je parle français
To say "I am speaking french" in French, use je parle français.
The phrase is a statement used to say that a person has the ability to speak the French language.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of je (I), parle (speak/am speaking) and français (French).
How does it change in a sentence?
The French present tense je parle covers both "I speak" and "I am speaking".
Did you know?
- The word français is an endonym, meaning the people of France named their own language based on the name of the Germanic 'Franks'.
- In French, the word français is capitalized when referring to a person, un Français, but written in lowercase when referring to the language, le français.
- While je parle français expresses ability, a French speaker would use je parle en français to specify they are currently using the language to communicate in a given moment.
Examples in context
- Je parle un peu français.I speak a little French.
- Je parle français, mais je ne parle pas anglais.I speak French, but I do not speak English.
- Est-ce que tu sais que je parle français ?Do you know that I speak French?
- Je parle français avec ma famille.I speak French with my family.
Example conversation
A man and a woman meet at a language school.
- ManonEst-ce que tu comprends l'anglais, Hugo ?Do you understand English, Hugo?
- HugoUn peu, mais je parle français.A little, but I speak French.
- ManonC'est super, moi aussi je parle français.That's great, I speak French too.
- HugoEnchanté de te rencontrer, Manon.Nice to meet you, Manon.
