French word for better

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«mieux» or «meilleur»

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Last updated:

March 10, 2023

Learning vocabulary is one of the cornerstones of learning French.

By knowing the most common vocabulary, you’ll get better at everyday communication—which gets you closer to interacting with some of the 300 million people who speak French around the world. 

In this post, we’ll get you started with more than 250 easy and common French words!

You’ll be well on your way to having a solid base in the French language in no time. 

Contents

  • Most Common French Words
  • Important French Verbs
  • French Question Words
  • French Household Words
  • French Words for Food & Drinks
  • French Words for School or Work
  • French Words for Making Descriptions
  • French Words for Animals & Nature


Download:
This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you
can take anywhere.
Click here to get a copy. (Download)

Most Common French Words

hello in french

Let’s start with some essential vocabulary that you’ll end up using a lot in French conversations: 

  • Bonjour ! Hello / Good morning!
  • Bonsoir ! Good evening!
  • Oui — Yes
  • Non — No
  • Excusez-moi — Excuse me
  • Je suis désolé / Je suis désolée I’m sorry (with an extra e if you’re female)
  • S’il vous plaît Please 
  • Merci Thank you
  • À bientôt See you soon
  • Bonne soirée Good night (when saying goodbye)
  • Bonne nuit — Good night (when you’re about to sleep)
  • Au revoir — Goodbye

Important French Verbs

running up a mountain

Aside from the conversational words and phrases above, you’ve also got to know the absolute most common French verbs:

  • Être to be
  • Avoir to have
  • Aller to go

These verbs are irregular, meaning they don’t follow the same rules of usage (or conjugation) that so-called regular verbs do.

Most French verbs are regular, meaning you only have to learn the endings of their group.

In French, there are three groups of so-called regular verbs, denoted by their infinitive (unconjugated) endings: -er verbs, -ir verbs and -re verbs.

Here are the most common verbs in each group:

-Er Verbs

  • Parler — to speak
  • Aimer — to like
  • Chanter — to sing
  • Danser to dance
  • Fermer — to close
  • Demander — to ask
  • Étudier — to study
  • Regarder — to watch
  • Visiter — to visit (a place)
  • Habiter — to live
  • Jouer — to play
  • Laver — to wash
  • Penser — to think
  • Utiliser — to use
  • Trouver — to find
  • Manger to eat

-Ir Verbs

  • Finir — to finish
  • Bâtir — to build
  • Choisir — to choose
  • Remplir to fill
  • Grandir — to grow
  • Grossir — to gain weight
  • Obéir — to obey
  • Punir — to punish
  • Réfléchir — to reflect
  • Réussir — to succeed / pass (a test)

-Re Verbs

  • Vendre — to sell
  • Attendre — to wait
  • Détendre — to relax
  • Entendre to hear
  • Fondre — to melt
  • Descendre — to go down / descend
  • Pendre — to hang
  • Perdre — to lose
  • Prétendre — to claim
  • Répondre — to respond

With all these different kinds of verbs, it’s handy to have a verb conjugation tool, like the one from Reverso.

Another option is to study these verbs in action with FluentU, which features authentic French videos with interactive subtitles. Click on any French verb or other word used in the video to see its definition, along with grammar notes and examples.

You can then add new words to flashcards and take personalized quizzes to grow your French vocabulary. 

The language learning program is also available on iOS and Android, so you can take your French study with you wherever you go. 

French Question Words

French questions

Looking for directions? Do you want to know the price of something?

Whatever you do on your trip to France, you’re definitely going to need to ask for help or direction at some point.

Here are some common expressions to help you get around:

  • Où ? — Where?
  • Qui ? — Who?
  • Quoi ? — What?
  • Quand ? — When?
  • Comment ? — How?
  • Pourquoi ? — Why?
  • Combien ? — How much? / How many?

Of course, the beauty of learning language is to be able to communicate with native speakers, which means people might also ask you questions!

