· 7 min read
English vs French: How They Compare
By Language Lab editorial team
English vs French compared: shared vocabulary, grammar, sounds, where each is spoken, how long each takes to learn, the official tests and which to learn.
English and French belong to different branches of one family and have traded words for centuries. English is a Germanic language; French is a Romance language, of Latin origin. Yet a large number of English words and expressions are of French origin, and most words ending in -tion or -sion are spelt almost exactly the same in both. The real differences are in grammar and sound: French has genders, verb conjugation and nasal sounds. For an English speaker, the US State Department lists French in Category I, languages close to English, at 30 weeks of classes. For a learner of English, Cambridge English's guideline is roughly 500–600 guided learning hours to reach B2 from zero. Which to learn depends on where you are going and what you need it for.
Side by side
| English | French | |
|---|---|---|
| Family | Indo-European; West Germanic, with German and Dutch | Indo-European; Romance, of Latin origin |
| Shared words | A large number of words and expressions of French origin | Many English loan words in everyday use |
| Noun gender | None | Masculine and feminine forms |
| Verbs | Not covered in the sources used here | Conjugated; a few common verbs are irregular |
| Sounds | Spelling has many irregularities | Nasal sounds; accents on some vowels |
| Main tests | IELTS, TOEFL iBT, Cambridge English Qualifications, PTE Academic | DELF, DALF and TCF |
| Scale | 378 million native speakers, by the Taalunie's figures | 396 million speakers, by the count of the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie |
The two speaker figures are counted differently, native speakers in one case and all speakers in the other, so they show scale, not rank.
What they share
- Vocabulary. The BBC's guide to French points out that English speakers are already au fait with a good deal of French: déjà vu, café, menu, omelette, soufflé, champagne.
- Whole families of words. Most French words ending in -tion or -sion are spelt almost exactly the same in English and generally mean the same: participation, action, intuition, décision, passion.
- A useful swap. Words that end in -ly in English usually end in -ement in French: rapidement is rapidly, exactement is exactly. The guide adds that it will not work every time.
- Traffic in both directions. French uses many English loan words. The Académie française, which sets the rules of the language, recommends French-derived words instead, such as courriel for e-mail and logiciel for software, though the guide notes that the English versions are more commonly used.
Where they differ
Gender
French has genders, with masculine and feminine forms that a learner has to tell apart in reading, listening and speaking; the BBC's guide lists them first among the things an English speaker must get used to. English nouns have no gender. For a French speaker learning English, that is one thing less to learn.
Verbs
The BBC's guide lists verb conjugation among the things an English speaker has to get used to in French, and notes that a few of the most common verbs are irregular: être, to be; avoir, to have; aller, to go; venir, to come.
Sound and spelling
French has nasal sounds and accents on some vowels, which an English speaker has to practise. English spelling has plenty of irregularities, as the BBC notes elsewhere, so a French speaker cannot rely on the written word for pronunciation. Each language needs audio from the start.
The same phrases in both
| English | French |
|---|---|
| Hello | Bonjour |
| Goodbye | Au revoir |
| Please | S'il vous plaît |
| Thank you | Merci |
| Yes | Oui |
| No | Non |
| I don't understand | Je ne comprends pas |
| My name is ... | Je m'appelle ... |
How long each takes
- French, for an English speaker: the US State Department lists French in Category I at 30 weeks of classes, within a range of 552–690 class hours, to reach a speaking and listening score of 3 on the Interagency Language Roundtable (ILR) scale.
- English, for any learner: Cambridge English estimates approximately 200 guided learning hours to move up one level of the European framework, which puts B1 at roughly 350–400 hours from zero and B2 at 500–600. Cambridge says the figures are a guideline and vary with your language background.
The two figures measure different things, a US government training target and a level-by-level guideline, so do not read them as a direct comparison.
Where each is used
- French is the official language of France and is also spoken in Monaco, Luxembourg, parts of Belgium and Switzerland, the Canadian province of Québec, and parts of North and Central Africa, by the BBC's guide.
- English is tested by several international exams. ETS reports that its TOEFL iBT is accepted by over 13,500 institutions in more than 160 countries.
Which should you learn?
- You speak French and want to study or work internationally: English, planned by level, B1 then B2.
- You speak English and are heading for France, Québec, Belgium, Switzerland or French-speaking Africa: French.
- You want a diploma that lasts: France's DELF and DALF diplomas are valid for life.
- You plan to learn more languages later: French gives a head start with Spanish, Portuguese, Italian and Catalan, by the BBC's guide.
- You speak neither: English first for reach, French for the regions above.
Language Lab offers both. Its English and French courses are built around voiced real-life scenarios with an AI tutor.
Frequently asked
Is French similar to English?
In vocabulary, yes: a large number of English words are of French origin, and most words ending in -tion or -sion are almost the same in both. In grammar they differ: French has genders and fuller verb conjugation.
Is French hard for English speakers?
The US State Department places French in Category I, languages close to English, at 30 weeks of classes.
Is English hard for French speakers?
The shared vocabulary helps. Cambridge English's general guideline is 350–400 guided learning hours to reach B1 from zero, and it says the figure varies with language background.
How many English words come from French?
The BBC's guide says a large number of English words and expressions are of French origin, and gives examples such as café, menu and déjà vu. It does not give a count.
Which has more speakers, English or French?
The sources used here count differently: 378 million native speakers of English, and 396 million speakers of French including those who use it as a second language.
Are English and French in the same language family?
Both are Indo-European. English is in the West Germanic group with German and Dutch; French is a Romance language descended from Latin.
Sources: BBC Languages, A Guide to French: 10 facts and Key phrases, A Guide to German and A Guide to Urdu (archived pages); US Department of State, National Foreign Affairs Training Center, Foreign Language Training; Cambridge English, Guided learning hours; Organisation internationale de la Francophonie, La langue française dans le monde; Taalunie, Feiten & cijfers; France Éducation international, DELF, DALF and TCF; ETS, TOEFL iBT. Checked on 13 October 2026. Photo: Bridge to Mont-Saint-Michel across the bay, from above, by Lynx1211 / CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons).
