When studying any language, one effective method for learning is to memorize the most common words first. This can help you understand everyday situations much more quickly than if you’re just learning new vocabulary at random.
Here, we’ll share a list of the most common French words broken down into seven parts of speech: personal pronouns, articles, conjunctions, nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs. Let’s get started!
182 Basic French Words For Every Beginner
Common French Personal Pronouns
Personal pronouns are words like he, she, I, and you. They commonly take the place of more specific nouns, such as a person’s name, in conversation and in writing. Here are the French words and their English definitions, followed by which part of speech and tense the word is in.
1. je – I – 1st person
2. nous – we – 1st person plural
3. tu – you – 2nd person
4. vous – you, • yourself – 2nd person plural
5. il – he, it – 3rd person
6. elle – she – 3rd person
7. ils – they – 3rd person plural, masculine
8. elles – they – 3rd person plural, feminine
NOTE: Vous, the french word for “you” can be either singular or plural. When used in a singular form, it is considered a form of politeness. As a plural, it is used to address more than one person.
Learn more about the difference between tu and vous here.
Common French Articles
French articles can sometimes be confusing for students because they need to agree with the nouns they modify. They also don’t correspond to articles in many other languages.
As a general rule, if you have a noun in french there is always an article in front of it, unless you use some other determiner like a possessive (mon, ton) or demonstrative (ce, cette) adjective.
There are three different kinds of articles in French, definite, indefinite and partitive.
9. le – the; him, it – definite article (referring to a masculine singular noun)
10. la – the; her, it – definite article (referring to a feminine singular noun)
11. l’ – the – definite article (used instead of le or la before nouns beginning with a vowel)
12. les – the, them – definite article/ pers. pronoun (referring to a plural noun)
13. au – at the, to the, in the – definite article (used with a singular masculine noun)
14. aux – (a+ les) of the – definite article
15. un – a, an, one – indefinite article (used before a masculine noun)
16. une – a, an, one – indefinite article (used before a feminine singular noun)
17. des – some, any – indefinite/ partitive article (used before a m or f plural noun)
18. du – some/any – partitive article (masc. singular)
19. de la – some/any – partitive article (feminine singular)
Common French Conjunctions
In order for a sentence to make sense, the parts must be linked logically. This is the job of conjunctions. There are seven coordinating conjunctions which are used to link either words or sentence fragments of equal importance. They are:
20. mais – but
21. ou – or
22. et – and
23. donc – thus, therefore
24. or – now, yet
25. ni – neither
26. car – for, because
Common French Nouns
Nouns are words that name a person, place, or thing.
French nouns can often function as other parts of speech such as verbs, auxiliary verbs, adverbs and adjectives depending on their usage within the context of a sentence.
27. être – being – noun, masculine
28. dire – according to – noun, masculine
29. tout – all, everything, any – adj, indefinite adj.
30. pouvior – power – noun, masculine
31. bien – well, very good – adverb, noun
32. devoir – duty – noun, masculine
33. une chose – thing, matter – noun, feminine
34. un petit – kid, child – noun
35. merci – thanks, thank you – noun
36. un peu – not much, not very, few – noun, adverb
37. un homme – man – noun
38. une femme – woman, wife – noun
39. le temps – weather, time, times – noun
40. la vie – life, lifetime, existence – noun
41. le jour – day, daytime – noun
42. un dieu – god – noun
43. personne – anyone, anybody – indefinite pronoun, noun, feminine
44. un père – father – noun
45. une fille – daughter, girl, gal – noun
46. le monde – world, people – noun
47. un ami – friend, friendly – noun, adjective
48. besoin – need, demand, necessity – noun, masculine
49. accord – agreement, accord, harmony – noun, masculine
50. monsieur – gentleman, Mr. – noun, masculine
51. madame – madam, Mrs. – noun, feminine
52. enfant – child, infant – noun
53. grand – big, tall, large, great, big girl, big boy – adjective, noun
54. mère – mother – noun, feminine
55. maman – mummy, mama, mom – noun
56. maison – house, home – noun, feminine
57. nuit – night – noun, feminine
58. peur – fear, fright – noun, feminine
59. problème – problem – noun, masculine
60. argent – silver, money – noun, masculine
61. dernier – last, latest – adjective, noun, masculine
62. tête – head, face – noun, feminine
63. amour – love, love affair, cupid – noun, masculine
64. nouveau – new, fresh – noun, adjective
65. revoir – to see again, review – noun, masculine
66. fait – event, fact – noun, masculine
67. affaire – affair, business – noun, feminine
68. frère – brother – noun, masculine
69. histoire – history, story – noun, feminine
70. jeune – young, youthful, young person – noun, masculine
71. porte – gate, door – noun, feminine
72. année – year – noun, feminine
73. meilleur – better ; the best one – adjective, noun
74. place – room, square, seat – noun, feminine
75. ville – town, city – noun, feminine
Common French Verbs
While there are literally thousands of French verbs, there are only a few that are commonly used, so it’s important to know what they mean and how to conjugate them.
