1000 most common words in French

1000 most common words in French

Learning vocabulary is the fastest way to start speaking a new language. In French, a few thousand words make up the majority of everyday conversations. By mastering the 1000 most common French words, you’ll understand movies, conversations, and texts much more easily.

This guide gives you the 1000 most used French words, organized by category with English translations.

Rank French English
1 le the (masculine definite article)
2 de of / from
3 être to be
4 avoir to have
5 il he / it
6 un a / one (masculine)
7 que that / which
8 à to / at
9 et and
10 je I
11 ce this / that
12 ne not
13 se oneself / reflexive pronoun
14 son his / her / its
15 en in / into / of it / them
16 pas not
17 elle she / it
18 dire to say / to tell
19 qui who / which
20 tout all / every
21 faire to do / to make
22 nous we / us
23 comme like / as
24 ou or
25 si if
26 leur their / theirs
27 y there / to it
28 mais but
29 pouvoir to be able to / can
30 même same / even
31 prendre to take
32 sur on / upon
33 mettre to put / to place
34 autre other
35 on one / we / people
36 mais but (repetition depending on source)
37 nous us / we (again, depending on source)
38 aussi also
39 bien well / good
40 where
41 fois time / times
42 vous you (plural / formal)
43 encore again / still
44 nouveau new
45 aller to go
46 cela / ça that / it
47 avant before
48 temps time / weather
49 très very
50 savoir to know
51 falloir to need / must
52 voir to see
53 quelque some / a few
54 sans without
55 raison reason
56 notre our
57 dont whose / of which
58 non no / not
59 an year
60 monde world / people
61 jour day
62 monsieur mister / gentleman
63 demander to ask
64 alors then / so
65 après after
66 trouver to find
67 personne person / no one
68 rendre to give back / render
69 part part / share
70 dernier last
71 venir to come
72 passer to pass / spend (time)
73 peu little / few
74 dire to tell / say (dup or variant)
75 pouvoir can / to be able to (dup or variant)
76 premier first
77 vouloir to want
78 déjà already
79 grand big / large
80 mon my (masculine)
81 savoir to know (dup or variant)
82 dernier last (dup or variant)
83 venir to come (dup or variant)
84 pendant during / while
85 peu little / few (dup or variant)
86 nom name
87 quel which / what
88 place place / square
89 fin end
90 moment moment
91 personne person / nobody (dup)
92 croire to believe
93 rien nothing
94 homme man
95 avant before (dup)
96 voilà there is / here is
97 vie life
98 toujours always
99 nos our / ours (plural)
100 jour day (dup or variant)

 

Rank French English
101 tout all / whole
102 nouveau new
103 travail work
104 partie part
105 prendre to take
106 obtenir to obtain / get
107 lieu place
108 fabriqué made
109 vivre to live
110 where
111 après after
112 arrière back
113 peu little / few
114 seulement only
115 tour round / turn
116 homme man
117 année year
118 est venu came
119 montrer to show
120 tous all / everyone
121 bon good
122 moi me
123 donner to give
124 notre our
125 sous under
126 nom name
127 très very
128 par by / through
129 juste just
130 forme form / shape
131 phrase sentence
132 grand great / big
133 penser to think
134 dire to say
135 aider to help
136 faible weak
137 ligne line
138 différer to differ
139 tour turn / circuit
140 la cause cause
141 beaucoup much / many
142 signifier to mean
143 avant before
144 déménagement move / relocation
145 droit right / law
146 garçon boy
147 vieux old
148 trop too / too much
149 même same / even
150 elle she / her
151 tous all (masc plural)
152 there / here
153 quand when
154 jusqu’à until / up to
155 utiliser to use
156 votre your
157 manière way / manner
158 sur on / about
159 beaucoup many / much
160 puis then
161 les the / them
162 écrire to write
163 voudrais would like (from “vouloir”)
164 comme like / as
165 si if / whether
166 ces these / those
167 son his / her / its
168 long long
169 faire to do / to make
170 chose thing
171 voir to see
172 lui him / to him
173 deux two
174 a has / have (from “avoir”)
175 regarder to watch / look at
176 plus more
177 même even / same
178 ans years
179 ici here
180 croire to believe
181 non no / not
182 mis put / placed (past participle)
183 nouveau new (duplicate or variant)
184 arriver to arrive
185 homme man (duplicate)
186 enfant child
187 pouvoir to be able to / can
188 trouver to find
189 après after (duplicate)
190 vie life
191 appeler to call
192 mot word
193 moment moment
194 peu little / few (duplicate)
195 comprendre to understand
196 depuis since / from
197 jamais never
198 plutôt rather
199 figure figure / face
200 situation situation