Key phrases:

  • Comment vous appelez-vous ? — What’s your name?
  •  Je m’appelle… — I’m called…
  • Quel âge avez-vous ? How old are you?
  • J’ai…ans — I’m… years old 
  • Vous venez d’où ? Where are you from?
  • Je suis… I am…

des États-Unis — from the United States

du Royaume-Uni — from the United Kingdom

d’Espagne — from Spain

d’Allemagne — from Germany

du Canada — from Canada

d’Australie — from Australia

Are you from a country that’s not included on this list? Take a look at this map of the world to learn your country’s name.

French Household Words

easy-french-words

It’s crucial to learn the French words that describe the places where we live.

Check out the following common words that denote specific rooms and spaces in our households.

  • La maison  the house
  • La salle  the room
  • La cuisine  the kitchen
  • La salle à manger  the dining room
  • Le bureau  the office
  • Le salon  the living room
  • La chambre  the bedroom
  • La salle de bain the bathroom (may not include a toilet)
  • Les toilettes the bathroom (includes a toilet, sometimes exclusively)
  • Le sous-sol the basement
  • Le grenier attic
  • La porte  the door
  • La fenêtre  the window
  • Le couloir the hall
  • L’escalier the stairs
  • Le mur  the wall
  • Le sol  the floor
  • Le plafond  the ceiling

Common words associated with rooms in the house:

  • Le bureau the desk
  • L’ordinateur the computer
  • L’étagère  the bookshelf
  • Le livre  the book
  • La télévision  the television
  • Le canapé / Le sofa  the couch
  • La chaise the chair
  • La lampe the lamp
  • Le rideau  the curtain
  • Le réfrigérateur  the fridge
  • Le four  the oven
  • La cuisinière  the stove
  • L’évier  the sink
  • La table  the table
  • Le lit  the bed
  • L’oreiller  the pillow
  • La commode  the dresser
  • L’horloge  the clock
  • La baignoire  the bathtub
  • La douche  the shower
  • Les toilettes  the toilet
  • La brosse à dents the toothbrush
  • Le dentifrice  the toothpaste
  • Le tapis  the rug
  • Le miroir  the mirror
  • Le téléphone  the telephone

French Words for Food & Drinks

easy-french-words

Hungry or thirsty? Check out the most common French words for food and drinks.

  • Le restaurant  the restaurant
  • Le café  the cafe / coffee
  • Le thé  the tea
  • Le jus  the juice
  • Le lait  the milk
  • Le vin  the wine
  • La bière  the beer
  • L’eau water
  • Le fruit  the fruit
  • La pomme  the apple
  • La banane the banana
  • L’orange the orange
  • La fraise — the strawberry
  • Le raisin the grape
  • Les légumes the vegetables
  • La salade  the salad
  • La carotte  the carrot
  • La pomme de terre  the potato
  • La tomate  the tomato
  • La laitue  lettuce
  • Le champignon  mushroom
  • La viande meat
  • Le poisson  fish
  • Le poulet chicken
  • Le bœuf  beef
  • Le petit-déjeuner breakfast
  • Le déjeuner lunch
  • Le dîner dinner
  • Le repas the meal
  • Le goûter the snack
  • L’assiette the plate
  • Le couteau the knife
  • La fourchette the fork
  • La cuillère the spoon
  • La tasse the cup

French Words for School or Work

easy-french-words

Headed to a French-speaking region for employment or to study? Then the following words are essential!

  • L’école  the school
  • Le crayon  the pencil
  • Le stylo  the pen
  • Le cahier  the notebook
  • La salle de classe  the classroom
  • La calculatrice  the calculator
  • La matière scolaire  the school subject
  • L’histoire  history
  • La géographie  geography
  • La musique  music
  • Les sciences the sciences
  • Les mathématiques mathematics
  • Le sport  sports
  • Le français French
  • L’anglais English
  • Les notes grades (marks)
  • Le professeur / la professeure  the teacher
  • L’étudiant(e) / L’élève  the student

The following are common words associated with jobs and work:

