Learning French: the mistakes to expect, by first language
Some French difficulties hit everyone. Others depend on the language you grew up with. Start with the ones every learner meets, then open the page for your first language.
Hard for every French learner
Noun gender (le/la)
Gender is largely unpredictable — learn le/la with each noun.
Partitive articles (du/de la/des)
"some" is expressed with du/de la/des and changes after a negative (pas de).
Subjunctive
Triggered by il faut que, vouloir que, emotion, doubt.
Passé composé vs imparfait
Composé = a completed action; imparfait = ongoing/background/habit.
Nasal vowels + liaison
Nasal vowels (on/en/un) and liaison linking are easy to mishear and mispronounce.
French for speakers of…
🇩🇪 German speakers
Gender that flips from German · +4 more
🇮🇹 Italian speakers
Silent letters (Italian says everything) · +4 more
🇸🇦 Arabic speakers
p and v sounds · +4 more
🇨🇳 Chinese speakers
Verbs must change form · +4 more
🇬🇧 English speakers
Noun gender (none in English) · +3 more
🇧🇷 Portuguese speakers
Portuguese↔French false friends · +3 more
🇷🇺 Russian speakers
Articles (Russian has none) · +3 more
🇰🇷 Korean speakers
Articles + gender (none in Korean) · +3 more
🇮🇩 Indonesian speakers
Tense lives in the verb ending · +3 more
🇹🇷 Turkish speakers
Articles + gender (Turkish has neither) · +3 more
🇪🇸 Spanish speakers
Gender that differs from Spanish · +2 more
Keep going
- 40 natural French expressions, by situation
- 30 real-life French speaking scenes with translations
- All language pairs
Questions about learning French
What is hard about learning French?
Noun gender (le/la): Gender is largely unpredictable — learn le/la with each noun. Partitive articles (du/de la/des): "some" is expressed with du/de la/des and changes after a negative (pas de). Subjunctive: Triggered by il faut que, vouloir que, emotion, doubt. Passé composé vs imparfait: Composé = a completed action; imparfait = ongoing/background/habit. Nasal vowels + liaison: Nasal vowels (on/en/un) and liaison linking are easy to mishear and mispronounce.
Does my first language change which French mistakes I make?
Yes. Your first language shapes the mistakes you make: its sounds, word order and grammar leak into French. That is why WordSlick shows different traps for, say, German speakers and Italian speakers, and coaches each one separately.
Can I practise speaking French with an AI tutor?
Yes. AskSlick, WordSlick’s AI tutor, holds French conversations at your level, role-plays real situations and corrects you gently, explaining in your own language.