Learn French by readingreal books, at your level.

Yes, once you know the basics. Reading shows you vocabulary and grammar in real context, and a book gives you thousands of sentences of practice. The two things that make it work are a book at the right level and help with the sentences you can't untangle. Passage marks every French book beginner, intermediate or advanced, and explains any sentence you tap.

Passage marks 19 French books as beginner. A few to start with: Contes d'une grand-mère by George Sand, Aventures d'Alice au pays des merveilles by Lewis Carroll, Un bon petit diable by Comtesse de Ségur, Contes choisis de la famille by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm and Lettres de mon moulin by Alphonse Daudet. Each one is the full original book, and any sentence you tap is explained.

Start one level below where you think you are, and tap freely. If you understand the gist of most pages and only need help with a few sentences each page, the level is right. If you're tapping every line, go down a level.

You choose: English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Turkish or Portuguese. Each explanation gives a natural translation of the sentence, a short grammar note and the key words.

The books are public-domain classics. Passage is free to download and free to start. Passage Pro unlocks every book, unlimited explanations, unlimited saved words and all eight practice games, for $24.99 a year or $2.99 a month in the US, and the yearly plan starts with a 7-day free trial.