Pièce or chambre?
Une pièce is any room. Une chambre is only a bedroom. So a flat with « quatre pièces » has four main rooms, not four bedrooms.
- L'appartement a quatre pièces.The flat has four rooms.
- Ma chambre est petite.My bedroom is small.
A2Unit 3 of the A2 course · « Le logement »
Rooms, furniture and renting a flat in French
Looking for a flat in France means reading adverts and describing a home. This page covers rooms, furniture, « il y a », and the little words that say where things are.
By the end of this unit you can: rent a flat and describe your home.
What this unit covers
- 1Les pièces: Name the rooms in your home and say what there is.
- 2Les meubles: Say what furniture there is, and what's missing.
- 3Où est le chat ?: Say where things are in a room.
- 4Un bel appartement à louer: Describe a flat and understand a rental advert.
- 5La visite de l'appartement: Visit a flat, ask questions and decide to rent it.
Grammar and usage, explained
Il y a: there is, there are
Il y a never changes, whether one thing or many things follow. To ask what there is, say « Qu'est-ce qu'il y a ? ».
- Il y a une cuisine.There's a kitchen.
- Il y a deux chambres.There are two bedrooms.
- Il y a un balcon ?Is there a balcony?
No un, no une: il n'y a pas de
In the negative, un, une and des all become de (d' before a vowel). It doesn't matter if the noun is masculine, feminine or plural.
- Il y a un frigo. → Il n'y a pas de frigo.There's a fridge. → There's no fridge.
- Il n'y a pas de chaises.There are no chairs.
- Il n'y a pas d'armoire.There's no wardrobe.
Where is it?
Put the little word before the place: sur la table, sous le lit. Ask « Où est… ? » for one thing and « Où sont… ? » for several.
- Le chat est sur le lit.The cat is on the bed.
- Où sont mes clés ?Where are my keys?
À côté de: watch the little words
À côté de ends in de, and de joins with le and les: de + le = du, de + les = des. De la and de l' stay as they are.
- à côté de la fenêtrenext to the window
- à côté du litnext to the bed
- à côté des toilettesnext to the toilet
Where adjectives go
Most French adjectives come after the noun and agree with it: add -e for feminine and -s for plural. But a few short, common ones go before the noun: grand, petit, beau, vieux, jeune, bon, nouveau.
- un appartement meubléa furnished flat
- une grande cuisinea big kitchen
- un petit balcona small balcony
Beau, bel, belle
Beau and vieux have a special form before a masculine noun that starts with a vowel or a silent h: bel and vieil. They sound like the feminine forms and make the words flow.
- un beau salon / un bel appartementa beautiful living room / a beautiful flat
- une belle maisona beautiful house
- un vieil immeublean old building
Scene: visiting a flat
Thiago has just moved to Montréal for work. Madame Tremblay shows him a flat for rent. Listen and answer. (Québec adverts count rooms differently: a « 3 ½ » is roughly a French deux-pièces, but everyone will understand the words you've learned.)
Vocabulary: 27 words and phrases
Tap 🔊 to hear each one, recorded by a native-sounding French voice.
Les pièces
| Listen | French | English |
|---|---|---|
| pièce(feminine) | roomAny room. A bedroom is une chambre: don't mix them up! | |
| chambre(feminine) | bedroom | |
| cuisine(feminine) | kitchenAlso means cooking or cuisine: faire la cuisine. | |
| salon(masculine) | living room | |
| salle de bains(feminine) | bathroomA room for washing. In France the toilet is often in a separate little room. | |
| les toilettes | toiletAlways plural: les toilettes sont à gauche. | |
| balcon(masculine) | balcony | |
| il y aIl y a trois pièces. (There are three rooms.) | there is / there are |
Les meubles
| Listen | French | English |
|---|---|---|
| lit(masculine) | bedThe t is silent: « lee ». | |
| chaise(feminine) | chair | |
| canapé(masculine) | sofa | |
| armoire(feminine) | wardrobe | |
| frigo(masculine) | fridgeShort for réfrigérateur, like fridge for refrigerator. | |
| lampe(feminine) | lamp | |
| il n'y a pas de…Il n'y a pas de frigo. (There's no fridge.) | there's no… / there aren't any… |
Où est le chat ?
| Listen | French | English |
|---|---|---|
| sur | on | |
| sous | underSur and sous sound close. Sous rhymes with « tout ». | |
| dans | in / inside |
Un bel appartement à louer
| Listen | French | English |
|---|---|---|
| grand / grande | big / tall | |
| petit / petite | small / little | |
| beau / bel / belle | beautiful / niceBel goes before a masculine noun starting with a vowel: un bel appartement. | |
| vieux / vieil / vieille | oldVieil goes before a masculine noun starting with a vowel: un vieil immeuble. | |
| louer | to rentUsed by both the tenant and the owner. On a sign, « à louer » means for rent. | |
| loyer(masculine) | rent | |
| les charges | service charges / billsShared costs like water, heating and cleaning. « Charges comprises » means they're included in the rent. | |
| meublé / meublée | furnished | |
| un appartement de deux pièces | a two-room flatA living room plus one bedroom. Often shortened to un deux-pièces, or a T2 / F2 in adverts. |
Example sentences
- Chez moi, il y a un salon, une cuisine et deux chambres.At my place, there's a living room, a kitchen and two bedrooms.
- Dans ma chambre, il y a un lit, une armoire et une lampe.In my bedroom, there's a bed, a wardrobe and a lamp.
- La table est devant le canapé, à côté de la lampe.The table is in front of the sofa, next to the lamp.
- Je cherche un bel appartement meublé avec un petit balcon.I'm looking for a nice furnished flat with a small balcony.
- C'est un bel appartement. Je le prends !It's a lovely flat. I'll take it!
Practise it, don't just read it
This unit is part of French Ultimate's A2 course: 5 short lessons with an animated video each, speaking and listening practice, a reading and an end-of-unit test.
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