  • L’entreprise  the company
  • L’emploi  the job
  • Le travail  the work
  • Le dentiste  the dentist
  • L’écrivain  the writer
  • Le médecin  the doctor (medical)
  • Le serveur / la serveuse  the waiter / waitress
  • L’avocat  the lawyer
  • Le caissier / la caissière  the cashier
  • L’ingénieur(e)  the engineer
  • Le mécanicien / la mécanicienne the mechanic
  • Le plombier / la plombière the plumber
  • Le pompier / la pompière  the firefighter
  • Le policier / la policière  — the police officer
  • L’architecte the architect
  • Le travailleur / la travailleuse   the worker
  • Le boulanger / la boulangère  the baker
  • Le boucher / la bouchère  the butcher
  • Le coiffeur / la coiffeuse  the hairdresser

French Words for Making Descriptions

diverse people

The following are common words that can be used to describe yourself, others or inanimate things.

  • Grand(e) — big
  • Petit(e) — small
  • Chaud(e) — hot
  • Froid(e) — cold
  • Intelligent(e) — smart
  • Fâché(e) angry
  • Triste sad
  • Heureux / heureuse happy
  • Drôle funny
  • Jeune  young
  • Vieux / vieille   old
  • Nerveux / nerveuse   nervous
  • Beau / belle  beautiful
  • Facile  easy
  • Difficile hard
  • Effrayé(e) scared
  • Ennuyé(e)  bored
  • Ennuyeux / ennuyeuse  boring
  • Étrange strange
  • Fort(e)  strong
  • Possible  possible
  • Impossible  impossible
  • Sportif / sportive   athletic

Keep in mind that some adjectives change genders depending on the gender of the noun it describes.

In this list, the masculine forms are given first, with the feminine forms being either those with an added -e or the second form of the adjective.

Interested in more adjectives? Check out how to say common colors in French as well!

French Words for Animals & Nature

easy-french-words

The following are common French words that can be used to describe animals or nature.

  • Le chien the dog
  • Le chat the cat
  • Le lapin the rabbit
  • Le lion the lion
  • Le cheval the horse
  • La vache the cow
  • Le requin the shark
  • Le singe the monkey
  • Le cochon the pig
  • L’oiseau the bird
  • La souris the mouse
  • La tortue the turtle
  • Un canard the duck
  • Un crapaud the toad
  • Une grenouille the frog
  • Le soleil the sun
  • La pluie  the rain
  • Le vent the wind
  • La neige the snow
  • Le nuage  the cloud
  • L’éclair  the lightning
  • Le tonnerre  the thunder
  • L’orage the storm
  • La montagne  the mountain
  • La plage  the beach
  • La forêt  the forest
  • La terre soil / the earth
  • La colline  the hill
  • Le lac  the lake
  • L’océan  the ocean
  • La météo the weather forecast
  • Quel temps fait-il ? What’s the weather?
  • Il fait chaud It is hot
  • Il fait froid It is cold

And just like that, you have 250+ words to bring your French to the next level. Practice these words often and watch your French comprehension and production vastly improve!

Bonne chance ! (Good luck!)


Download:
This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you
can take anywhere.
Click here to get a copy. (Download)

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th�matiques sur

[…]

l’ensemble des points inscrits � l’ordre du jour de notre Conf�rence.

daccess-ods.un.org

daccess-ods.un.org

They want a better future for their children and are willing to take enormous risks for the sake of their families.

amnesty.org

amnesty.org

Elles souhaitent que leurs enfants vivent mieux et sont pr�tes � affronter de graves dangers pour l‘avenir de leur famille.

amnesty.org

amnesty.org

Who could ignore the fact that,

[…]

finally, the foundations

[…]
have been laid for a common immigration policy based on generously opening up our territory to those people who legitimately want a better life, as well as effectively combating the illegal and outrageous trafficking of human beings?

europarl.europa.eu

europarl.europa.eu

Qui serait capable d’ignorer que l’on a finalement

[…]

jet� les bases d’une

[…]
politique commune d’immigration fond�e sur l’ouverture g�n�reuse de notre territoire � tant de personnes qui souhaitent l�gitimement une vie meilleure, tout en combattant efficacement le trafic ill�gal et monstrueux d’�tres humains�?