Conjugating French verbs can be difficult. As in the English language, the verb changes depending on who is speaking. French verbs typically have different endings for almost every subject pronoun, in all tenses and all moods.
This list touches on some of the most common French verbs.
76. être – to be
77. avoir – to have
78. faire – to do, make
79. dire – to say, tell
80. aller – to go
81. voir – to see
82. savoir – to know
83. pouvoir – can, to be able to
84. falloir – to be necessary
85. vouloir – to want
86. devoir – to have to, must
87. venir – to come, occur
88. suivre – to follow
89. parler – to speak, talk
90. prendre – to take, get
91. croire – to believe, think
92. aimer – to love, like, be fond of
93. passer – to pass, go by, cross
94. penser – to think
95. laisser – to leave
96. arriver – to arrive
97. donner – to give, give away
98. regarder – to look at, watch
99. appeler – to call, ring
100. rester – to stay, remain
101. mourir – to die, pass away
102. demander – to ask, ask for, be looking for
103. comprendre – to understand
104. sortir – to go out, take out
105. entendre – to hear, listen to, understand
106. chercher – to look for, seek
107. revenir – to come back, return
108. jouer – to play
109. finir – to finish, end
110. perdre – to lose, miss
Common French Adjectives
Adjectives are words which add the color to a conversation! They describe, identify and further define nouns and pronouns. Proper use can give depth to your speech by describing how something feels, looks, sounds, tastes, or acts.
This list contains the various French adjectives that should be among the first you learn. They’re broken down into categories below.
Physical Qualities – People
111. petit – small, short
112. grand – large tall
113. jeune – young
114. vieux – old (masculine)
115. vieille – old (feminine)
116. beau – handsome; beautiful (with masculine noun)
117. belle – beautiful (with feminine person, or noun)
118. fort – strong
119. faible – weak (person or object)
Physical Qualities – Objects
120. froid – cold
121. chaud – hot
122. bien chaud – warm
123. long – long
124. court – short
125. clair – clear, bright (light); thin (soup)
126. bas – low
127. haut – high, tall
128. lèger – light (as in not heavy)
129. lourd – heavy
130. sale – dirty
131. plein – full
132. vide – empty
133. sec – dry
134. humide – damp, wet
135. fraise – fresh, chilly, wet (paint)
Descriptors
136. bon – good, right
137. mauvais – bad, wrong
138. nouveau – new
139. proche – near
140. facile – easy
141. difficile – difficult
142. dur – hard (as in difficult, or not soft)
143. pauvre – poor
144. riche – rich
Feelings/ Health/ Emotions
145. heureux – happy
146. content – happy, satisfied
147. triste – sad, unhappy
148. malade – ill
149. gentil – kind, nice
150. sympathetique – nice, friendly
Common French Adverbs
Adjectives add color and description to nouns. Adverbs modify pretty much everything else. They can be used to modify a verb, adjective, another adverb, a noun phrase, clause or entire sentence.
Adverbs provide information about the words they modify, like when, where, how, or how often.
In English, adverb placement can be arbitrary. The French language has stricter rules about adverb placement, for example a French adverb when used to modify a verb is generally placed after the conjugated verb.
The following are some common French adverbs you should include in your vocabulary!
151. actuellement – currently – adverb of time
152. assez – quite, fairly – adverb of quantity
153. aujourd’hui – today – adverb of time
154. aussi – as – comparative adverb
155. beaucoup – a lot – adverb of quantity
156. bien – well – adverb of manner
157. bientôt – soon – adverb of time
158. déjà – already – adverb of time
159. demain – tomorrow – adverb of time
160. enfin – finally – adverb of time
161. ensuite – next, then – adverb of time
162. heureusement – fortunately – adverb of manner
163. hier – yesterday – adverb of time
164. ici – here – adverb of place
165. là – there – adverb of place
165. là-bas – over there – adverb of place
166. longtemps – for a long time – adverb of time
167. maintenant – now – adverb of time
168. mal – poorly – adverb of manner
169. parfois – sometimes – adverb of frequency
170. partout – everywhere – adverb of place
171. moins – less – comparative adverb
172. peu – few, little – adverb of quantity
173. quelque part – somewhere – adverb of place
174. rarement – rarely – adverb of frequency
175. souvent – often – adverb of frequency
176. tard – late – adverb of time
178. tôt – early – adverb of time
179. toujours – always – adverb of frequency
180. très – very – adverb of quantity
181. trop – too much – adverb of quantity
182 vite – quickly – adverb of manner
This list, while far from complete, gives you over 180 common French words used in everyday conversation.
While there’s no magic formula for learning to speak a new language, you should always start by studying and learning the most common words. Additionally, immerse yourself in the culture and language.
Listen to French music, you may not understand all of the words, but your ear and subconscious mind will begin to pick up the subtleties of the language. Watch French movies while reading the subtitles and your mind will begin to make connections.
Learn these common French words and then get out there and use them in conversation! Bonne chance, and have fun studying French! For more help, check out our 10 tips to help you memorize French vocabulary fast.
Megan L.