Below are some of the most fundamental words in the French language to give you a basic foundation in French vocabulary.
French Pronouns
If the terms “subject” and “direct object” are a little hazy for you, you may want to brush up on your French pronouns grammar, because pronouns matter a lot in French. They go in different places in the sentence than they would in English, and the form of pronoun also changes depending on its role within the sentence.
Subject of the sentence (Example: He danced all night.)
| I | je |
| you (familiar) | tu |
| he | il |
| she | elle |
| we | nous |
| you (formal or plural) | vous |
| they (masculine or mixed) | ils |
| they (feminine) | elles |
Direct object of the sentence (Example: Mary brought him.)
| me | moi |
| you (familiar) | toi |
| him | lui |
| her | elle |
| us | nous |
| you (formal or plural) | vous |
| them (masculine or feminine) | eux |
Notice that elle, vous and nous have not changed from their subject versions.
French Conjunctions, Prepositions and Exclamations
| de | from, of |
| à | at, to |
| et | and |
| oui | yes |
| non | no |
| alors | then, so |
| mais | but |
| dans | in |
| pour | for |
| comme | like, as |
| puis | next, then |
| tout | all, every |
| parce que | because |
| si | if |
| sur | on |
| ou | or |
| aussi | also, too |
| toujours | always, still |
Common French Verbs
Most common verbs in French (as in most languages) have irregular structures. This applies to most of the verbs listed below.
| être | to be |
| avoir | to have |
| faire | to make or do |
| aller | to go |
| voir | to see |
| dire | to say |
| acheter | to buy |
| vouloir | to want |
| pouvoir | to have the ability to |
| savoir | to know |
| jouer | to play or do |
| penser | to think |
| parler | to speak |
| trouver | to find |
| mettre | to put |
| prendre | to take |
| travailler | to work |
Check out our French grammar guide or go directly to present tense conjugations to learn how to conjugate these verbs in sentences.
Common French Nouns
| un garçon | boy |
| une fille | girl |
| un homme | man |
| une femme | woman |
| un enfant | child |
| une maison | house |
| un magasin | store |
| la nourriture | food |
| le temps | weather/time |
| rien | nothing |
| une chose | a thing |
Common French Adjectives
Below are some common French adjectives. Remember that the adjective almost always changes (usually by adding an e on the end if there isn’t already one) if the adjective is describing a female or a feminine noun. If the feminine form is formed differently, it is listed in parenthesis after the masculine form.
| grand | big |
| petit | small |
| joli | pretty |
| beau (belle) | handsome |
| nouveau (nouvelle) | new |
| vieux (vielle) | old |
| jeune | young |
| bon (bonne) | good |
| mauvais | bad |
| blanc (blanche) | white |
| noir | black |
| rouge | red |
| vert | green |
| jaune | yellow |
| bleu | blue |
Next steps after getting the vocabulary basics down
Once you have a handle on the core vocabulary of French, the next step is just exposure via hearing and using these words repeatedly until they feel automatic. An app like Mondly is useful at this stage because it reinforces vocabulary through repetition without feeling like a chore. If you want to stick with written learning, check out how French present tense works and how French and English compare.
