{"id":112,"date":"2026-09-30T18:33:34","date_gmt":"2026-09-30T17:33:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/leweb2ks.dev\/vitrine-vocadial\/en\/resources\/house-in-french\/"},"modified":"2026-09-30T18:33:34","modified_gmt":"2026-09-30T17:33:34","slug":"house-in-french","status":"publish","type":"vd_ressource","link":"https:\/\/vocadial.com\/en\/resources\/house-in-french\/","title":{"rendered":"The house in French: rooms, furniture and a classroom routine"},"content":{"rendered":"

Rooms of the house in French<\/h2>\n\n

In the pronunciation column, capitals mark the syllable to lean on slightly (French stress is light and falls on the last syllable). (n) marks a nasal vowel: air goes through the nose and the n itself is not pronounced. “zh” is the s in “measure”, “uh” is the short vowel in “the”, and “\u00fc” is “ee” said with rounded lips.<\/p>\n\n

French<\/th>English<\/th>Say it like<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
la maison<\/td>house<\/td>meh-ZO(N)<\/td><\/tr>
l’appartement (m.)<\/td>flat<\/td>la-par-tuh-MAH(N)<\/td><\/tr>
l’immeuble (m.)<\/td>block of flats<\/td>lee-MUH-bluh<\/td><\/tr>
la pi\u00e8ce<\/td>room<\/td>pyess<\/td><\/tr>
la cuisine<\/td>kitchen<\/td>kwee-ZEEN<\/td><\/tr>
le salon<\/td>living room<\/td>sa-LO(N)<\/td><\/tr>
la salle \u00e0 manger<\/td>dining room<\/td>sal a mah(n)-ZHAY<\/td><\/tr>
la chambre<\/td>bedroom<\/td>SHAH(N)-bruh<\/td><\/tr>
la salle de bains<\/td>bathroom<\/td>sal duh BA(N)<\/td><\/tr>
les toilettes (f.), les WC (m.)<\/td>toilet<\/td>twa-LET, vay-SAY<\/td><\/tr>
l’entr\u00e9e (f.)<\/td>hall, entrance<\/td>lah(n)-TRAY<\/td><\/tr>
le couloir<\/td>corridor<\/td>koo-LWAR<\/td><\/tr>
l’escalier (m.)<\/td>stairs<\/td>les-ka-LYAY<\/td><\/tr>
le bureau<\/td>study<\/td>b\u00fc-ROH<\/td><\/tr>
le grenier<\/td>attic, loft<\/td>gruh-NYAY<\/td><\/tr>
la cave<\/td>cellar<\/td>kav<\/td><\/tr>
le garage<\/td>garage<\/td>ga-RAZH<\/td><\/tr>
le jardin<\/td>garden<\/td>zhar-DA(N)<\/td><\/tr>
le rez-de-chauss\u00e9e<\/td>ground floor<\/td>ray-duh-shoh-SAY<\/td><\/tr>
le premier \u00e9tage<\/td>first floor<\/td>luh pruh-myay-ray-TAZH<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n

L’escalier<\/span> is usually singular where English says “stairs”, though les escaliers<\/span> is common too. Les toilettes<\/span> are plural in France; in Belgium and Quebec la toilette<\/span> is also used, and Belgians often call the living room le living<\/span>.<\/p>\n\n

Furniture and household objects<\/h2>\n\n
French<\/th>English<\/th>Say it like<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
le lit<\/td>bed<\/td>lee<\/td><\/tr>
l’armoire (f.)<\/td>wardrobe<\/td>lar-MWAR<\/td><\/tr>
la commode<\/td>chest of drawers<\/td>ko-MOD<\/td><\/tr>
le placard<\/td>cupboard<\/td>pla-KAR<\/td><\/tr>
la table<\/td>table<\/td>TA-bluh<\/td><\/tr>
la chaise<\/td>chair<\/td>shez<\/td><\/tr>
le canap\u00e9<\/td>sofa<\/td>ka-na-PAY<\/td><\/tr>
le fauteuil<\/td>armchair<\/td>foh-TUY<\/td><\/tr>
l’\u00e9tag\u00e8re (f.)<\/td>shelf<\/td>lay-ta-ZHAIR<\/td><\/tr>
le bureau<\/td>desk<\/td>b\u00fc-ROH<\/td><\/tr>
la lampe<\/td>lamp<\/td>lah(n)p<\/td><\/tr>
le tapis<\/td>rug<\/td>ta-PEE<\/td><\/tr>
le miroir<\/td>mirror<\/td>mee-RWAR<\/td><\/tr>
la douche<\/td>shower<\/td>doosh<\/td><\/tr>
la baignoire<\/td>bath<\/td>beh-NYWAR<\/td><\/tr>
le frigo<\/td>fridge<\/td>free-GOH<\/td><\/tr>
le four<\/td>oven<\/td>foor<\/td><\/tr>
la machine \u00e0 laver<\/td>washing machine<\/td>ma-SHEEN a la-VAY<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n

The t of lit<\/span>, the s of tapis<\/span> and the d of placard<\/span> are silent.<\/p>\n\n

