Common French Words

Many experts believe that 300 words may be enough to carry on everyday conversation in French, which means that very little memorizing will do the work! Here is a list of the 300 most common French words.

Learn these and you are well on your way!

Here are some of the most basic French words to get you started. Further on in this lesson we will look at the pronunciation of these and many more French words.

  • Le - The / him / her / it / them
  • De - Of / from / some / any
  • Un - A / an / one
  • À - To / at / in
  • Être - To be / being
  • Et - And
  • En - In / by
  • Avoir - To have
  • Que - That / which / who / whom
  • Pour - For / in order to

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Le

The / him / her / it / them

De

Of / from / some / any

Un

A / an / one

À

To / at / in

Être

To be / being

Et

And

En

In / by

Avoir

To have

Que

That / which / who / whom

Pour

For / in order to

Dans

In / into / from

Ce

This / that

Il

He / it

Qui

Who / whom

Ne

Not

Sur

On / upon

Se

Oneself / himself / herself / itself / themselves

Pas

Not

Plus

More / no more

Pouvoir

Can / to be able to

Par

By

Je

I

Avec

With

Tout

All

Faire

To do / to make

Son

His / her /its

Mettre

To put / place

Autre

Other

On

One / we

Mais

But

Nous

We / us

Comme

Like / as

Ou

Or

Si

If / whether

Leur

Them / their / theirs

Y

There

Dire

To say

Elle

She / her

Devoir

To have to / owe / duty

Avant

Before

Deux

Two

Même

Same / even / self

Prendre

To take

Aussi

Too / also / as

Celui

That / the one / he / him

Donner

To give

Bien

Well

Where

Fois

Time / times

Vous

You (formal)

Encore

Again / yet

Nouveau

New

Aller

To go

Cela

That / it

Entre

Between

Premier

First

Vouloir

To want

Déjà

Already

Grand

Great / big / tall

Mon

My

Me

Me / to me / myself

Moins

Less

Aucun

None / either / neither / not any

Lui

Him / her

Temps

Time

Très

Very

Savoir

To know

Falloir

To take / require / need

Voir

To see

Quelque

Some

Sans

Without

Raison

Reason

Notre

Our

Dont

Whose / of which

Non

No / not

An

Year

Monde

World / people

Jour

Day

Monsieur

Mister / sir / gentleman

Demander

To ask for

Alors

Then / so

Après

After

Trouver

To find

Personne

Person / people / anybody / anyone / nobody

Rendre

To render / return / yield / give up

Partager

To share

Dernier

Last

Venir

To come

Pendant

During

Passer

To pass

Peu

Little

Lequel

Who / whom / which

Suite

Result / follow-up / rest

Bon

Good

Comprendre

To understand

Depuis

Since / for

Point

Point / at all

Ainsi

Thus

Heure

Hour

Rester

To stay

Seul

Alone / only

Année

Year

Toujours

Always

Tenir

To hold

Porter

To wear / carry

Parler

To speak

Fort

Strong

Montrer

To show

There / here

Certain

Certain / sure

Fin

End

Tu

You

Continuer

To continue

Pays

Country

Trois

Three

Penser

To think

Lieu

Place

Partie

Part

Quand

When

Suivre

To follow

Contre

Against

Sous

Under

Côté

Side

Ensemble

Together

Chose

Thing

Enfant

Child

Cause

Cause

Politique

Politics / political

Place

Room / space / square / place

Seulement

Only

Moi

Me

Vie

Life

Connaître

To know

Jusque

To / up to / until

Croire

To believe

Homme

Man

Cas

Case

Petit

Small / little

Commencer

To begin / start

Compter

To count

Fait

Done / fact

Tel

Such

Droit

Right

Question

Question

Donc

So / then / therefore / thus

Quel

Which / what

Général

General

Moment

Moment

Entendre

To hear

Beaucoup

Much / a lot of / many

Chaque

Each

Jeune

Young

Travail

Work

Femme

Woman / wife

Attendre

To wait

Remettre

To deliver / replace / set / put

Appeler

To call

Permettre

To allow

Occuper

To occupy

Gouvernement

Government

Eux

Them

Devenir

To become

Partir

To leave

Plan

Plan

Décider

To decide

Soit

Either / or

Ici

Here

Rien

Nothing

Cours

Course

Affaire

Business / matter

Nom

Name

Famille

Family

Effet

Effect

Arriver

To arrive / happen

Possible

Possible

Car

Because / bus

Servir

To serve

Mois

Month

Jamais

Never

Sembler

To seem

Tant

So much / so many

Vers

Toward / verse

Besoin

Need

Revenir

To come back

Dès

From / as soon

Moyen

Means / way / medium

Groupe

Group

Problème

Problem

Rapport

Relationship / report

Peut

Perhaps / maybe

Vue

View

Maintenant

Now

Pourquoi

Why

Meilleur

Better / best

Trop

Too much / too many

Laisser

To leave

Ordre

Order

Devant

In front / ahead

Recevoir

To receive

Répondre

To answer

Vivre

To live

Long

Long / lengthy

Service

Service

Ministre

Minister

Face

Front / side / face

Chez

At / with

Te

You / to you / from you

Rappeler

To recall / call back

Présenter

To present

Accepter

To accept

Agir

To act

Simple

Simple

Plusieurs

Several

Votre

Your

Important

Important

Présent

Present

Mieux

Better

Poser

To put / pose / ask

Jouer

To play

Mot

Word

Reconnaître

To recognize

Force

Force

Situation

Situation

Offrir

To offer

Près

Near / nearby / close by

Choisir

To choose

National

National

Projet

Project

Ni

Nor

Puis

Then / so

Toucher

To touch

Train

Train

Aujourd'hui

Today

Comment

How

Surtout

Especially / above all

Gens

People

Propre

Clean / proper

Grâce

Thanks / grace / favour

Idée

Idea

Selon

According to

Région

Region

Aimer

To like / love

Sens

Sense / meaning

Retrouver

To find / recall

Semaine

Week

Également

Also / too / as well / equally

Ci

This one / here

Façon

Way / manner

Nombre

Number

Perdre

To lose

Français

French

Expliquer

To explain

Quatre

Four

Compte

Account / count

Considérer

To consider

Lorsque

When

Ouvrir

To open

Gagner

To win / earn

Exemple

Example

Ville

City

Économique

Economic / economical

Mesure

Measure

Histoire

History / story

Haut

Top / high

Ensuite

Next

Guerre

War

Loi

Law

Président

President

Exister

To exist

Sûr

Sure

Refuser

To refuse

Plutôt

Rather

Bureau

Office / desk

Mauvais

Bad / wrong

Quant

As for

Mort

Dead / death

Mal

Bad

Lire

To read

Réussir

To succeed

Marché

Market

Condition

Condition

International

International

Changer

To change

Oui

Yes

Public

Public / audience

Humain

Human

Souvent

Often

Cinq

Five

Système

System

Travailler

To work

Jeu

Game

Vrai

True

Représenter

To represent

Madame

Madam / lady

Société

Society

Difficile

Difficult

Quoi

What

Entreprise

Enterprise / business

Coup

Coup / blow / knock / stroke

Or

Gold / hence / thus

Phew! That was a long one with lots to remember! Make sure you check out these lessons on French words: French swear words (R18!) and common French travel words and phrases.

À bientôt !

Marie-Claire Rivière and the Rocket French Team

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