Learn Japanese from French for Free — PBC Languages
Japanese and French share more loanwords than you'd think — some help you, some trip you up. Real practice with native speakers at PBC Languages.
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Japanese only has five vowels — a, i, u, e, o — and they land close to French vowel sounds, so pronunciation feels friendly from day one, unlike for English speakers. What actually catches French speakers off guard is the Japanese "r": it's a quick flap between an L and a D, nothing like the uvular French R, and saying "arigatou" with a French R marks you as a beginner instantly. Vowel length also trips people up because French doesn't mark it in speech: "obasan" (aunt) and "obaasan" (grandmother) differ only by one held vowel, and "kite" (come) vs "kitte" (stamp) differ only by a doubled consonant that French spelling never asks you to notice.
Japan borrowed hundreds of words from French, mostly through cooking, fashion and art, and some hand you shortcuts while others quietly change meaning on you. "Kureyon" (crayon), "dessan" (dessin), "ankeeto" (enquête) mean almost exactly what they do in French. But "zubon" comes from "jupon" and now means trousers, not a petticoat, and "piiman" comes from "piment" and now means a mild bell pepper, not a hot chili — recognising the French root helps you remember the word, not guess its meaning.
Japanese verbs go at the end of the sentence, so French speakers used to building meaning as they go (sujet-verbe-objet) have to hold the whole idea before speaking. The good news: Japanese verbs don't conjugate by person or number at all, so once you're past the "je/tu/il" reflex, sentence-building actually gets simpler than in French. What takes real time with a native speaker rather than a textbook is keigo, the honorific register — French has no equivalent to switching whole verb forms depending on who you're talking to, and that only clicks through actual conversation.
Words you will actually hear
| Here | Elsewhere | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| ズボン (zubon) | jupon | In French a "jupon" is a petticoat; in Japanese "zubon" means trousers — the word crossed over in the Meiji era and landed on a completely different garment. |
| ピーマン (piiman) | piment | "Piment" in French is a hot chili; "piiman" in Japanese is the mild green bell pepper in stir-fries — same root, opposite spice level. |
| クレヨン (kureyon) | crayon | Close match — both mean a wax colouring stick, though French "crayon" more often just means "pencil" in everyday speech, so context still matters. |
| アンケート (ankeeto) | enquête | Matches well — both mean a survey or questionnaire, so this one's a genuine shortcut. |
| デッサン (dessan) | dessin | Matches — both mean a sketch or drawing, used the same way in art classes. |
| カフェ (kafe) | café | Matches — a coffee shop, pronounced almost the same, an easy win. |
| マロン (maron) | marron | "Marron" in French mainly means the colour brown; "maron" in Japanese specifically means chestnut, the food — related but narrower. |
| シュークリーム (shuukuriimu) | chou à la crème | Matches — a cream puff, borrowed whole from the pastry name. |
| コンクール (konkuuru) | concours | Matches — a competition or contest, used the same way in both languages. |
| ルージュ (ruuju) | rouge | "Rouge" in French just means the colour red; "ruuju" in Japanese means specifically lipstick — the meaning narrowed to one product. |
How it works here
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Classes are led by a native teacher. An exchange is with another member: half the time in their language, half in yours.
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Questions about this
How long does it take a French speaker to get comfortable in Japanese?
The five vowels being close to French phonetics means basic pronunciation comes fast. What actually takes months of real contact with a native speaker is kanji reading and the honorific levels (keigo), since no app drill replicates adjusting your speech to who's in front of you.
Is the one-to-one exchange with a native speaker really free?
Yes. You trade half an hour speaking Japanese with someone who's learning French, then half an hour in French for their benefit — no money changes hands for that part. The small-group classes with our native Japanese teachers are the paid side of PBC.
What level do I need to start the exchange?
Absolute beginner is fine, since your partner needs your French just as much as you need their Japanese. For the group classes, knowing hiragana and katakana already helps you follow along without slowing the group down.
How do we split the half hour and half hour?
You agree it with your partner before the call, typically 30 minutes in Japanese and 30 minutes in French with a clear switch in between. Keeping the switch clean matters — otherwise you drift back into French out of habit during your Japanese half.
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