Vocabulary list
En train, à vélo: French transport phrases with pictures
Learn eight French transport phrases with pictures and examples. Choose en or à, then distinguish travelling by bus from being inside the bus.
- A1
- 8 words
- Gender marked
- With examples
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In short
Say en train, en bus, en métro, en voiture, en avion and en bateau, but à pied and à vélo. These phrases tell someone how you travel. Learn each as a whole phrase, with no article: Je viens en bus, Je viens à vélo.
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Travel with en
Travel with à
Match the vehicle to its travel phrase
Find:
By bus, on the bus, or take the bus?
| French | English | What the phrase does |
|---|---|---|
| Je vais au travail en bus. | I go to work by bus. | Names the means of transport. |
| Je suis dans le bus. | I’m on the bus. | Locates me inside a particular vehicle. |
| Je prends le bus. | I take the bus. | Makes the bus the object of prendre. |
English “on the bus” becomes dans le bus when you mean aboard it. Sur le bus describes something on the outside surface, such as an advert. Keep en bus for the means of travel and dans le bus for the location.
En train or à vélo: which preposition?
Nous allons au musée à vélo.
We cycle to the museum.
Au musée tells you where; à vélo tells you how. The two phrases can sit in the same sentence.
The transport phrases above leave out le and la. When you name a particular vehicle, another construction can include an article or possessive: dans la voiture, je prends mon vélo. À vélo is a useful standard model; you will also hear en vélo in conversation.