Coffee Break French

Four mystery cities. Four cryptic clues. One week to work out where we're going.

The Great Coffee Break Treasure Hunt is back for 2026, and everything happens here: https://coffeebreaklanguages.com/treasurehunt

Each clue is a short poem describing a European city without ever naming it. Every clue is written from scratch in French, Italian, German and Spanish by the team who teach it, so it rhymes and reads properly in each one. Watch in whichever language you're learning.

WHEN THE CLUES GO LIVE (all 1pm UK)
Clue 1: Monday 24 August
Clue 2: Wednesday 26 August
Clue 3: Friday 28 August
Clue 4: Sunday 30 August

HOW TO ENTER
The entry form opens on the Treasure Hunt website on Sunday 30 August, alongside the final clue, and closes at 11:59pm UK on Monday 31 August.

WHAT YOU CAN WIN
Get all four right and you win a free month on Coffee Break TV, our on-demand video platform, in whichever language you're learning. You also go into a prize draw. One name comes out of the hat for each language, and that person takes the whole collection of Coffee Break courses in their language.

THE BONUS CLUE
Sign up for the Treasure Hunt emails and we'll send you an extra clue with every city: roughly how far it is from the last one, and in which direction. That one only goes out by email. You can sign up on the landing page.

THE REVEAL
Mark names all four cities, and the hidden spot the final clue points to, on Tuesday 1 September at 4pm UK. A second video on Wednesday 2 September goes back through every clue line by line and explains how each one worked. It's free, it's open to everyone, and there's no travel involved.

https://coffeebreaklanguages.com/treasurehunt
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Some French expressions make no sense at all if you take them word for word. In this episode, Max turns seven of them into a guessing game: he gives you the idiom and its literal translation, then you work out what it really means before he tells you. Expect mustard, cabbages and a hair in the hand, and by the end you'll have seven expressions that French speakers genuinely use.

➡️ Click here to watch the video version of this episode.

➡️ Want more tips like these delivered straight to your inbox? Sign up for our free newsletter: https://coffeebreaklanguages.kit.com/newsletter
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, Max looks at five everyday meanings of the French verb 'passer':

passing something or someone
spending time
sitting an exam
how something turns out
showing or broadcasting something on screen

It's a small word that does a lot of work, and knowing its different uses will help your French sound much more natural.

➡️ Click here to watch the video version of this episode.

➡️ To receive regular free mini-lessons like this straight to your inbox, visit: https://coffeebreaklanguages.kit.com/newsletter
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

French is full of idioms that are borrowed from the animal world, and once you know them you'll start hearing them everywhere. In this episode, Max walks you through seven of the most common ones, from "avoir le cafard" to "se jeter dans la gueule du loup", with the literal meaning, the real meaning, and an example for each.

➡️ Click here to watch the video version of this episode.

➡️ Get free mini-lessons and language tips every week by signing up to our newsletter: https://coffeebreaklanguages.kit.com/newsletter
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this quick quiz, Max tests you on 15 French words that look just like English but don't always mean what you'd expect. You get a few seconds to decide whether each one is a true friend or a false friend, then Max reveals what it really means, from assister à and éventuellement to sensible and librairie. There are a few bonus tricky words along the way too, so play along and see how many you can get right.

➡️ Click here to watch the video version of this episode.

➡️ To receive regular free mini-lessons like this straight to your inbox, visit: https://coffeebreaklanguages.kit.com/newsletter

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.