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20 everyday English phrases for absolute beginners

The most useful English you can start using today — greetings, family, feelings, time, and ordering a coffee — in warm little phrases you just listen to and repeat out loud.

5 min read

By the end of this guide, you can greet a new person, talk about your family and your feelings, tell the time, and order a coffee — all in simple, friendly English.

You don't need a big vocabulary to start speaking English. You need a small handful of warm, everyday phrases — the ones real people use every single day. Here are 20 of them, grouped the Fluize way: not as a list to memorize, but as little phrases to listen to and say out loud until they flow. Big smile, shoulders back — let's go!

Saying hello and your name

When you meet a new person, you don't need a long speech. You say, "Hi! Nice to meet you." It's friendly. It's easy. Then you give your name: "I'm Tom." or "My name is Mia." Want to know where someone is from? You ask, "Where are you from?" And you answer, "I'm from Brazil."

  • Hi / Hello — your warm first word to anyone.
  • I'm… / My name is… — two ways to give your name.
  • Nice to meet you — the first time you meet someone. And the answer: "Nice to meet you too!"
  • Where are you from? / I'm from… — the easiest small talk in the world.

Naming the things around you

Look around the room. So many things! You point to a thing close to you and say, "This is a cup." You point to a thing far away and say, "That is a door." And when you lose something? You ask, "Where is it?" — and find it: "Here it is!"

  • This is a… / That is a… — close, and far.
  • Where is it? — your everyday question when something goes missing.
  • Here / Over there — near my hand, or across the room.

Talking about your family

Everybody has a family, so this English comes up all the time. "I have a sister. Her name is Lucy." "I have a brother. His name is Leo." Show a photo and say, "This is my mother. This is my father."

  • I have a… / She has a… / He has a… — for your people and your things.
  • His name is… / Her name is…his for a boy, her for a girl. Feel it, don't memorize it.
  • This is my… — when you introduce someone you love.

How are you? — and how you feel

Someone smiles and asks, "How are you?" The answer is easy and warm: "I'm fine." "I'm good!" "I'm great!" And when you want to say more: "I'm tired." "I'm hungry." "I'm happy!"

  • How are you? — the question you'll hear every day.
  • I'm fine / good / great — friendly answers (never just "yes"!).
  • I'm tired / hungry / happy — say a real feeling, out loud, with energy.

I like, I want

Two tiny phrases, endless power. When something makes you happy: "I like coffee. I like music." When you wish for it now: "I want a coffee." When it's a no: "I don't like the rain." And when you offer something to a friend: "Do you want a coffee?""Yes, please!"

  • I like… / I don't like… — what makes you happy, and what doesn't.
  • I want… — what you wish for right now.
  • Do you want…? / Yes, please! — a warm offer, and a warm answer.

Numbers and time

Count with me, slowly: one, two, three, four, five… six, seven, eight, nine, ten. Now the time. You ask, "What time is it?" And you answer, "It's seven o'clock." And the friendly greetings by time of day: "Good morning!" in the morning, "Good night!" before bed.

  • one to ten — count them out loud, twice.
  • What time is it? / It's … o'clock — ask, and answer.
  • Good morning / Good night — warm hellos and goodbyes.

Ordering a coffee (or a cake)

Walk into a café and you're ready. Soft and polite: "Can I have a coffee, please?" or "I'd like a sandwich, please." The waiter asks, "What would you like?" and "For here, or to go?" Your cake arrives, and you smile: "Mmm, it's delicious!"

  • I'd like… / Can I have…? — two polite ways to order. The little please makes it warm.
  • For here, or to go? — eat in, or take it with you.
  • It's delicious! — the happiest three words in any café.

Now — your turn

Let's try one. Q. A new person smiles at you and says, "Hi! Nice to meet you." What do you say back? … A. "Nice to meet you too!" Easy, right? Now say it out loud, with a big smile. That little "out loud" is where the English starts to live in your mouth.

Keep the English flowing

You just read these phrases. Now hear them — the real magic is in your ears, not your eyes.

  • Watch the Fluize lessons on YouTube and listen along. Play each little story again and again — three, four, five times — and answer out loud until it flows without thinking.
  • Get the Fluize English — Basic ebook. Every phrase, every mini-story, and every now-and-before story from Level 1, in one warm place to carry with you. One-time, lifetime access — CA$9.99.
  • Subscribe to unlock the free Basic Module. It's a community gift: 100 subscribers opens Lesson 1, 500 opens Lessons 1–4 plus the audio, and 1,000 opens the whole Basic Module — Level 1, free for everyone. Subscribe, like, and comment your country.

Listen again and again. You're flowing now — deep learning, deep learning.


Part of the Fluize English Basic Module — Level 1. Learn English the natural way: listen, repeat the little story until it flows, and answer out loud. No grammar drills — just stories.

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