? |
| 19 | Pourquoi ? | poor-KWA | Why? |
| 20 | Il y a un problème ? | eel ya uhn pro-BLEM | Is there a problem? |
4. When you did not catch it — the 4 survival lines
You will use these more than any question. Memorise them today.
| French | Respelling | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Je ne comprends pas. | zhuh nuh kohn-PRAHN pa | I don't understand |
| Répétez, s'il vous plaît. | ray-pay-TAY, seel voo PLEH | Please say that again |
| Plus lentement, s'il vous plaît. | plew lahnt-MAHN, seel voo PLEH | More slowly, please |
| Vous pouvez l'écrire ? | voo poo-VAY lay-KREER | Could you write it down? |
5. Dialogue — meeting someone new
A: Bonjour ! Vous êtes américain ?bohn-ZHOOR! voo zet a-may-ree-KAN?B: Oui. Et vous, vous habitez où ?wee. ay VOO, voo za-bee-TAY oo?A: J'habite à Lyon. Vous parlez français ?zha-BEET a lee-OHN. voo par-LAY frahn-SEH?B: Un peu. Comment on dit "thank you" en français ?uhn PUH. ko-mahn ohn DEE … ahn frahn-SEH?A little. How do you say "thank you" in French?A: On dit « merci ».ohn dee mair-SEE.B: Ah, merci ! Répétez, s'il vous plaît ?a, mair-SEE! ray-pay-TAY seel voo PLEH?
★ Un peu (uhn PUH, "a little") is the perfect answer to "Do you speak French?". It is modest and it keeps the conversation going, where "no" ends it.
6. Pronunciation points
| Expression | Watch out |
|---|---|
| Qu'est-ce que c'est ? | Lots of letters, only three sounds: kess-kuh-SEH |
| Vous_avez | liaison → voo-za-VAY (silent s comes back as z) |
| Vous_êtes | liaison → voo-ZET |
| Où | spelled with ou, so it is a plain oo — not the [y] sound from Day 1 |
| Pourquoi | throat r → poor-KWA, and stress the end (English wants POOR-kwa) |
7. Exercises
A. Put in the right question word.
- ___ est la gare ? (where)
- ___ ça va ? (how)
- C'est ___ ? (how much)
- ___ est-ce ? (who)
- ___ ? Parce que je suis fatigué. (why)
B. Say it in French.
- Do you speak English? 2. Where are the toilets? 3. What does that mean? 4. More slowly, please.
C. Write the question that produces each answer.
- — ___ ? — J'habite à New York.
- — ___ ? — Je m'appelle Marie.
- — ___ ? — C'est dix euros.
D. ⚠️ What's wrong here?
- (to a shopkeeper, having misheard) "Quoi ?"
- Do you speak French? → "Est-ce que faites-vous parler français ?"
Answers
A. 1. Où 2. Comment 3. combien 4. Qui 5. Pourquoi B. 1. Vous parlez anglais ? 2. Où sont les toilettes ? 3. Ça veut dire quoi ? 4. Plus lentement, s'il vous plaît. C. 1. Vous habitez où ? 2. Comment vous appelez-vous ? 3. C'est combien ? D. 1. Rude — say Comment ? or Pardon ? 2. There is no "do" in French, and you cannot stack two question forms → Vous parlez français ?
8. Today's 10 sentences
- C'est quoi ? — What is it? (seh KWA)
- Où est ___ ? — Where is ___? (oo EH)
- C'est combien ? — How much? (seh kohn-BYAN)
- Vous parlez anglais ? — Do you speak English? (voo par-LAY ahn-GLEH)
- Vous habitez où ? — Where do you live? (voo za-bee-TAY oo)
- Comment on dit ___ en français ? — How do you say ___ in French? (ko-mahn ohn DEE … ahn frahn-SEH)
- Ça veut dire quoi ? — What does that mean? (sa vuh deer KWA)
- Je ne comprends pas. — I don't understand (zhuh nuh kohn-PRAHN pa)
- Plus lentement, s'il vous plaît. — More slowly, please (plew lahnt-MAHN seel voo PLEH)
- Un peu. — A little (uhn PUH)
9. 📲 Upload to LangNote
Upload the whole 20-question table from section 3. There is enough volume there for the vocab and quiz missions to come out rich.
| Mission | What to do with it today |
|---|---|
| ❓ Quiz | Match the 6 question words — today's main mission |
| 🎭 Role-play | "Chatting to the person at the next café table" — survive 5 turns asking only questions |
| ✍️ Dictation | Train your ear on question intonation (the rise at the end) |
| 📖 Vocab | Question words + the 4 survival lines |
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