What’s your current level of spoken French?
Let’s find out in 30 questions – and you might even learn a thing or two of real everyday French along the way.
C’est parti !
1) Check your Beginner Level
Pick the correct answer – you’ll find the solution at the bottom of this section.
Question 1 – Beginner
How can you say “Hi, how are you?” in everyday French with a close friend?
A) Salut, ça va ?
B) Bonsoir, comment allez-vous ?
C) Oh la la, qu’est-ce que tu vas ?
Question 2 – Beginner
Which sentences means “That’s great, that’s cool” in everyday French?
A) C’est panda.
B) C’est chouette.
C) C’est fouine.
Question 3 – Beginner
What’s the informal way to ask “Where are you?” in spoken French, like on the phone?
A) T’es où ?
B) Toi tu ?
C) Te quoi ?
Question 4 – Beginner
How would we say “I saw Julien yesterday” in spoken French?
A) Hier, je vis Julien.
B) Hier, je voyais Julien.
C) Hier, j’ai vu Julien.
Question 5 – Beginner
What’s the common informal way we say “I don’t know” in spoken French?
A) Je sais pas
B) Je ne sais.
C) Je ne sais pas.
Question 6 – Beginner
What does “Ça marche !” mean in everyday French?
A) “It’s coming up soon, just wait for a minute.”
B) “It’s so cold today!”
C) “OK, that works.”
Question 7 – Beginner
Between friends, how would you say “We want to dance !” ?
A) On veut danser !
B) On voulons danser !
C) Nous voulons danser !
Question 8 – Beginner
What’s the simple French way to say “I don’t know – but maybe you do, maybe someone else does.” ?
A) Je sais pas, toi pas ?
B) Moi, je sais pas.
C) Toi ne je sais pas.
Question 9 – Beginner
What does “J’en peux plus !” mean in spoken French?
A) I want more of that!
B) I can keep going for a long time!
C) I can’t take it anymore!
Question 10 – Beginner
What’s “I’m so excited for tonight!” in French?
A) Je suis très excitée par ce soir !
B) Je suis tellement excitante pour ce soir !
C) J’ai trop hâte pour ce soir !
Did you pick an answer for each question? Write them down before looking at the solution!
Solution – Beginner section
1 – A) Salut, ça va ?
Answer B is too formal – we use “vous” for the plural and for someone we don’t know well.
2 – B) C’est chouette !
“Une fouine” is a weasel, “un panda” is a panda bear. “Une chouette” is an owl, but the word is also used to mean “cool, nice, good.”
3 – A) T’es où ?
The correct written French question is: “Où es-tu ?” – but in real life, we don’t really switch subject and verb, and “Tu” often loses the “u” before a vowel.
4 – C) Hier, j’ai vu Julien.
The passé simple (in Answer A) is too formal. L’imparfait (in Answer B) is used for longer actions in the background. Le passé composé (Answer C) is how we talk about an action in the past in everyday French.
5 – A) Je sais pas.
Answer C is for “correct written French” – we almost always cut the “ne” from negations in everyday spoken French. And not the “pas” (in Answer B), which would sound even more formal.
6 – C) Ça marche.
A common everyday expression (literally “it’s walking”) for “it’s working well”, “sounds good.”
7 – A) On veut danser !
In spoken French, “nous” is often too formal. We use “on” instead with the third person conjugation.
8- B) Moi, je sais pas.
“Moi, je” or “Toi, tu” or “Lui, il” (and more) add weight to the subject, meaning “this subject specifically.” “Un moi-je” even became a word for an egoist, a very self-centered person.
9- C) J’en peux plus ! = I can’t keep doing that anymore, I’m fed up.
Here, “plus” means “anymore”, so the “s” is silent.
10) J’ai trop hâte pour ce soir !
In everyday French, “trop” (too much) is used to mean “très” (a lot.)
But most of all, “excité” and “excitante” are related to arousal – you wouldn’t use them for “looking forward to something” in everyday French.
Notes on Beginner section
If you answered 5 or more questions correctly, you already know some basics of everyday French, like at least a level A2 or above.
If you got 8 or more right, you’re probably at level B1 or above, and you’re ready for more intermediate level questions.
Whatever your score, we can keep going, and you’ll learn even more about everyday French in the next two rounds of questions.
If you struggled with these questions even though you usually had good grades in your French lesson, it’s normal. It’s not because your French is bad. It’s because unfortunately, what you’ve been learning years ago was textbook French instead of the French we actually use to communicate with each other.
2) Intermediate level: Exploring spoken French
The next 10 questions test your understanding of more nuanced spoken French. These include cultural references, subtle grammar points, and expressions that even intermediate students often miss.
Question 11 – Intermediate
When someone sneezes and you want to say “Bless you,” what do most French people actually say?
A) “Que Dieu te bénisse !”
B) “À tes souhaits !”
C) “Bonne santé !”
Question 12 – Intermediate
Imagine: you’re supposed to get up and do things, but you don’t feel like you have the energy to do it, you’re overtaken by casual laziness. How do we say that in everyday French?
A) J’ai la flemme.
B) J’ai la flamme.