europarl.europa.eu

europarl.europa.eu

What has happened in the past week, is that the discussion on this report has not

[…]

focused on the content I have

[…]
just outlined for you, but on the question of what label this desired situation should bear, in other words, of what word we want to use in order […]

to describe this optimal situation following independence.

europarl.europa.eu

europarl.europa.eu

Ce qui s’est pass� la semaine derni�re, c’est que la discussion de ce rapport ne s’est pas

[…]

concentr�e sur les points que je viens de vous

[…]
exposer, mais sur la question de l’�tiquette � donner � la situation souhait�e, autrement dit le mot que nous voulons utiliser pour d�crire cette situation […]

optimale apr�s l’ind�pendance.

europarl.europa.eu

europarl.europa.eu


From please and thank you to good morning and good night you’ll have what you need to be polite and win a smile for trying.

French Words

French word list for everyday conversation

Here’s a list of common French phrases that will help you communicate whilst travelling in France. Your trip will be much more enjoyable if you have a basic French vocabulary and the locals will appreciate your efforts.

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Letter Combinations

How to pronounce letter combinations

The following examples show you how to pronounce French letter combinations. The italic examples are the English equivalents.

Measurements

Measurement Translations

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Colors & Colours

Colors (US) / Colours (UK)

The below English French translations show a list of colors and there pronunciation with links to French lessons by Lya and FrenchPod101. You can watch all the French videos here: French Colors | Tutorial Videos.

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  • Weekly French words with Lya - colors

  • Learn French - French Color Vocabulary

    Learn French — French Color Vocabulary

    2 minutes 43 second tutorial

    FrenchPod101 have also created this great French colors vocabulary lesson which shows you how to say 17 colors with pictures.

French Time

Time to talk

At some point you will need to know the time or will be asked for the time. These words & phrases will teach you the basics and the lessons below will have you conversing in no time!

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  • What Time Is It? - part 1

    What Time Is It? — part 1

    10 minutes 31 seconds tutorial

    Words & phrases for telling the time

    Join Alexa in «What Time Is It? — part 1». Alexa will teach you the basics about how to tell time in French.

  • What Time Is It? - part 2

    What Time Is It? — part 2

    14 minutes 5 second tutorial

    Time Pronunciation

    Once you have learnt the basics you can move on a more difficult lesson «What Time Is It? — part 2». Alexa will now show you how to build a sentence for telling the time.

  • Choosing a Delivery Time in France

    Choosing a Delivery Time in France

    2 minutes 14 second listening exercise

    French Listening Exercise

    Now that you have learnt some vocabulary, how about testing yourself with this listening exercise.

French Weather

Words you may use when talking about the weather

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Free French Lessons

Here are 30 French language lessons that teach you basic french words & phrases.

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Do you know how many words there are in the French language? Come on, have a guess.

Most French dictionaries list around 60,000. But Le Grand Robert, one of the most prominent resources, gathers more than 100,000 words for a total of 350,000 different meanings.

Sounds overwhelming? Keep in mind that even native French speakers know merely a fraction of that! To start having basic conversations, you only need a few hundred basic French words for beginners. 

Further down the line, you’ll be considered “proficient” in French upon reaching around 5,000 words. That’s only about 5% of the whole collection.

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves! In this article, we’ll list all of the French beginner words that will allow you to handle many everyday situations, whether you want to talk, listen, or both.

A Man and a Woman Chatting on a Date with Drinks

You only need a few words to start a conversation and make friends.

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Table of Contents

  1. Pronouns
  2. Verbs
  3. Numbers
  4. Nouns
  5. Conjunctions
  6. Adjectives
  7. Adverbs
  8. Le mot de la fin

1. Pronouns

Let’s start our list of beginner French words with the most useful pronouns you should learn as you begin your studies.

At first, all you’re gonna need are the personal subject pronouns (“she,” “you,” “we,” and so on). As you move forward, you’ll quickly add some more to your arsenal.

