How To Ask Basic Questions In French (Beginner-Friendly Guide)

The first week I moved to France, I survived on exactly two questions: Ça va ? /sa va/ — how’s it going? and C’est combien ? /sɛ kɔ̃.bjɛ̃/ — how much is it? Anything more complex and my brain froze, my mouth panicked, and I ended up pointing at things like a polite yak in a silent movie.

My low point: trying to ask a simple “Where is the supermarket?” I proudly produced: Où supermarché est ? which is… not French. The woman smiled kindly, rearranged my words out loud into Où est le supermarché ? /u ɛ lə sy.pɛʁ.ma.ʃe/ — where is the supermarket? and sent me on my way like a confused exchange student who’d been built out of Duolingo and hope.

This guide is the version I wish I’d had taped to my fridge. By the end, you’ll know the main question words, the three big question patterns French actually uses, and a bunch of ready-made everyday questions you can drop into real life without melting down.

Question Gameplan: Three Ways To Ask In French

French basically gives you three tools to ask questions:

Intonation (just raise your voice):
Say the normal statement and raise your pitch at the end:
Tu viens ? /ty vjɛ̃/ — You’re coming?
Est-ce que /ɛs kə/ + statement:
Add this question “shell” in front:
Est-ce que tu viens ? /ɛs kə ty vjɛ̃/ — Are you coming?
Inversion (verb before subject):
More formal or written:
Viens-tu ? /vjɛ̃ ty/ — Are you coming?

For everyday spoken French in France:

You’ll mostly use intonation and est-ce que.
Inversion is useful to recognise and good if you want to sound extra polished, but not essential at the beginning.

We’ll build your question toolkit using those first two, then peek at inversion just enough so it’s not scary.

Meet The French Question Words (Your New Best Friends)

Here are the main question words you need to ask basic things.

A few quick notes:

que /kə/ and quoi /kwa/ both mean “what,” but que usually goes at the beginning, and quoi often goes at the end or after prepositions.
quel /kɛl/ agrees with the noun (gender/number):
- quel film /kɛl film/ — which film
- quelle ville /kɛl vil/ — which city
- quels pays /kɛl pɛ.i/ — which countries
- quelles langues /kɛl lɑ̃ɡ/ — which languages

We’ll plug these into real patterns next.

Yes/No Questions: The Easiest Win

Start with yes/no questions you can form with almost any verb.

1. Intonation: Statement + Question Tone

Take a normal sentence and just raise your voice at the end:

More examples:

This is very common in spoken French and feels natural.

2. Est-ce que: The Beginner’s Safety Net

Now add est-ce que /ɛs kə/ in front of the statement:

Usage:

Slightly more “neutral” and clear than just intonation.
Great for learners because the word order stays simple: est-ce que + [normal sentence].

Common mistake:
Putting “est-ce que” at the end, like English “You live here, do you?” That doesn’t work. It always goes at the front.

Who/What/Where/When/Why/How: Plug-In Question Patterns

Most basic information questions follow one of these forms:

Question word + est-ce que + subject + verb
Question word + normal sentence with raised intonation (more informal)

Let’s go through the big ones.

Où… ? — Asking “Where…?”

Notice three patterns:

Où est… ? — where is…?
Où est-ce que… ? — where + est-ce que + sentence
… où ? — put où at the end in informal speech

Quand… ? — Asking “When…?”

Good default: Quand est-ce que + subject + verb ?

Comment… ? — Asking “How…?”

Pourquoi… ? — Asking “Why…?”

Tone matters a lot here: Pourquoi ? can sound curious or aggressive depending on how you say it.

Combien… ? — Asking “How Much / How Many?”

This question word will save you in shops and cafés.

Quel / Quelle… ? — Asking “Which / What + Noun?”

Special case: Quel âge tu as ? is the most natural spoken version for “How old are you?”

Question Patterns People Actually Use

Let’s put it together with a few super-useful question templates.

These are very close to modern spoken French. They’re informal, but you’ll hear them constantly.

Usage note:
C’est quoi ça ? /sɛ kwa sa/ — what’s that? is very natural with friends; in super polite situations you might say Qu’est-ce que c’est ? /kɛs kə sɛ/ instead.

