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Talking about yourself
You’ve got je m’appelle Emma — now the rest. The handful of lines that let you actually introduce yourself: what you do, where you’re from, where you live, and what you’re into. Enough to hold up your end when someone wants to get to know you.
The one idea
When someone wants to know about you, they won’t ask « quelle est votre profession ? ». They’ll ask « tu fais quoi dans la vie ? ». Learn to answer the real, casual questions — and to fire them back.
Listen first: getting to know someone
Play it through, then go line by line and say each one back. Notice how little it takes to sound natural — short answers, then a question back.
Where you’re from & where you live
Three things people ask early on: where you’re from, where you live, and how long you’ve been there.
“I’m English.” (You write anglaise with the extra -e because you’re female; a man writes anglais. Swap in your own: américaine, irlandaise…)
“I’m from London.” Je viens de… + your town or country.
“I’ve lived in Paris for two years.” More on that depuis below.
In or at a place
| Place | Word | Example | |
|---|---|---|---|
| a city | à | à Paris, à Zurich | |
| a feminine country | en | en France, en Suisse | |
| a masculine country | au | au Canada, au Portugal | |
| a plural country | aux | aux États-Unis |
“depuis” + the present
For something still true, French keeps the present tense: j’habite ici depuis deux ans — literally “I live here since two years”. English switches to “I have lived”; French doesn’t. Don’t put it in the past.
What you do
The casual question is « tu fais quoi dans la vie ? » (polite version: « qu’est-ce que vous faites dans la vie ? »). Here’s how to answer it.
| French | Means | |
|---|---|---|
| Je suis prof. | “I’m a teacher” — no “a” before the job! | |
| Je travaille dans le marketing. | “I work in marketing.” | |
| Je bosse dans une agence. | “I work at an agency.” bosser = casual “to work”. | |
| Je fais des études de droit. | “I’m studying law.” | |
| Je suis étudiante en histoire. | “I’m a history student.” | |
| Je cherche du boulot. | “I’m looking for work.” le boulot = casual “work / job”. |
Your German already does this
French drops the “a” before a job — exactly like German. Je suis prof = Ich bin Lehrerin; Je suis médecin = Ich bin Ärztin. It’s English that’s the odd one out with its “I’m a teacher”. So don’t say « je suis une prof ».
What you’re into
For hobbies and interests, two patterns do most of the work: faire de… (for activities) and j’aime / j’adore… (for anything).
| French | Means | |
|---|---|---|
| Je fais de l’escalade. | “I go climbing.” | |
| Je fais du foot. | “I play football.” | |
| Je fais de la danse. | “I dance / I do dance.” | |
| J’adore cuisiner. | “I love cooking.” (j’adore + verb) | |
| Je suis passionnée de photo. | “I’m really into photography.” | |
| Mon truc, c’est la musique. | “My thing is music.” (nicely casual) |
Two easy slips
Cities take à, countries take en / au: j’habite à Paris, j’habite en France — never « en Paris » or « à France ».
And no un / une before a job: je suis prof, not « je suis une prof ».
Your turn
Swap in your own details. Read each cue, say your version out loud, then reveal a model answer.
Tell someone what you do — your job, or what you’re studying.
Say where you’re from and where you live now.
Someone asks « tu fais quoi dans la vie ? » — answer, then ask it back.
Say one thing you’re really into.
Quick check
Pick what a French person would actually say.
à + a city (à Lyon). en + a feminine country (most that end in -e: en France, en Italie) and any country starting with a vowel (en Iran). au + a masculine country (au Japon, au Maroc). aux + a plural country (aux Pays-Bas, aux États-Unis).
French sees the action as still going, so it stays in the present: j’apprends le français depuis un an = “I’ve been learning French for a year”. The trap for English speakers is reaching for a past tense — resist it.
With someone you’d use vous with, swap tu fais quoi ? for « qu’est-ce que vous faites dans la vie ? » and t’es d’où ? for « vous venez d’où ? ». Same content, just turned up a notch in formality.