Frequency matters in language learning. Studies consistently show that the 100 most common words in any language account for around 50% of everyday speech. In French, knowing these words won't make you fluent — but they'll make everything else you encounter far more intelligible.
Below is a practical, grouped reference you can return to as you build your French vocabulary.
Articles and determiners
These tiny words appear constantly. Learn them with the nouns they attach to.
| French | English | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| le, la, les | the | le (masc.), la (fem.), les (plural) |
| un, une, des | a / some | un (masc.), une (fem.), des (plural) |
| ce, cette, ces | this / these | ce (masc.), cette (fem.), ces (plural) |
| mon, ma, mes | my | gender matches the noun, not the speaker |
| son, sa, ses | his / her / its | same rule — matches the noun |
Pronouns
| French | English |
|---|---|
| je | I |
| tu | you (informal) |
| il, elle | he, she |
| nous | we |
| vous | you (formal / plural) |
| ils, elles | they (masc. / fem.) |
| me, te, se | me, you, himself/herself |
| on | one / we (informal spoken French) |
On is worth noting specifically. In casual spoken French, on is used far more than nous for "we": On y va = "We're going / Let's go."
Essential verbs (infinitive form)
| French | English |
|---|---|
| être | to be |
| avoir | to have |
| faire | to do / make |
| aller | to go |
| venir | to come |
| voir | to see |
| savoir | to know (a fact) |
| connaître | to know (a person/place) |
| pouvoir | can / to be able to |
| vouloir | to want |
| devoir | must / to have to |
| dire | to say |
| prendre | to take |
| donner | to give |
| mettre | to put |
| penser | to think |
| parler | to speak |
| trouver | to find |
| demander | to ask |
| partir | to leave |
Note the savoir vs. connaître distinction — English uses "know" for both, French does not. Je sais qu'il vient (I know he's coming — a fact). Je connais Paul (I know Paul — a person).
Common adjectives
| French | English | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| grand(e) | big / tall | before noun (BAGS) |
| petit(e) | small / little | before noun (BAGS) |
| bon(ne) | good | before noun (BAGS) |
| mauvais(e) | bad | before noun |
| nouveau/nouvel/nouvelle | new | before noun |
| vieux/vieil/vieille | old | before noun |
| autre | other | before noun |
| même | same / even | before or after |
| premier/première | first | before noun |
| dernier/dernière | last | before noun |
| beau/bel/belle | beautiful | before noun (BAGS) |
| jeune | young | before noun (BAGS) |
Numbers
| French | English |
|---|---|
| un, deux, trois | 1, 2, 3 |
| quatre, cinq, six | 4, 5, 6 |
| sept, huit, neuf | 7, 8, 9 |
| dix, onze, douze | 10, 11, 12 |
| vingt | 20 |
| cent | 100 |
| mille | 1,000 |
Common adverbs and connectors
These are the glue of sentences. Getting them right makes your French sound far more natural.
| French | English |
|---|---|
| aussi | also / too |
| très | very |
| bien | well |
| plus | more / no more (with ne) |
| encore | again / still |
| toujours | always / still |
| jamais | never |
| souvent | often |
| maintenant | now |
| déjà | already |
| peut-être | maybe |
| vraiment | really |
| alors | so / then / well |
| mais | but |
| donc | therefore / so |
| parce que | because |
| quand | when |
| si | if / so |
| comme | like / as |
| ou | or |
Essential question words
| French | English |
|---|---|
| qui | who |
| quoi / que | what |
| où | where |
| quand | when |
| comment | how |
| pourquoi | why |
| combien | how much / how many |
| quel(le) | which / what |
High-frequency nouns
| French | English |
|---|---|
| le jour | day |
| l'heure | hour / time |
| l'an / l'année | year |
| la fois | time (occurrence) |
| le temps | time / weather |
| la vie | life |
| l'homme | man |
| la femme | woman |
| le monde | world / people |
| la chose | thing |
| le fait | fact |
| la façon | way / manner |
| le cas | case |
| le moment | moment |
| la maison | house / home |
| le travail | work |
| le pays | country |
| la question | question |
How to practise these words
Seeing a word on a list is not the same as knowing it. The fastest way to internalise these words:
- See them in real French sentences. Don't study the list in isolation — find each word in a real text.
- Use Apprendr. Paste any French sentence that uses words from this list. You'll get the translation, a vocabulary breakdown that explains the word in context, and audio.
- Use spaced repetition. Apps like Anki let you add these words to a deck and review them at optimally-spaced intervals.
- Track the ones you keep missing. Misses are data. The word you forget three times is the word you need to spend more time on.
By the time you know all the words in this list cold — in both directions, French to English and English to French — you'll be well into A2 and ready to start building real sentences.
Encountering any of these words in a French text? Paste it into Apprendr to see the word in context with a full grammar explanation.