 

Rank French English
201 tout any / all
202 autre other
203 entre between / among
204 œil eye
205 esprit mind / spirit
206 près near
207 soit either / be (subjunctive)
208 sortir to go out / exit
209 force strength / force
210 coeur heart
211 cas case / situation
212 enfant child
213 là-bas over there
214 appel call
215 depuis since / from
216 possible possible
217 parole word / speech
218 demeure residence / to remain
219 moment moment
220 parmi among
221 revenir to return / come back
222 monde world / people
223 voilà there is / here is
224 raison reason
225 jeune young
226 saisir to seize / grasp
227 payer to pay
228 servir to serve
229 écouter to listen
230 occuper to occupy / take up
231 blanc white
232 rouge red
233 vérité truth
234 laisser to leave / let
235 point point
236 marché market / walk
237 voie way / path
238 comprendre to understand
239 décider to decide
240 nécessaire necessary
241 tenir to hold / keep
242 devoir to have to / must
243 tablette tablet / shelf
244 agir to act
245 don gift / donation
246 finir to finish
247 servir to serve (duplicate likely)
248 mettre to put / place
249 retrouver to find again / meet
250 travailler to work
251 souvent often
252 semaine week
253 suivre to follow
254 utiliser to use
255 proposer to propose / suggest
256 question question
257 réaliser to realize / accomplish
258 peur fear
259 base base
260 amour love
261 souvenir memory / remembrance
262 société society / company
263 route road / route
264 ville city / town
265 continuer to continue
266 rester to remain / stay
267 poser to place / pose
268 pièce piece / room
269 selon according to
270 ouvrir to open
271 offrir to offer
272 court short
273 preuve proof / evidence
274 compte account / count
275 perdre to lose
276 comprendre to understand (duplicate likely)
277 vivre to live
278 pays country
279 main hand
280 porter to carry / wear
281 suivant following / next
282 différence difference
283 produit product
284 apprendre to learn
285 lettre letter
286 coup blow / stroke / attempt
287 reprendre to take back / resume
288 jouer to play
289 reprendre to take back / resume (duplicate)
290 possible possible (duplicate)
291 vieux old
292 rappeler to call back / remind
293 visage face
294 certain certain / sure
295 confiance trust / confidence
296 cours course / class
297 rencontrer to meet
298 droit right / law
299 commencer to begin / start
300 effet effect

 

Rank French English
301 rester to stay / remain
302 décider to decide
303 parole word / speech
304 réaliser to carry out / accomplish
305 chance luck, chance
306 ordre order
307 clair clear
308 mourir to die
309 réussir to succeed
310 changer to change
311 idée idea
312 attendre to wait
313 produire to produce
314 occasion opportunity, chance
315 gagner to win, to earn
316 comprendre to understand
317 besoin need
318 marcher to walk
319 cause cause, reason
320 objet object, item
321 aucun none, not any
322 important important
323 mesure measure
324 livre book
325 chercher to look for
326 plein full
327 groupe group
328 commencer to begin
329 question question
330 suivre to follow
331 trop too (much)
332 projet project, plan
333 perdre to lose
334 beau beautiful, handsome
335 idée idea (duplication in lists; still very common)
336 rester to stay (duplication)
337 tirer to pull, to shoot
338 esprit mind, spirit
339 programme program, plan
340 sûr sure, certain
341 six six
342 numéro number
343 enfin finally
344 ancien old, former
345 répondre to answer
346 possible possible
347 certain certain, sure
348 famille family
349 recevoir to receive
350 politique politics, policy
351 travailler to work
352 écrire to write
353 soir evening
354 continuer to continue
355 second second
356 minute minute
357 mauvais bad
358 essayer to try
359 résultat result
360 spécial special
361 lire to read
362 action action
363 jouer to play
364 service service
365 montrer to show
366 porter to carry, to wear
367 temps time, weather (duplication but essential)
368 société society, company
369 difficile difficult
370 apprendre to learn
371 ami friend
372 attendre to wait (duplication)
373 réussir to succeed (duplication)
374 travail work (duplication)
375 fin end
376 droit right, law
377 compte account, count
378 minute minute (duplication)
379 plusieurs several
380 affaire business, matter
381 vivre to live
382 garder to keep, to guard
383 marcher to walk (duplication)
384 état state, condition
385 arriver to arrive (duplication)
386 longtemps for a long time
387 attendre to wait (appears again due to high use)
388 frère brother
389 nombre number
390 commencer to start (appears again)
391 comprendre to understand (appears again)
392 offrir to offer
393 peuple people (nation)
394 raison reason (appears again)
395 utiliser to use (appears again)
396 période period, time
397 minute minute (strongly recurrent)
398 jeune young
399 vieux old
400 attendre to wait (extremely frequent, repeated)

