French is a language you can read long before you can say it: the spelling hides half the sounds, and the past tense has two helper verbs. The fix is to speak it, out loud, a little every day. If you have no one to talk to, an AI tutor is the next best thing. In Prima Speak you hold a real spoken conversation in French with Prima, who answers by voice in real time, at your level, and says it right when you slip. It is free to start, with no card: 10 minutes of live conversation on your first day, then 3 minutes a day.
Start a French conversation: it runs in your browser, with nothing to install.
Quick answers
- Can I practise French conversation with AI?
- Yes. In Prima Speak you speak French out loud and Prima answers by voice in real time, at your level, the way a person would.
- Is it free?
- Yes, to start, with no card: 10 minutes of live speaking on your first day, then 3 a day, the whole course and 50 text messages a day. Pro gives you 10 minutes a day for $9.99 a month.
- France or Québec?
- Your choice: French as it is spoken in France, or Québec French. You can switch later.
- What if I am a beginner?
- Choose Beginner: Prima speaks slowly, in short sentences, and asks questions you can answer in a word or two. Until you pass your first lesson she speaks extra slowly, with a pause between phrases. Stuck? Ask her in English.
- Does it work on my phone?
- Yes, in the browser: Safari on iPhone (iOS 15 or later) or Chrome on Android, with the microphone allowed.
What a conversation with Prima sounds like
Prima starts, you answer out loud, and when you slip she says it right in her next sentence, so the conversation keeps going. A beginner's exchange:
- Prima: "Bonjour ! Qu'est-ce que tu as fait hier ?" (Hi! What did you do yesterday?)
- You: "J'ai allé au marché."
- Prima: "Ah, tu es allé au marché ! Et après ?" (Oh, you went to the market! And then?)
- You: "Après, je suis rentré."
- Prima: "Parfait ! Tu as cuisiné quoi ?" (Perfect! What did you cook?)
She gave you the right form, "tu es allé", without stopping you: "aller" makes its past with "être", not "avoir", so yours is "je suis allé" ("je suis allée" if you are a woman). Two lines later you used "être" yourself with "rentrer", which works the same way. At the end of the session your report shows your pace, the Words to practise (here "je suis allé"), which also go to your Review list, and what Prima will remember.
Five things that make spoken French hard
"Être" or "avoir" in the past
Most verbs make the past with "avoir" ("j'ai mangé", I ate), but a short list, mostly about coming and going, takes "être": "je suis allé", "je suis venu", "je suis parti", "je suis rentré". So does every reflexive verb: "je me suis levé". You can know the rule for months before it comes out right in conversation. Saying it, again and again, is what fixes it, and Prima gives you the right form each time you slip.
"Tu" or "vous"
"Vous" is for strangers, shops and work; "tu" is for friends, family and children. In the French course each scene uses the one a French speaker would: "vous" at the café counter or the hotel desk, "tu" at the kitchen table or with a language-exchange partner. The tips show both: "et vous ?" and, to a friend, "et toi ?".
The letters you do not say
Most final consonants are silent ("petit", "vous", "ils parlent"), and some come back before a vowel: "vous avez" sounds like "vou-z-avez". Reading will not teach you this; hearing a line and saying it straight back will. Prima's voice is your model: Say it again repeats her last line more slowly, and Slower slows her down for the rest of the session.
Numbers
Seventy is "soixante-dix" (sixty-ten), eighty is "quatre-vingts" (four twenties) and ninety is "quatre-vingt-dix". You meet them in prices, so practise them there: in the café and bakery lessons of the course, you ask what it all costs.
Spoken French is not written French
In conversation people say "on" for "nous" ("on y va ?"), often drop the "ne" ("je sais pas") and say "t'as" for "tu as". To hear the French people really speak, choose The Local as Prima's coaching style (with France's French she is The Parisian Local, with Québec French The Montreal Local): she brings in the idioms and everyday slang people use, with a word on who says them and when they would sound rude.