    → To learn all about this topic, from the general rules to the 10 main categories of French pronouns, make sure to visit our complete guide on FrenchPod101.com.

1 – Personal Subject Pronouns

Personal subject pronouns replace the subject of a sentence.

  • Sophie parle français. (“Sophie speaks French.”)
  • Elle parle français. (“She speaks French.”)

Person French pronoun English
1st person sg. je, j’ I
2nd person sg. tu / vous you (casual / formal)
3rd person sg. il, elle, on he, she, one
1st person pl. on / nous we (casual / formal)
2nd person pl. vous you
3rd person pl. Ils, elles they

2 – Impersonal Pronouns

When a sentence doesn’t have a clear subject, let’s stay vague and impersonal:

ça, ce, c’ (“it”)

  • Ça fait mal. (“It hurts.”)
  • Ce n’est pas vrai. (“It is not true.”)
  • C’est important. (“It is important.”)

il (“it”)

  • Il est temps. (“It’s time.”)
  • Il pleut. (“It’s raining.”)

3 – Reflexive Pronouns

Reflexive pronouns are used with reflexive verbs. For example:

  • se lever (“to stand up”)
  • se promener (“to stroll”)
  • s’habiller (“to get dressed”)

Person French pronoun Example
1st person sg. me, m’ Je me lève. (“I stand up.”)
2nd person sg. te, t’ Tu te lèves. (“You stand up.”)
3rd person sg. se, s’ Elle s’habille. (“She gets dressed.”)
1st person pl. nous Nous nous préparons. (“We’re getting ready.”)
2nd person pl. vous Vous vous rasez. (“You shave.”)
3rd person pl. se Ils se promènent. (“They are strolling.”)

4 – Interrogative Pronouns

  • Qui ? (“Who?”)
    Qui est là ? (“Who’s there?”)
  • Où ? (“Where?”)
    Où es-tu ? (“Where are you?”)
  • Quand ? (“When?”)
    On commence quand ? (“When do we start?”)
  • Quoi ? (“What?”)

    On fait quoi ce soir ? (“What are we doing tonight?”)
  • Pourquoi ? (“Why?”)

    Pourquoi tu ris ? (“Why are you laughing?”)

5 – Indefinite Pronouns

  • tout (“everything”)
  • rien (“nothing”)
  • quelque chose (“something”)
  • tout le monde (“everybody”)
  • personne (“nobody”)
  • quelqu’un (“somebody”)

A Woman Stretching Upon Waking Up in the Morning

Elle se réveille. (“She wakes up.”)

2. Verbs

Here’s a list of the 50 most useful French verbs for beginners. Of course, depending on whether you’re studying, visiting, or working in France, you might have different needs. But this is a good place to start in any case!

    → For all the information you’ll need on regular verb groups (-ER and -IR), irregular verbs, and reflexive verbs, be sure to have a look at our full article on FrenchPod101.com.

être to be
avoir to have
aller to go
vouloir to want
pouvoir to be able to / can
devoir to have to / must
falloir to be necessary
This verb is only conjugated in the third person, with the impersonal pronoun il (“it”). In this case, it means “it is necessary that.”

  • Il faut partir à l’heure. (“We must leave on time.”)
  • Il faut que je parte. (“I have to go.”)
faire to do
dire to say / to tell
parler to talk / to speak
aimer to like / to love
mettre to put / to place
remettre to put back
poser to put down / to ask
prendre to take / to catch / to capture
donner to give
savoir to know
entendre to hear
voir to see
demander to ask / to request
répondre to answer / to reply
chercher to look for
trouver to find / to discover
retrouver to regain / to meet up
rendre to return / to give back / to make
venir to come
passer to pass / to go / to come
croire to believe / to think
montrer to show
commencer to begin / to start
continuer to continue / to keep going
penser to think
comprendre to understand / to include
rester to stay / to remain
attendre to wait
partir to leave
arriver to arrive / to happen
suivre to follow
revenir to come back
connaître to know
compter to count
permettre to permit / to allow
s’occuper to take care of
sembler to seem
lire to read
écrire to write
devenir to become / to turn into
décider to decide
tenir to hold
porter to carry / to wear

Signs that Read Now, Tomorrow, and Yesterday

Just add a few tenses and you can talk about anything!

