Find your way around
Ask for a destination politely and follow left, right, straight ahead, and nearby landmarks.
Ask where a place is
Excusez-moi is a polite way to get a stranger’s attention. Où means where; the accent distinguishes it from ou, meaning or. In où est la gare, est is the singular form of être. For a plural destination such as les toilettes, use où sont. Keep the article with the destination so that your question is ready to use rather than a list of isolated words.
Recognise the main direction words
Tout droit means straight ahead. À droite means to the right; the final e changes the word, so do not confuse the two on the page. Tournez and continuez are instruction forms used with vous. A landmark can make an instruction easier to follow: au feu means at the traffic light, and la deuxième rue means the second street. Trace the route with a finger as you read.
Locate a landmark and check the distance
À côté de means next to and en face de means opposite. Before le, de and le combine to make du: en face du musée. Before la, the words stay separate: à côté de la banque. A place can be à cinq minutes à pied, five minutes away on foot. If you are unsure, repeat the important detail as a question before setting off.
Your turn.
Choose an answer, then check why it works. You can try again.
Make it yours.
Spend three minutes drawing a café, station, museum, and bank on a small map. Write a two-step route using tout droit and à gauche or à droite. Add one sentence with en face de or à côté de, then explain your route aloud.
Self-practice · kept in this tab. A teacher can give personal feedback.
Audio is your device’s French speech voice. Read the examples aloud too; pronunciation feedback requires a teacher.