Hailing a Taxi: A French Story for Getting Around Town

A1 · Beginner50 sentences·2026-08-11

Follow Lucas as he arrives at a Paris airport and tries to hail a taxi before his hotel closes. You'll learn essential French words and phrases for taking a taxi, telling time, and getting around town.

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The lesson

Tap an underlined word for its meaning

PronunciationTranslation50 sentences · 72 new words

01sortir · to exit
Lucas sort de l'.
Loo-kah sor duh lay-roh-por
Lucas exits the airport.
02valise · suitcase
Il a une valise à la .
Eel ah oon vah-leez ah lah man
He has a suitcase in his hand.
03nuit · night
Il fait nuit.
Eel fay nwee
It is night.
04froid · cold
Il fait froid.
Eel fay frwah
It is cold.
05montre · watch
Lucas sa montre.
Loo-kah ruh-gard sah mohntr
Lucas looks at his watch.
06être · to be
Il 19h30.
Eel ay deez-nuhf er trahnt
It is 7:30 PM.
07fermer · to close
L' ferme à 20h00.
Loh-tel fairm ah van tuhr
The hotel closes at 8:00 PM.
08taxi · taxi
Lucas a d'un taxi .
Loo-kah ah buh-zwan dun tak-see veet
Lucas needs a taxi quickly.
09regarder · to look
Il regarde de lui.
Eel ruh-gard oh-toor duh lwee
He looks around him.
10panneau · sign
Il un panneau « Taxi ».
Eel vwah un pah-noh tak-see
He sees a "Taxi" sign.
11personne · person
Mais il y a de personnes qui .
May eel ee ah boh-koo duh pair-son kee ah-tahnd
But there are many people waiting.
12queue · line
Lucas dans la queue.
Loo-kah ah-tahn dahn lah kuh
Lucas waits in the line.
13montre · watch
Il sa montre .
Eel ruh-gard sah mohntr ahn-kor
He looks at his watch again.
14taxi · taxi
Un taxi .
Un tak-see ah-reev
A taxi arrives.
15chauffeur · driver
Mais le chauffeur la .
May luh shoh-fuhr suh-koo lah tet
But the driver shakes his head.
16réservé · reserved
Ce est déjà réservé.
Suh tak-see ay day-zhah ray-zair-vay
This taxi is already reserved.
17français · French
Lucas ne pas beaucoup français.
Loo-kah nuh parl pah boh-koo frahn-say
Lucas does not speak much French.
18demander · to ask
Il demande : « Un , s'il vous plaît ? »
Eel duh-mahnd doos-mahn un tak-see seel voo play
He asks softly: "A taxi, please?"
19attention · attention
Personne ne fait attention à lui.
Pair-son nuh fay ah-tahn-syon ah lwee
Nobody pays attention to him.
20perdu · lost
Lucas se très perdu.
Loo-kah suh sahn tray pair-doo
Lucas feels very lost.
21être · to be
Il 19h50.
Eel ay deez-nuhf er sahn-kahnt
It is 7:50 PM.
22minute · minute
Il dix minutes !
Eel rest suhl-mahn dee mee-noot
Only ten minutes remain!
23téléphone · phone
Lucas son téléphone.
Loo-kah ruh-gard son tay-lay-fon
Lucas looks at his phone.
24réseau · network
Mais il n'y a pas de réseau.
May eel nee ah pah duh ray-zoh
But there is no network.
25taxi · taxi
À ce , un taxi .
Ah suh moh-mahn un tak-see sah-ret
At that moment, a taxi stops.
26chauffeur · driver
Le chauffeur la .
Luh shoh-fuhr oovr lah fuh-netr
The driver opens the window.
27demander · to ask
Il demande : « Vous où ? »
Eel duh-mahnd voo zah-lay oo
He asks: "Where are you going?"
28adresse · address
Lucas l'adresse de l'hôtel.
Loo-kah dee veet lah-dres duh loh-tel
Lucas quickly says the hotel address.
29monter · to get in
Il monte dans le .
Eel mohnt dahn luh tak-see
He gets into the taxi.
30chauffeur · driver
Le chauffeur s'appelle Marc.
Luh shoh-fuhr sah-pel Mark
The driver's name is Marc.
31conduire · to drive
Marc conduit .
Mark kohn-dwee veet
Marc drives fast.
32route · road
Il une route plus .
Eel shwah-zee oon root ploo koort
He chooses a shorter road.
33sourire · smile
Marc à Lucas avec un sourire.
Mark parl ah Loo-kah ah-vek un soo-reer
Marc speaks to Lucas with a smile.
34détendre · to relax
Lucas à se détendre.
Loo-kah koh-mahns ah suh day-tahndr
Lucas begins to relax.
35Paris · Paris
Il Paris par la fenêtre.
Eel ruh-gard Pah-ree par lah fuh-netr
He looks at Paris through the window.
36beau · beautiful
Paris est très beau.
Pah-ree ay tray boh
Paris is very beautiful.
37taxi · taxi
Le taxi devant l'.
Luh tak-see sah-ret duh-vahn loh-tel
The taxi stops in front of the hotel.
38montre · watch
Lucas sa montre.
Loo-kah ruh-gard sah mohntr
Lucas looks at his watch.
39être · to be
Il 19h58.
Eel ay deez-nuhf er sahn-kahnt weet
It is 7:58 PM.
40minute · minute
Il deux minutes !
Eel rest duh mee-noot
Two minutes remain!
41payer · to pay
Lucas paie Marc.
Loo-kah pay Mark
Lucas pays Marc.
42Merci · Thank you
Il : « Merci ! »
Eel dee mair-see boh-koo
He says: "Thank you very much!"
43sourire · to smile
Marc sourit.
Mark soo-ree
Marc smiles.
44chance · luck
Marc : « Bonne chance à Paris ! »
Mark dee bun shahns ah Pah-ree
Marc says: "Good luck in Paris!"
45entrer · to enter
Lucas entre dans l'.
Loo-kah ahntr dahn loh-tel
Lucas enters the hotel.
46chambre · room
Il sa chambre.
Eel ruh-swah sah shahmbr
He receives his room.
47lit · bed
Il sur le lit.
Eel sah-swah sewr luh lee
He sits on the bed.
48carte · card
Il la carte de de Marc.
Eel ruh-gard lah kart duh vee-zeet duh Mark
He looks at Marc's business card.
49sourire · to smile
Lucas sourit.
Loo-kah soo-ree
Lucas smiles.
50bien · well
Paris commence très .
Pah-ree koh-mahns tray byan
Paris is off to a great start.

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