3. Numbers

As a beginner, you really won’t need much as far as counting and numbers go. In most situations, you can get by with only small numbers; I’d not go further than 1 to 10 for now.

    → Should you need more digits, you could check out our article on French numbers. You’ll find everything you need to count from zero to infinity! It’s available for free on FrenchPod101.com.

  • 0        Zéro
  • 1        Un
  • 2        Deux
  • 3        Trois
  • 4        Quatre
  • 5        Cinq
  • 6        Six
  • 7        Sept
  • 8        Huit
  • 9        Neuf
  • 10       Dix

4. Nouns

As a beginner, your basic French vocabulary arsenal should consist of the most common nouns in various categories. Knowing these alone will allow you to communicate basic ideas in a pinch. 

French nouns can be masculine or feminine, and you can generally determine which gender a word is based on the ending. However, because you don’t want to think about it in the middle of a conversation or get tricked by exceptions, the best way to learn nouns is to always use the article.

  • Train Un train (“A train”)
  • Voiture Une voiture (“A car”)

In the following list, I’ll mention the article for each word. In case the plural is irregular, I will include that as well. For every other word, the general rules apply.

  • Un train, des trains (“Train, trains”)
  • Une voiture, des voitures (“Car, cars”)
  • Un mois, des mois (“Month, months”)

For more information on the gender and plural of French nouns, we just happen to have a detailed article on FrenchPod101.com.

1 – Time

une heure an hour
une minute a minute
un jour a day
un mois a month
un an / une année a year
An is mainly used with numbers, as in:

  • J’ai 20 ans. (“I’m 20 years old.”)
  • Deux fois par an (“Twice a year”)


Année
is used in most other cases: 

  • L’année prochaine (“Next year”)
  • Chaque année (“Every year”)
un lundi Monday
un mardi Tuesday
un mercredi Wednesday
un jeudi Thursday
un vendredi Friday
un samedi Saturday
un dimanche Sunday
un matin morning
un midi noon
un après-midi afternoon
un soir evening
une nuit night

2 – Places

un monde world
un pays country
un endroit place
une mer sea
une forêt forest
une montagne mountain
un magasin shop

3 – Technology & Internet

un téléphone phone
un écran screen
un ordinateur computer
internet internet

4 – Home

une maison house
une porte door
une fenêtre window
une cuisine kitchen
une chambre bedroom
des toilettes toilets / restroom

5 – City & Transport

une voiture car
un bus bus
un train train
un avion plane
un taxi taxi / cab
un vélo bicycle
une ville city
une rue street
une avenue avenue
une route road

6 – People

une mère mother
un père father
Maman Mom
Papa Dad
une femme woman / wife
un homme man
un mari husband
un frère brother
une sœur sister
une famille family
une copine girlfriend
un copain boyfriend
un fils son
une fille daughter
un ami friend

7 – Body

une tête head
un œil / des yeux eye / eyes
une bouche mouth
un nez nose
une oreille ear
des cheveux hair
un bras arm
une main hand

8 – Food

une table table
une assiette plate
un verre glass
de l’eau water
un fruit fruit
un légume vegetable
un café coffee
du pain bread

9 – Work & Studies

un étudiant student
une école school
un docteur doctor
un vendeur salesman / vendor / seller
un professeur professor

10 – Conversation

une question question
une réponse answer
un mot word
une phrase phrase / sentence
une idée idea

A Man at the Subway Station Reviewing Vocabulary on His Tablet

There is always a bit of time to review vocabulary lists.

5. Conjunctions

There’s a LOT to say and explain about conjunctions, but luckily, you don’t need to use many of them when you start learning French.

    → Later on, though, have a look at our complete guide on French conjunctions to learn everything about how to list things, express conditions, state consequences, and much more.

