1.1 Welcome to French — Same Alphabet, New Sounds & Words You Already Know

French and English use the exact same alphabet — 26 letters A–Z, capital and small. If you can write English letters, you can write French. The big difference isn't the letters, it's pronunciation.

Many French words are spelled like their English cousins but read differently. Key rule: words ending in '-tion' are pronounced '-sion' (a soft 's', not English 'sh'); meaning is unchanged. Same spelling — Nation, Mission, Direction, Commission — is read na-SION, mi-SION, di-rek-SION, ko-mi-SION.

Many words Ethiopians use daily are actually French, just slightly mispronounced. The real words: chauffeur (a driver, not 'shufer'), la gare (a train station, not 'legar'), bureau (an office), dialogue (a conversation), boutique (a shop), chemise (a shirt).