100 Most Common French Words
While learning French, we recommend focusing on the most common words in the language. This will help you build a stronger overall vocabulary in the language you’re learning.
When babies first start speaking, they copy what their parents say and how they speak. Typically, humans use the same 500 words in their day-to-day lives, and that’s how babies learn. They take the most common words their parents say and repeat them. It doesn’t matter if their grammar is a little off or if the sentence doesn’t make sense—they’re learning.
So, why should we be any different? Why focus on proper grammar structures when you don’t understand basic vocabulary? That’s where Verbuu comes in—let’s focus on vocabulary and speaking first. Grammar and proper speaking come later. Let’s enjoy the fun part of language learning first!
Here are the top 100 French words—don’t forget to make flashcards! Lucky for you, we’ve already created some flashcards you can use for free!
Find them here: app.verbuu.com/fr
Word | Definition | English Translation | Phonetic Spelling | Gender | Part of Speech |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
la | The | The | la | Feminine | Pronoun |
être | To be | To be | etre | Neutral | Verb |
et | And | And | eh | Neutral | Conjunction |
à | At | At | ah | Neutral | Preposition |
de | Of | Of | duh | Neutral | Preposition |
une | A | A | un | Feminine | Article |
je | I | I | juh | Neutral | Pronoun |
dans | In | In | dahn | Neutral | Preposition |
avoir | To have | To have | avwar | Neutral | Verb |
cette | This | This | set | Feminine | Demonstrative |
il | He | He | il | Masculine | Pronoun |
ne pas | Not | Not | nuh pah | Neutral | Negation |
le sien | His | His | leh see-an | Masculine | Pronoun |
sa | Her | Her | sah | Feminine | Pronoun |
il | He | He | il | Masculine | Pronoun |
vous | You | You | voo | Neutral | Pronoun |
avec | With | With | av-ek | Neutral | Preposition |
pour | For | For | pour | Neutral | Preposition |
faire | To do | To do | fehr | Neutral | Verb |
elle | She | She | ell | Feminine | Pronoun |
comme | Like | Like | komm | Neutral | Preposition |
sur | On | On | soor | Neutral | Preposition |
dire | To say | To say | deer | Neutral | Verb |
à | To | To | ah | Neutral | Preposition |
lui | Him | Him | loo-ee | Masculine | Pronoun |
de | Of | Of | duh | Neutral | Preposition |
mais | But | But | meh | Neutral | Conjunction |
moi | Me | Me | mwa | Neutral | Pronoun |
mon | My | My | mo | Masculine | Pronoun |
aller | To go | Go | a-lay | Neutral | Verb |
ils | They | They | eel | Masculine | Pronoun |
tout | All | All | too | Neutral | Adjective |
par | By | By | par | Neutral | Preposition |
ce | This | This | suh | Masculine | Determiner |
un | A | A | uhn | Masculine | Article |
en dehors | Outside | Outside | on deh-or | Neutral | Preposition |
en haut | Up | Up | on-oh | Neutral | Adverb |
à savoir | Namely | Namely | ah sav-wah | Neutral | Phrase |
alors | Then | Then | ah-lor | Neutral | Adverb |
un | One | One | uhn | Masculine | Article |
à voir | To see | See | ah vwar | Neutral | Verb |
pourrait | Could | Could | poo-reh | Neutral | Verb |
ou | Or | Or | oo | Neutral | Conjunction |
leur | Their | Their | leur | Neutral | Pronoun |
obtenir | Get | Get | ob-teen-ir | Neutral | Verb |
nous | We | We | noo | Neutral | Pronoun |
comme | Like | Like | kom | Neutral | Preposition |
venir | Come | Come | veh-neer | Neutral | Verb |
homme | Man | Man | om | Masculine | Noun |
quoi | What | What | kwa | Neutral | Pronoun |
faire | Do | Do | fair | Neutral | Verb |
là | There | There | la | Neutral | Adverb |
sur | On | On | soor | Neutral | Preposition |
lequel | Which | Which | luh-kel | Neutral | Pronoun |
leur | Their | Their | leur | Neutral | Pronoun |
dans | In | In | dan | Neutral | Preposition |
penser | To think | Think | pon-sehr | Neutral | Verb |
regarder | To watch | Watch | ruh-gar-day | Neutral | Verb |
si | If | If | see | Neutral | Conjunction |
qui | Who | Who | kee | Neutral | Pronoun |
quand | When | When | kohn | Neutral | Adverb |
prendre | To take | Take | pran-druh | Neutral | Verb |
temps | Time | Time | tahn | Neutral | Noun |
non | No | No | non | Neutral | Adverb |
retour | Return | Return | ruh-toor | Neutral | Noun |
pouvoir | Can | Can | poo-vwahr | Neutral | Verb |
vouloir | To want | Want | voo-lwahr | Neutral | Verb |
votre | Your | Your | vo-truh | Neutral | Pronoun |
plus | More | More | ploo | Neutral | Adverb |
puis | Then | Then | pwee | Neutral | Adverb |
vers le bas | Down | Down | vair lo dahn | Neutral | Preposition |
bien | Good | Good | byahn | Neutral | Adjective |
plus de | More of | More of | ploo duh | Neutral | Adverb |
dire | To say | Say | deer | Neutral | Verb |
à présent | Now | Now | ah prez-ah | Neutral | Adverb |
main | Hand | Hand | mahn | Feminine | Noun |
certains | Some | Some | suhm | Neutral | Pronoun |
vouloir | To want | Want | voo-lwahr | Neutral | Verb |
juste | Just | Just | joost | Neutral | Adverb |
ventilateur | A device that moves air to cool a space. | fan | ven-ti-la-teur | Masculine | Noun |
loup | A wild, carnivorous mammal. | wolf | looop | Masculine | Noun |
amuser | To make someone laugh or be entertained. | to amuse | a-myoo-zay | Neutral | Verb |
secrétaire | An assistant or office worker who handles administrative tasks. | secretary | sec-re-tare | Masculine/Feminine | Noun |
supérieur | Being higher in rank, status, or quality. | superior | soo-pe-ri-or | Masculine | Adjective |
pomme | A round fruit with red, yellow, or green skin. | apple | pom | Feminine | Noun |
tonnerre | The sound that follows a flash of lightning. | thunder | ton-nerr | Masculine | Noun |
camarade | A person with whom one shares a room or activity. | comrade | kam-a-rad | Masculine/Feminine | Noun |
adopter | To legally take a child or animal and bring them into one's family. | to adopt | a-dop-tey | Neutral | Verb |
rigide | Not flexible; stiff and inflexible. | rigid | ri-jid | Neutral | Adjective |
connard | A vulgar or insulting term used to describe a person. | jerk | kon-ar | Masculine | Noun |
crème | A thick, smooth substance used in cooking or as a dessert. | cream | krem | Feminine | Noun |
talent | A natural ability or skill. | talent | ta-lent | Masculine | Noun |
atteindre | To reach or succeed in getting something. | to achieve | at-tayn-dray | Neutral | Verb |
vacances | A period of time when someone does not have to work or study. | vacation | va-kan-ses | Feminine | Noun |
accomplir | To finish or complete successfully. | to accomplish | a-kom-pleer | Neutral | Verb |
chariot | A two-wheeled vehicle pushed by a person. | cart | sha-ree-oh | Masculine | Noun |
bûche | A thick piece of wood, often used in fireplaces. | log | bush | Feminine | Noun |
seulement | Only | Only | suh-muh | Neutral | Adverb |
que | That | That | keh | Neutral | Conjunction |
façon | Way | Way | fah-syon | Feminine | Noun |