C) J’ai la flume.
Question 13 – Intermediate
When you’re in France, you need to know a few words of politeness, like “S’il te plaît” (= please, to a friend.) How do we often pronounce that, in fast spoken French?
A) S’plaît
B) Si’t’plait
C) S’te plaît.
Question 14 – Intermediate
If a French person uses “ça roule” as an answer, what does it mean?
A) Something is coming up fast.
B) Life is difficult.
C) Everything’s fine.
Question 15 – Intermediate
If you hear French people mentioning “la bouffe”, what are they probably talking about?
A) Wine
B) Food
C) Books
Question 16 – Intermediate
What’s spoken French slang for “that’s amazing, that’s crazy” ?
A) C’est ouf
B) C’est chou
C) C’est pou
Question 17 – Intermediate
What does “Je m’en fiche !” mean in French?
A) I don’t care.
B) I’m on it.
C) I have to go, I’m leaving.
Question 18 – Intermediate
Let’s say you’re a nice French party, people are having fun, you like the music and the conversation. How would you say “There’s a good atmosphere here” in informal French ?
A) Y-a-t-il une bonne atmosphère !
B) C’est de la bonne couche.
C) Ya une bonne ambiance.
Question 19 – Intermediate
How would you say “I have to leave” in spoken French ?
A) Sauve qui peut.
B) Faut que je parte.
C) Dois que partir.
Question 20 – Intermediate
You call a French friend on the phone and they say “Je suis en train de bosser.” What does it mean?
A) They’re training with their boss.
B) They’re on a train and can’t speak loudly.
C) They’re working.
Did you pick an answer for each question? Write them down before reading the answers!
Solution – Intermediate section
11 – B) À tes souhaits ! (= “To your wishes”)
We say “À vos souhaits” for someone we don’t know well. We don’t use “Que Dieu te bénisse” (= “God bless you” literally) for this in French.
And by the way: Blesser = to hurt, to wound – Bénir = to bless
12 – A) J’ai la flemme.
In casual French, “la flemme” is laziness in the moment. It’s like feeling warm or cold or hungry – except it’s when we couldn’t be bothered to do something.
13 – C) “S’te plaît.”
We often cut the “il” pronoun when it’s not for a person or a thing, just an impersonal pronoun – also in “Il faut” or “Il y a.”
14 – C) Ça roule ! is a more casual way to say Ça marche, or Tout va bien.
15 – B) La bouffe is slang for la nourriture, food.
We tend to use it for food we don’t respect much, like a quick meal or fast food. Don’t use it for a homemade meal from a French friend!
16 – A) C’est ouf is verlan slang for C’est fou !, “it’s crazy.”
In verlan slang, sounds are switched around; here, the “f” at the beginning of “fou” gets pushed to the other side. Meanwhile, “C’est chou” means “that’s cute.”
17 – A) Je m’en fiche means “I don’t care.”
Synonyms: Je m’en moque (less informal), Je m’en fous (more widely used, but a bit rude)
18 – C) Ya une bonne ambiance – we cut the “il” in “il y a” in casual spoken French.
Also: l’ambiance = the general atmosphere, the animation of a place or event (not slang)
19 – B) Faut que je parte = I have to leave – we cut the “il” in “il faut (+ infinitive)” / “il faut que (+ subjunctive)”
Synonyms: “Faut que j’y aille” (with the verb “aller”, to go), “Je dois partir.”
20 – C) Je suis en train de bosser. = I’m working right now.
– French slang for work: le boulot / le taf (noun), bosser / taffer (verb)
– Être en train de [+ verb] = currently doing [the thing] (“présent progressif” tense)
Notes on Intermediate section
If you answered 6 or more questions correctly, your French is likely at B1 or B2 level. If you got 8 or more right, you might enjoy the challenge of the next section.
And even if you managed to get all your answers wrong, then, who knows? You might shine now – and learn a ton!
3) Advanced level: Challenge your French
Our final ten questions will test your mastery over deeper French slang, for really advanced students. But don’t worry – every wrong answer means you’re learning something new about real everyday spoken French!
Question 21 – Advanced
What’s the meaning of “Ça me prend la tête.” ?
A) It’s bothering me a lot
B) It’s warm and comfortable, really cozy
C) I’m a bit drunk
Question 22 – Advanced
Let’s say you’re waiting for a French friend, to go to an event together. They call you and say “Désolé, je suis grave à la bourre.” What does it mean?
A) I’m totally lost
B) I’m really late
C) I’m very drunk already
Question 23 – Advanced
What’s a common French informal way to say “I’m hungry.” ?
A) J’ai un loup.
B) J’ai la famine.
C) J’ai la dalle.
Question 24 – Advanced
What’s French slang for “I’m exhausted” ?
A) Je suis crevée.
B) Je suis percée.
C) Je suis perdue.
Question 25 – Advanced
What does “Ça caille ici !” mean in informal French?
A) It’s really cold here.
B) It’s raining a lot.
C) I can’t hear a thing.
Question 26 – Advanced
What does “Elle est canon” mean in informal French?
A) She’s really mean.
B) She’s really nice.
