Dictionary / I've been learning French for two years
How to Say "I've been learning French for two years" in French
J'apprends le français depuis deux ans
/ʒa.pʁɑ̃ lə fʁɑ̃.sɛ də.pɥi dø.z‿ɑ̃/
Literally: I learn French since two years
J'apprends
I learn
le français
French
depuis
since / for
deux ans
two years
Good to know
Neutral, and one of the most useful sentences a learner can have ready, since it is the answer to the question every French person asks within a minute of meeting you.
Correct
J'apprends le français depuis deux ans
What people say wrong
J'ai appris le français depuis deux ans
implies you learned it and then stopped
The mistake to avoid. English marks this with the perfect, I have been learning. French uses the plain present, because the action is still going on: j'apprends, not j'ai appris. Saying j'ai appris le français depuis deux ans pushes the whole thing into the past and implies you stopped. The rule transfers everywhere depuis appears: j'habite ici depuis trois ans, je t'attends depuis une heure. Present tense for anything still true, and the tense stops fighting you.
In context
J'apprends le français depuis deux ans.
I've been learning French for two years.
Elle habite à Lyon depuis 2019.
She's lived in Lyon since 2019.
Je t'attends depuis une heure !
I've been waiting for you for an hour!