Region Notes: Spoken French vs Textbook French

Across France, the grammar of questions is the same, but actual usage leans toward:

Intonation questions: Tu viens ?, Tu pars quand ?
Est-ce que questions: Est-ce que tu as faim ?
Less frequent inversion in everyday speech, though you’ll see and hear it in:
- News
- Formal interviews
- Writing (books, articles, more polished language)

In some regions (and in Québec), intonation questions are even more dominant, but if you focus on intonation + est-ce que, you’ll be understood everywhere in France.

Mini Dialogues: Basic Questions In Action

Dialogue 1: Meeting Someone New

Salut, comment tu t’appelles ?
/sa.ly kɔ.mɑ̃ ty ta.pɛl/
Hi, what’s your name?

Je m’appelle Emma, et toi ?
/ʒə ma.pɛl ɛ.ma e twa/
My name is Emma, and you?

Moi, je m’appelle Alex. Tu viens d’où ?
/mwa ʒə ma.pɛl a.lɛks ty vjɛ̃ du/
Me, I’m Alex. Where are you from?

Je viens de Londres, mais j’habite à Lyon maintenant.
/ʒə vjɛ̃ də lɔ̃dʁ mɛ ʒa.bit a ljɔ̃ mɛ̃.tə.nɑ̃/
I’m from London, but I live in Lyon now.

Dialogue 2: In A Shop

Bonjour, c’est combien, ce t-shirt ?
/bɔ̃.ʒuʁ sɛ kɔ̃.bjɛ̃ sə ti.ʃœʁt/
Hello, how much is this T-shirt?

Il est à vingt-cinq euros.
/il ɛ ta vɛ̃.sɛ̃ k‿ø.ʁo/
It’s twenty-five euros.

D’accord, et celui-là ?
/da.kɔʁ e sə.lɥi la/
Okay, and that one?

Celui-là est à trente euros.
/sə.lɥi la ɛ ta tʁɑ̃t ø.ʁo/
That one is thirty euros.

Dialogue 3: Asking For Directions

Excusez-moi, où est la gare, s’il vous plaît ?
/ɛk.sky.ze.mwa u ɛ la ɡaʁ sil vu plɛ/
Excuse me, where is the train station, please?

La gare ? Vous continuez tout droit et vous tournez à gauche.
/la ɡaʁ vu kɔ̃.ti.nɥe tu dʁwa e vu tuʁ.ne a ɡoʃ/
The station? Go straight ahead and turn left.

C’est loin ?
/sɛ lwɛ̃/
Is it far?

Non, cinq minutes à pied.
/nɔ̃ sɛ̃k mi.nyt a pje/
No, five minutes on foot.

Quick Reference: Basic French Question Toolkit

Five-Minute Practice Plan: Question Speed-Run

Three Ways, One Meaning
Pick one idea (“Do you live here?”) and say it three ways:
- Tu habites ici ?
- Est-ce que tu habites ici ?
- (Just recognise: Habites-tu ici ?)
  Do this with Tu parles français ? and Tu viens demain ? too.
Question Word Shuffle
Write a mini list of: où, quand, comment, pourquoi, combien.
Under each, write one simple question you’d actually use (even in English first), then turn it into French:
e.g. Où… Où est la gare ?
Mirror Interrogation
Stand in front of a mirror and ask yourself:
Comment tu t’appelles ? Tu viens d’où ? Tu habites où ? Tu fais quoi dans la vie ?
Answer each one out loud, even with broken French. The goal is flow, not perfection.
Shop Roleplay
Imagine you’re holding an item in a shop. Ask:
C’est combien ? then: Combien ça coûte ?
Repeat with different imaginary things (coffee, a book, a T-shirt).
Real-Life Mission
Next time you watch or listen to French content, pick one scene and only focus on the questions: pause and write them down. See how many est-ce que questions you hear vs simple intonation ones.

Questions: Your Shortcut To Real French

The best part of mastering basic questions is that you no longer have to guess or stay silent when you’re confused. With a handful of patterns like est-ce que, a few key words like où /u/ — where and combien /kɔ̃.bjɛ̃/ — how much, you can ask your way through trains, cafés, awkward parties, and even French paperwork. And honestly, once you can calmly say Où est la gare ? instead of “Uh… train… where…?” you already feel less like a lost tourist and more like a yak who actually lives here.