C) She’s stunning
Question 27 – Advanced
Which of these expressions means something different than the two others?
A) Il s’est barré.
B) Il s’est planté.
C) Il s’est cassé.
Question 28 – Advanced
We’ve seen “ça prend la tête” before, but there are easier ways to say the same thing. What’s a verlan slang expression for “It’s annoying” ?
A) C’est cheum
B) C’est teubé
C) C’est relou
Question 29 – Advanced
Let’s say you’re in a French conversation between several people, they’re talking fast, you kind of follow along, and then you catch your friend saying clearly: “Tu parles !”
What does it mean?
A) “Yeah, I don’t believe it.”
B) “It’s your time to talk.”
C) “You talk too much!”
Question 30 – Advanced
Finally, what does “T’inquiète !” mean?
A) It’s not going great!
B) You’re amazing!
C) Don’t worry about it.
Solution – Advanced section
21 – A) Prendre la tête (à quelqu’un) = “taking the head from someone” – slang expression for something that’s frustrating and really annoying. “Martin a pris la tête à tous ses collègues.” (= He was really annoying to all his colleagues.)
→ Prendre la tête (de quelque chose) = being in charge of something.
“Martin a pris la tête de l’entreprise.” (= “Martin took the head of the company,” he’s in charge of the company).
22 – B) grave / à la bourre (slang) = très / en retard = very / late
Not “je suis bourré” (slang) = Je suis ivre = I’m drunk
23 – C) J’ai la dalle (slang) = J’ai les crocs (slang) = J’ai une faim de loup (old-fashioned expression) = J’ai faim = I’m hungry.
24 – A) Crevée (slang) = dead / very tired. Je suis fatiguée, je suis épuisée = I’m exhausted.
25 – A) Ça caille (slang) = Il fait très froid = It’s really cold here.
26 – C) Canon (slang) = hot, beautiful, stunning
27 – B) Se barrer (slang) = se casser (slang) = partir, s’en aller = to leave. Se planter (slang) = rater, échouer = to mess up, to fail.
28 – C) Relou (verlan slang) = lourd (slang) = annoying
Cheum (verlan slang) = moche = ugly.
Teubé (verlan slang) = bête = stupid, idiotic
29 – A) Tu parles = “you’re speaking” (literally), “As if! / Yeah, right!” (casual expression)
30 – C) T’inquiète (slang) = “don’t worry about it, I’ll deal with it, it’s OK.”
→ Short for Ne t’inquiète pas. (= Don’t worry), we cut the “ne” : “T’inquiète pas”.
But the “pas” isn’t necessary either: the affirmative “Do worry” would be “Inquiète toi” instead – and we very rarely use it anyway.
So we have a negative expression without any French word for negation: “T’inquiète.”
It’s a bit of youth slang, but I love this expression for its grammar.
Notes on the Full Test
Congratulations! You’ve completed all 30 questions for today. How many did you get right?
If you scored 6 or more in the first section, and you feel like you struggled in the others, you have a solid foundation in basic spoken French.
You can already communicate at a Beginner Level – but you need to work on real spoken expressions.
If you score 12 or more in the first two sections, you understand a good amount of spoken French, enough to reach at least an Intermediate Level – you but still have room to grow with everyday slang and informal vocabulary.
And if you scored 18 or more, congratulations, you have an Advanced Level – you’re probably quite confident in written French already, but you also know quite a lot to navigate real everyday French conversation.
Regardless of your score, though, here’s what’s important: if many of these expressions were new to you, it shows you’ve been learning the wrong kind of French. Schools teach you to pass written exams, not to understand what French people actually say in cafés, on the street, or with friends.
The gap between textbook French and real French is exactly what I help you bridge in my courses and videos. It’s great to learn the rules of written French, but that’s probably not your real goal: you want to communicate and speak with French people, make connections, and have fun.
For this, you need to practice everyday spoken French instead.
Click here to get your own Personalized Plan to Practice Spoken French at Your Level.
À bientôt !
I got 17 correct on the first run. I re did it again next day and got the last few not known. I had remembered a couple I did before somewhere, so I knew them. But the others were quite new, but I worked them out! Whether I’d get them in a conversation and understand is a different thing. However, I am very surprised at your method to get us introduced to the argot. Very good.
I scored 25. Not because I’m advanced in conversational French but because you are a great teacher. Thanks!
Merci c’était très intéressant aujourd’hui ( comme toujours!) et très utile !
C’était vachement bien , merci beaucoup Géraldine 😁
J’en sais beaucoup plus que je ne le pensais. La plupart, je les ai apprises de vous.
Merci beaucoup, Géraldine.
Merci! c’etait tres utile!
S’il te plait, Geraldine, mais le “link” aujourd’hui, allez a un “web designer” at puis, autre choses. Il était 8 Novembre, 2025.
Bonjour,
C’était un bon test, j’ai eu 26/30 et j’ai appris de bonnes expressions….
par exemple: « j’ai trop hâte pour ce soir. » Alors moi, je ne dirai plus « je suis excité à l’idée de faire quelque chose. » Et « s’te plaît , » et « c’est ouf! »
Merci, Géraldine.