Il y a, chez moi and where things are<\/h2>\n\n
  1. Il y a for “there is” and “there are”.<\/strong> Il y a une cuisine et deux chambres.<\/span> In the negative, un<\/span>, une<\/span> and des<\/span> become de<\/span>: Il n’y a pas de jardin.<\/span><\/li>
  2. Chez moi for “at my house”.<\/strong> chez moi<\/span>, chez toi<\/span>, chez mes grands-parents<\/span>. No word for “house” is needed.<\/li>
  3. Mon before a vowel.<\/strong> mon armoire<\/span>, mon \u00e9tag\u00e8re<\/span>, even though both are feminine.<\/li>
  4. De + le = du.<\/strong> \u00e0 c\u00f4t\u00e9 du lit<\/span>, en face du canap\u00e9<\/span>; but \u00e0 c\u00f4t\u00e9 de la fen\u00eatre<\/span>.<\/li>
  5. Where you live.<\/strong> J’habite dans une maison<\/span>, dans un appartement<\/span>, en ville<\/span>, \u00e0 la campagne<\/span>, au bord de la mer<\/span>.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n

    Prepositions of place<\/h3>\n\n
    French<\/th>English<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
    dans<\/td>in<\/td><\/tr>
    sur<\/td>on<\/td><\/tr>
    sous<\/td>under<\/td><\/tr>
    devant<\/td>in front of<\/td><\/tr>
    derri\u00e8re<\/td>behind<\/td><\/tr>
    \u00e0 c\u00f4t\u00e9 de<\/td>next to<\/td><\/tr>
    en face de<\/td>opposite<\/td><\/tr>
    entre<\/td>between<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n

    J’habite dans un appartement au troisi\u00e8me \u00e9tage.<\/span>I live in a flat on the third floor.<\/small><\/p>\n\n

    Chez moi, il y a trois chambres, mais il n’y a pas de jardin.<\/span>At my house there are three bedrooms, but there’s no garden.<\/small><\/p>\n\n

    Je partage ma chambre avec mon fr\u00e8re.<\/span>I share my bedroom with my brother.<\/small><\/p>\n\n

    Le chat dort sous le lit.<\/span>The cat is sleeping under the bed.<\/small><\/p>\n\n

    Plus tard, j’aimerais habiter dans une maison au bord de la mer.<\/span>Later on, I’d like to live in a house by the sea.<\/small><\/p>\n\n

    False friends in the house<\/h2>\n\n
    • La chambre<\/strong> is a bedroom, not a chamber.<\/li>
    • La cave<\/strong> is a cellar, not a cave (une grotte<\/span>).<\/li>
    • La pi\u00e8ce<\/strong> is a room; un trois-pi\u00e8ces<\/span> is a flat with three main rooms.<\/li>
    • Le bureau<\/strong> is a desk, a study and an office.<\/li>
    • La commode<\/strong> is a chest of drawers.<\/li>
    • La location<\/strong> means renting: une maison en location<\/span>.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n

      Idioms about the house<\/h2>\n\n
      French<\/th>Literally<\/th>Meaning<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
      faites comme chez vous<\/td>do as at your home<\/td>make yourself at home<\/td><\/tr>
      c’est la maison qui offre<\/td>it’s the house that offers<\/td>it’s on the house<\/td><\/tr>
      un bruit de couloir<\/td>a corridor noise<\/td>a rumour<\/td><\/tr>
      mettre la cl\u00e9 sous la porte<\/td>to put the key under the door<\/td>to shut up shop<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n

      Typical mistakes of English-speaking learners<\/h2>\n\n
      • “Ma armoire”:<\/strong> before a vowel, mon armoire<\/span>.<\/li>
      • “Il n’y a pas un jardin”:<\/strong> after the negative, pas de jardin<\/span>.<\/li>
      • “Dans ma maison” for “at home”:<\/strong> French prefers chez moi<\/span>.<\/li>
      • “Le chambre”:<\/strong> it is la chambre<\/span>, feminine.<\/li>
      • Sounding silent letters:<\/strong> lit<\/span>, tapis<\/span>, placard<\/span>, escalier<\/span>.<\/li>
      • Chambre and chaise mixed up<\/strong> in early lessons: bedroom and chair.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n

        In class: the house as a word of the day<\/h2>\n\n

        The house gives pupils something concrete to describe from the first term, and a plan of a house is a ready-made game board.<\/p>\n\n

        1. Show the picture (an armchair) and the English word: “armchair”.<\/li>
        2. Ask Comment dit-on “armchair” en fran\u00e7ais ?<\/span> Pupils write their guess on mini whiteboards.<\/li>
        3. Reveal le fauteuil<\/span> with its pronunciation. The class repeats it, then two pupils alone. Work on the ending: foh-TUY.<\/li>
        4. Show the example sentence: Dans le salon, il y a un fauteuil \u00e0 c\u00f4t\u00e9 du canap\u00e9.<\/span><\/li>
        5. Give the reuse task: each pupil places the object in a room of their home, real or imagined, with il y a<\/span> and a preposition.<\/li>
        6. Recall yesterday’s word: Comment dit-on “wardrobe” ?<\/span><\/li><\/ol>\n\n

