West African French · one sentence a day
French that sounds like Abidjan, not a textbook
One sentence a day, graded against how it would be said in Abidjan or Dakar — on dit quoi, c'est gâté, ma go, on est ensemble — with the local version shown next to yours. Free, no account needed.
Free every day · No account needed · Takes a minute
What West African French actually sounds like
More French speakers live in Africa than in France, and West African French has a voice of its own. A few of the differences the grader listens for.
| You want to say | Textbook French | How it's said in West African French |
|---|---|---|
| What's up? | Comment ça va ? | On dit quoi ? |
| It's broken | C'est en panne. | C'est gâté. |
| My girlfriend | Ma petite amie | Ma go |
| No problem | Il n'y a pas de problème. | Y a pas drap. Ivorian; Dakar would say pas de problème |
| We're having a great time | Nous nous amusons bien. | On s'enjaille ! Abidjan nouchi, from English "enjoy" |
| Welcome (to someone arriving) | Bienvenue. | Bonne arrivée ! |
| He gave me a book | Il m'a offert un livre. | Il m'a cadeauté un livre. |
| Talk soon / I've got your back | À bientôt. | On est ensemble. |
What changes when you set your variety to West African
- Greetings — "On dit quoi ?", "Bonne arrivée !", long greetings before any request — skip them and you sound abrupt. The grader expects the warmth.
- Vocabulary — gâter (to break or spoil), un maquis (open-air restaurant), une go (a girl, a girlfriend), un gars, un deuxième bureau (a mistress), cadeauter (to give as a gift).
- Rhythm and expressions — "On est ensemble", "il y a moyen", sentence-final dêh and même — the rhythm that makes French sound like Abidjan or Dakar instead of Paris.
- Slang, handled carefully — nouchi, the street slang of Abidjan (s'enjailler, y a pas drap), and Wolof mixed into Senegalese French — flagged when it fits and when it would sound put on.
How RateMyFrench trains your West African French ear
Graded against the local version
Translate today's sentence and get an instant 1–10 stamp. The grader is set to West African French, so correct-but-foreign phrasing loses points and you see exactly why.
See how a local would say it
Every result comes with the sentence the way someone from there would actually put it — West African French vocabulary, register and rhythm, not a neutral translation.
Sentences at your level
Set the difficulty on the card, from Beginner to Master. At the top end every sentence demands nuance — idiom, register, the subjunctive, tu versus vous — instead of ordering a coffee for the hundredth time.
A one-minute daily habit
There's one new sentence every day, and an optional morning email so you don't miss it. Sounding local is a hundred small corrections, not one big lesson.
Common questions
I'm already fluent. What does this add?
Fluent and local are different things. Plenty of fluent French is grammatically clean but placeless — every native speaker can tell. Today's sentence is graded against how it would be said in West African French, with the local phrasing shown next to yours, so you close that gap one sentence a day.
Is this Abidjan French or all of West Africa?
The grader targets general urban West African French — what you'd hear in Abidjan and Dakar, leaning Ivorian for everyday slang. It avoids heavy nouchi and code-switching, and it will tell you when a phrase is very informal.
Can I switch varieties later?
Yes — the variety is picked on the card and you can change it any time (Metropolitan, Québécois, Belgian, Swiss or West African). Your stamps stay with you, and every variety is free to play.
How much does it cost?
Today's challenge is free every day, in West African French or any other variety, no account needed, and so is your rating. The tutor's written correction is free on your first result and twice a week with a free account; the pass opens every correction, along with extra rounds and the archive of past challenges.
Learning a different variety?
Write French an Abidjanais would claim as their own
One sentence a day, held to the local standard. Today's takes under a minute.