  • et (“and”)
    Un chat et un chien (“A cat and a dog”)
  • ou (“or”)
    De l’eau ou du vin (“Water or wine”)
  • si (“if”)

    Si tu veux venir (“If you want to come”)
  • parce que (“because”)

    Je mange parce que j’ai faim. (“I eat because I’m hungry.”)
  • mais (“but”)
    Un peu mais pas trop (“A bit, but not too much”)
  • pour (“for” / “to” / “so that”)
    J’apprends le français pour voyager. (“I learn French to travel.”)

    C’est pour toi. (“It’s for you.”)
  • par (“by” / “out of” / “with” / “using” / “through”)
    Je suis aidé par un expert. (“I’m helped by an expert.”)
    Je passe par Paris et Bordeaux. (“I go through Paris and Bordeaux.”)

A Cat and a Dog

Un chat et un chien (“A cat and a dog”)

6. Adjectives

French adjectives must agree in gender and number with the noun they describe. In this table, you’ll find both genders in the format [ Masculine – Feminine ], as they can get quite irregular. If you see only one, it just means that the masculine and feminine forms are identical.

Plurals, on the other hand, are rather predictable and follow the general rules of the French plural.

    → You might want to check out a more detailed article on French adjectives for more grammar info and examples.

bon – bonne good / right / correct
mauvais – mauvaise bad / wrong / incorrect
facile easy
difficile difficult / hard
nouveau – nouvelle new
cher – chère expensive
grand – grande large / big / tall / great / major
gros – grosse big / fat
petit – petite small / little
long – longue long
court – courte short
rapide fast / quick
lent – lente slow
chaud – chaude hot / warm
froid – froide cold
premier – première first
dernier – dernière last / final / latest
même same
autre other
différent – différente different
seul – seule only / alone / lonely
meilleur – meilleure best / better
pire worst
beau – belle handsome / beautiful
moche ugly
fort – forte strong / high / important
gentil – gentille nice / kind
fou – folle crazy / mad
content – contente glad
malade sick / ill
important – importante important
noir – noire black
blanc – blanche white
bleu – bleue blue
rouge red
sucré – sucrée sweet
salé – salée salty
délicieux – délicieuse delicious

A Woman Biting into a Tart

Cette tarte est délicieuse ! (“This tart is delicious!”)

7. Adverbs

If you need a reminder on what adverbs are, how they’re formed, and where to place them in a sentence, I would recommend a pit stop at our extensive article on French adverbs.

1 – When

tard late
tôt early
bientôt soon
hier yesterday
aujourd’hui today
demain tomorrow
avant before
après after

2 – How Often

jamais never
trop too much
souvent often
toujours always
peut-être maybe
aussi as well / too / also

3 – Where

ici here
there
partout everywhere
dedans inside
dehors outside

4 – How

bien well
mal badly / poorly
vite quickly

5 – How Much

vraiment truly / really
tout all / everything
rien nothing
beaucoup many / much / a lot
seulement only
peu little / few
très very / really
plus more
moins less

A Zombie Coming Toward the Camera

Il a très faim ! (“He’s really hungry!”)

8. Le mot de la fin

In this guide, you’ve learned more than 200 of the most useful French words for beginners: pronouns, verbs, nouns, adjectives, and all that jazz. As you keep learning French, you might find it handy to have them all conveniently gathered in one place.

Can you think of any more words you might need to know as you start your language learning journey? Let us know in the comments and we’ll get back to you!

Make sure to explore FrenchPod101.com, as we have plenty of free resources to help you practice your grammar and learn more basic French words and structures. Our vocabulary lists are another great way to learn and review the pronunciation of new words.

Remember that you can also use our Premium PLUS service, MyTeacher, to get personal 1-on-1 coaching with your own private teacher. They can help you practice with beginner words and more. In addition to providing you with assignments, personalized exercises, and recorded audio samples, your teacher will review your work and help improve your pronunciation. 

Happy learning on FrenchPod101!

About the Author: Born and bred in rainy Northern France, Cyril Danon was bouncing off various jobs before he left everything behind to wander around the wonders of the world. Now, after quenching his wanderlust for the last few years, he’s eager to share his passion for languages.

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