          That is exactly what a daily routine does: one word at a time, placed in a real room, until pupils can describe a whole home.<\/p>\n\n

          Hide and seek<\/h3>\n\n

          Project a house plan. One pupil secretly hides a cat in a room; the class asks Il est dans la cuisine ?<\/span> or Il est sous le lit ?<\/span> until they find it.<\/p>\n\n

          Homes are personal. Let pupils describe an invented, dream or famous home as easily as their own, and never ask them to compare the size of their houses.<\/p>\n\n

          • A1<\/b>Rooms and il y a: Chez moi, il y a une cuisine et un salon.<\/span><\/li>
          • A2<\/b>Descriptions and position: Ma chambre est petite. Le lit est \u00e0 c\u00f4t\u00e9 de la fen\u00eatre.<\/span><\/li>
          • B1<\/b>Past and future homes: Avant, j’habitais dans un appartement ; maintenant, on habite dans une maison.<\/span><\/li>
          • B2<\/b>Ideal homes: Si je pouvais, j’habiterais dans une maison \u00e0 la campagne.<\/span><\/li><\/ul>\n\n

            At KS2, rooms, a picture and il y a<\/span> are enough. At KS3, insist on pas de<\/span>, chez moi<\/span> and du<\/span>. At GCSE, home and local area are core: move on to the imperfect and the conditional.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

            Rooms and furniture in French with their article and pronunciation, il y a, chez moi, prepositions of place and a word of the day.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"menu_order":53,"template":"","meta":{"_seopress_titles_title":"House in French: Rooms, Furniture, Il y a | VocaDial","_seopress_titles_desc":"The house in French: rooms and furniture with the article and pronunciation, il y a and chez moi, prepositions, false friends and a daily word routine.","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_robots_follow":"","_seopress_robots_imageindex":"","_seopress_robots_snippet":"","_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_robots_breadcrumbs":"","_seopress_robots_freeze_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_custom_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_canonical":"","_seopress_social_fb_title":"","_seopress_social_fb_desc":"","_seopress_social_fb_img":"","_seopress_social_fb_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_height":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_title":"","_seopress_social_twitter_desc":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_height":0,"_seopress_redirections_value":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled_regex":"","_seopress_redirections_logged_status":"","_seopress_redirections_param":"","_seopress_redirections_type":0,"_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","_seopress_news_disabled":"","_seopress_video_disabled":"","_seopress_video":[],"_seopress_pro_schemas_manual":[],"_seopress_pro_rich_snippets_disable_all":"","_seopress_pro_rich_snippets_disable":[],"_seopress_pro_schemas":[],"_vd_topic":"maison","_vd_target":"fr","_vd_module":"palabra","_vd_level":"A1","_vd_minutes":"7","_vd_card_word":"la chambre\u2026","_vd_answer":"\"House\" in French is la maison<\/span>, and a flat is un appartement<\/span>. The main rooms are la cuisine<\/span> (kitchen), le salon<\/span> (living room), la salle \u00e0 manger<\/span> (dining room), la chambre<\/span> (bedroom), la salle de bains<\/span> (bathroom) and les toilettes<\/span> (toilet). \"At home\" is chez moi<\/span> or \u00e0 la maison<\/span>.","_vd_faq":"[{\"q\":\"How do you say \\\"bedroom\\\" in French?\",\"a\":\"La chambre<\\\/span>. \\\"My bedroom\\\" is ma chambre<\\\/span>. It never means \\\"chamber\\\" in everyday French.\"},{\"q\":\"How do you say \\\"at home\\\" in French?\",\"a\":\"Chez moi<\\\/span> or \u00e0 la maison<\\\/span>: Je suis chez moi<\\\/span>, Je rentre \u00e0 la maison<\\\/span>. \\\"At my friend's house\\\" is chez mon ami<\\\/span>.\"},{\"q\":\"Is it salle de bain or salle de bains?\",\"a\":\"Both spellings are accepted and pronounced the same way. La salle de bains<\\\/span> is the traditional form.\"},{\"q\":\"Is the ground floor the same in French and British English?\",\"a\":\"Yes. Le rez-de-chauss\u00e9e<\\\/span> is the ground floor and le premier \u00e9tage<\\\/span> the first floor above it, as in the UK. American English counts differently.\"},{\"q\":\"Why is it mon armoire if armoire is feminine?\",\"a\":\"Before a vowel or a silent h, ma<\\\/span>, ta<\\\/span> and sa<\\\/span> become mon<\\\/span>, ton<\\\/span> and son<\\\/span>, for the sound: mon armoire<\\\/span>, mon \u00e9tag\u00e8re<\\\/span>, ton entr\u00e9e<\\\/span>. The noun stays feminine: mon armoire est grande<\\\/span>.\"}]","_vd_key":"maison-fr","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-112","vd_ressource","type-vd_ressource","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vocadial.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/vd_ressource\/112","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vocadial.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/vd_ressource"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vocadial.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/vd_ressource"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/vocadial.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/vd_ressource\/112\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vocadial.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=112"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}