Chinese (Mandarin)

Spanish

English

Hindi

Arabic (Modern Standard)

Portuguese

Bengali

Russian

Japanese

Punjabi

German

Javanese

Malay

Telugu

Vietnamese

Korean

French

Marathi

Tamil

Urdu

Turkish

Italian

Chinese, Yue / Cantonese

Thai

Gujarati

Chinese, Jin

Chinese, Min Nan

Dari

Farsi

Polish

Pashto

Kannada

Chinese, Xiang

Malayalam

Sundanese

Hausa

Odia

Burmese

Chinese, Hakka

Ukrainian

Bihari, Bhojpuri

Tagalog

Yoruba

Bihari, Maithili

Uzbek

Sindhi

Amharic

Fula

Romanian

Oromo

Igbo

Azerbaijani

Chinese, Gan

Dutch

Kurdish, Central

Kurdish, Northern

Kurdish, Southern

Malagasy

Lahnda, Saraiki

Nepali

Sinhalese

Chittagonian

Zhuang

Khmer

Turkmen

Assamese

Madurese

Somali

Marwari

Bihari, Magahi

Haryanvi

Hungarian

Chhattisgarhi

Greek

Chewa

Dakhini

Akan, Twi

Akan, Fante

Kazakh

Chinese, Min Bei

Sylheti

Zulu

Czech

Kinyarwanda

Marwari, Dhundhari

Haitian Creole

Chinese, Min Dong

Ilocano

Quechua

Kirundi

Swedish

Hmong

Shona

Uyghur

Hiligaynon

Mossi

Xhosa

Belarusian

Balochi

French for TEF Canada & TCF Canada

This lesson covers the vocabulary you need to find, view, and move into a rental home in
France — and to talk about that process in the TEF/TCF exam register. Renting vocabulary
appears constantly across the exam: in TEF Expression Orale Section A, where you place a
formal phone call about a classified ad (une petite annonce) to ask about the rent, the
deposit, or whether utilities are included; and in TCF and TEF writing tasks about daily
life and settling in.

Learn the money terms first: une caution and un dépôt de garantie both mean "security
deposit," but caution is the everyday word you will hear in conversation, while dépôt de
garantie is the more formal term you will find written into the lease itself.

{{item:931342}}

Once you have found a place, the vocabulary shifts to the mechanics of moving in: the
propriétaire (landlord) and locataire (tenant) carry out an état des lieux — a formal
inspection — when you move in (emménager), and again when you move out, after you have
given proper notice (donner son préavis). Do not forget the paperwork that comes with a
French lease: most landlords require proof of home insurance (une assurance habitation)
before you can sign.

Practise the phone-inquiry sentences in this lesson out loud — confirming a viewing
appointment, asking about an agency's opening hours, asking whether charges are included.
That funnel-of-questions structure (technique de l'entonnoir) is exactly what Section A of
the TEF oral exam rewards, and this is the vocabulary that scenario runs on.

Finding a place to live (la caution, les charges)

Immigration and residency procedures (la démarche, le permis de séjour)

Documents, forms and paperwork (le justificatif, l'attestation)

Living in Canada (le courriel, la fin de semaine)

Finding a job (la lettre de motivation, l'entretien)

At work (le CDI, la rémunération)

Everyday services (l'abonnement, résilier)

Health and healthcare (l'assurance maladie)

Studies and credential recognition (la formation, l'équivalence)

News and fait divers vocabulary (le témoin, l'enquête)

The big debates (l'enjeu, la mesure)

Stating your opinion and arguing (pour ma part, en revanche)

Conceding and countering (certes..., mais)

TEF Writing A — continuing a fait divers (journalistic narration kit)

TEF Writing B — the letter to the newspaper

TEF Speaking A — the formal phone call (vous)

TEF Speaking B — convincing a friend (tu)

TCF Writing 1 — messages and invitations

TCF Writing 2 & Speaking 1 — talking about yourself

TCF Writing 3 — the synthesis (reported viewpoints)

TCF Speaking 2 & 3 — getting information and giving your opinion

Question	Answer
a classified ad	une petite annonce
a security deposit (everyday term)	une caution
a security deposit (formal/lease term)	un dépôt de garantie
utilities included (bare fixed phrase after a rent figure)	charges comprises
rental charges	les charges locatives
to sign a lease	signer un bail
a tenant	un locataire
a landlord	un propriétaire
a move-in/move-out inspection	un état des lieux
to give notice (to vacate)	donner son préavis
to move in	emménager
a move/relocation	un déménagement
a building	un immeuble
a real estate agency	une agence immobilière
furnished housing	un logement meublé
unfurnished housing	un logement non meublé
home insurance	une assurance habitation
to take out insurance	souscrire à une assurance
to confirm a reservation	confirmer une réservation
opening hours	les heures d'ouverture
Hello, I'm calling about your classified ad for the apartment.	Bonjour, je vous appelle au sujet de votre petite annonce pour l'appartement.
Could you confirm that the security deposit corresponds to one month's rent?	Pourriez-vous confirmer que la caution correspond à un mois de loyer ?
The landlord requires a security deposit and home insurance.	Le propriétaire demande un dépôt de garantie et une assurance habitation.
The classified ad states that the rent is 650 euros, utilities included.	La petite annonce précise que le loyer est de 650 euros, charges comprises.
In addition to the rent, you have to pay the rental charges every month.	En plus du loyer, il faut payer les charges locatives chaque mois.
We signed the lease yesterday afternoon.	Nous avons signé le bail hier après-midi.
Could you confirm the reservation for the apartment viewing on Wednesday?	Pourriez-vous confirmer la réservation pour la visite de l'appartement mercredi ?
We're moving in next week, right after the move-in inspection.	On emménage la semaine prochaine, juste après l'état des lieux.
The tenant must give notice one month before leaving.	Le locataire doit donner son préavis un mois avant de partir.
Our move is planned for the first of the month, with help from the real estate agency.	Notre déménagement est prévu pour le premier du mois, avec l'aide de l'agence immobilière.
Could you tell me what the opening hours are for viewing the building?	Pourriez-vous me dire quelles sont les heures d'ouverture pour visiter l'immeuble ?
We're looking for furnished housing, but unfurnished housing would also work.	Nous cherchons un logement meublé, mais un logement non meublé conviendrait aussi.
Do I need to take out home insurance before signing the lease?	Faut-il souscrire à une assurance habitation avant de signer le bail ?

Contributors