France or Québec French
Choose French (FR) or French (CA) when you start. You can switch in Settings later, and your level and your progress come with you. In Québec French Prima speaks with Québec's words and rhythm (a car is a "char", to go shopping is "magasiner", the weekend is "la fin de semaine"), says "tu" sooner, and points out where France says it differently.
Four ways to practise French with Prima
Free conversation
Tell her about your day, your weekend, your work. Prima remembers what you tell her (you can see and delete her notes), so the next conversation picks up where the last one stopped. It is like a French-speaking friend who is always happy to talk.
Real-life scenes
In the French course, Prima plays the other person in situations you will meet in France or Québec: ordering a coffee, checking into a hotel, buying a train ticket, two croissants and a baguette at the bakery. Each lesson starts with a short preview of what you will say and ends with a report and a score.
What is around you
Turn on your camera and show Prima what is on your desk or in your kitchen: she names it in French, asks you about it and has you say it. It is how you learn "la tasse", "le tire-bouchon" and the other everyday words textbooks skip.
French from the videos you watch
With Prima Speak for Chrome, the French YouTube videos you already watch become practice: about every minute of speech, at the end of a line, the video pauses, you say the line, and Prima corrects one thing. Subtitles in French with the English translation underneath are free and never use minutes. It is the shadowing technique with someone listening.
A short daily French routine
- Warm up (2 minutes). Count out loud from sixty to a hundred, then read a short French dialogue aloud, playing both parts.
- Shadow (3 minutes). One minute of a French video, line by line, copying the rhythm and the linked sounds.
- Talk (3 minutes). A conversation with Prima about your day, or a lesson from the course.
- Note it (1 minute). The two words you reached for and could not find, each with its "le" or "la". Use them tomorrow.
The conversation fits in the free plan's 3 minutes a day. Only live speaking with Prima uses minutes: text chat, word review and your reports never do.
Tips for faster progress
- Speak before you feel ready. A mistake costs nothing: Prima says it right in her next sentence and you carry on.
- Answer in full sentences, even short ones: "Je suis allé au marché" teaches you more than "le marché".
- Learn every noun with its article, out loud: "la baguette", "le fromage", never just "baguette".
- Ask in English when you are stuck. "How do you say 'receipt'?" gets a one- or two-sentence answer, and then you are back in French.
- Use the help buttons. Help me say it gives you a short sentence you could say next, with its meaning. Slower and Say it again slow Prima down.
- Come back every day. A few minutes daily beats an hour once a week.
Learning Spanish too? The same approach, in Spanish: Spanish conversation practice with an AI tutor.
Questions
Is an AI tutor good for French conversation practice?
For practice, yes: it answers at your level, at any hour, without judging you, and it corrects you without stopping the conversation. A person brings real stakes and real culture, so use both when you can: practise with Prima, then try it on people.
Can I practise Québec French?
Yes. Choose French (CA) when you start, or switch your French to Québec in Settings. Prima then speaks Québec French, with its words and its rhythm, and points out where France says it differently.
Does Prima use "tu" or "vous"?
In lessons, the one the scene calls for: "vous" at a counter, a hotel desk or a job interview, "tu" with friends, family and classmates. In Québec French she says "tu" sooner. In a free conversation, ask her to use "vous" if that is the one you want to practise.
How long does it take to speak French?
The US Foreign Service Institute puts French at about 30 weeks of full-time class, around 750 hours, for an English speaker to reach professional working proficiency. You can hold simple everyday conversations long before that. What gets you there is speaking often: a few minutes out loud every day adds up faster than an hour once a week.
Does Prima record my voice?
No. While you speak, your voice goes from your browser straight to Google's Gemini Live, and Prima Speak never stores the audio. The transcript and the report stay in your account; you can delete Prima's notes any time, or your whole account and everything in it.
How much does Prima Speak cost if I want to practise more?
Pro is $9.99 a month or $79.99 a year for 10 minutes a day and unlimited text chat, and a first subscription starts with 3 days free. Extra minutes that never expire: +30 minutes for $2.99 or +60 minutes for $4.99. Everything that is free, and what uses minutes: Is Prima Speak free?