je m'entraîne à parler français
To say I am practicing my French in French, use je m'entraîne à parler français.
je m'entraîne à parler français says that you are exercising your skills to improve your spoken French.
What does it mean word for word?
Literally the phrase means I am training myself to speak French. parler means to speak and français means French.
Which one should you use?
je pratique mon français is a more direct translation and a more general way to say you are using the language, while je m'entraîne à parler français stresses the effort of training a skill. Je bosse mon français. means I am working on my French.
How does it change in a sentence?
The verb is reflexive, so it needs the pronoun me, shortened to m' before a vowel, to show that you are training yourself.
Did you know?
- While je m'entraîne is used for training, the slang term bosser used in je bosse mon français comes from the word for 'ox'. It suggests that learning the language is as hard as the labor of a beast of burden.
- In French, the concept of 'practicing' changes based on the activity. While s'entraîner is used for skills and sports, a doctor or lawyer would use exercer to describe practicing their profession.
- The word français derives from Francus, referring to the 'Franks'. This was a Germanic tribe that settled in Gaul and eventually gave their name to the entire country and language.
Example conversation
Emma and Gabriel are talking about their language goals.
- EmmaJe m'entraîne à parler français pour mon voyage.I am practicing my French for my trip.
- GabrielC'est super, Emma ! Est-ce que c'est difficile ?That's great, Emma! Is it difficult?
- EmmaUn peu, mais j'adore apprendre.A little, but I love learning.
- GabrielTu vas vite progresser, Gabriel est sûr.You will progress quickly, Gabriel is sure.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries français, je, parler, à, CC BY-SA 4.0.