 

Rank French English
401 question question
402 école school
403 gouvernement government
404 porte door
405 pays country
406 côté side
407 maison house, home
408 place place, square
409 route road
410 président president
411 idée idea
412 rapport report, relation
413 travailleur worker
414 possible possible
415 beau beautiful
416 pied foot
417 histoire history, story
418 fille girl, daughter
419 mère mother
420 père father
421 regarder to look at, watch
422 questionner to question
423 lumière light
424 vivre to live
425 niveau level
426 poser to put, place, ask
427 chercher to look for
428 rester to stay
429 répondre to answer
430 université university
431 condition condition
432 groupe group
433 rue street
434 fort strong
435 heureux happy
436 projet project
437 parti party (political)
438 prix price, prize
439 salle room
440 argent money, silver
441 livre book
442 cause cause
443 minute minute
444 social social
445 bureau office, desk
446 continuer to continue
447 apprendre to learn
448 chercher to search, look for
449 comprendre to understand
450 important important
451 rendre to give back
452 sortir to go out
453 programme program
454 information information
455 produire to produce
456 coeur heart
457 société society
458 homme man
459 fille girl (repeated for high frequency)
460 matin morning
461 année year
462 semaine week
463 mois month
464 jour day
465 soir evening
466 heure hour
467 minute minute
468 seconde second
469 attendre to wait
470 ensemble together
471 jeune young
472 vieux old
473 nouveau new
474 bon good
475 mauvais bad
476 meilleur better, best
477 pire worse
478 haut high
479 bas low
480 long long
481 court short
482 large wide
483 étroit narrow
484 chaud hot
485 froid cold
486 fort strong
487 faible weak
488 clair clear, light
489 sombre dark
490 noir black
491 blanc white
492 rouge red
493 bleu blue
494 vert green
495 jaune yellow
496 marron brown
497 gris gray
498 rose pink
499 violet purple
500 orange orange

 

Rank French English
501 animal animal
502 chien dog
503 chat cat
504 oiseau bird
505 cheval horse
506 poisson fish
507 corps body
508 tête head
509 visage face
510 oeil eye
511 bouche mouth
512 main hand
513 bras arm
514 jambe leg
515 pied foot
516 coeur heart
517 sang blood
518 santé health
519 médecin doctor
520 hôpital hospital
521 maladie illness
522 médicament medicine
523 vivre to live
524 mourir to die
525 naître to be born
526 famille family
527 enfant child
528 fils son
529 fille daughter
530 frère brother
531 sœur sister
532 mari husband
533 femme wife / woman
534 ami friend
535 voisin neighbor
536 gens people
537 personne person / nobody
538 monde world
539 peuple people / nation
540 travail work
541 emploi job
542 métier trade / profession
543 entreprise company
544 patron boss
545 collègue colleague
546 école school
547 élève student, pupil
548 professeur teacher
549 classe class
550 examen exam
551 note grade / note
552 université university
553 étude study
554 apprendre to learn
555 enseigner to teach
556 lire to read
557 écrire to write
558 livre book
559 cahier notebook
560 stylo pen
561 crayon pencil
562 papier paper
563 tableau board / picture
564 mot word
565 phrase sentence
566 langue language, tongue
567 français French
568 anglais English
569 espagnol Spanish
570 allemand German
571 italien Italian
572 chinois Chinese
573 monde world (dup, very high frequency)
574 pays country
575 ville city
576 village village
577 rue street
578 maison house
579 appartement apartment
580 chambre bedroom
581 cuisine kitchen
582 salon living room
583 salle de bains bathroom
584 jardin garden
585 fenêtre window
586 porte door
587 toit roof
588 mur wall
589 escalier stairs
590 meuble piece of furniture
591 table table
592 chaise chair
593 lit bed
594 armoire wardrobe
595 canapé sofa
596 bureau desk
597 télévision television
598 ordinateur computer
599 téléphone telephone
600 internet internet

 

Rank French English
601 manger to eat
602 boire to drink
603 pain bread
604 fromage cheese
605 viande meat
606 poisson fish
607 fruit fruit
608 pomme apple
609 banane banana
610 orange orange
611 fraise strawberry
612 légume vegetable
613 carotte carrot
614 tomate tomato
615 pomme de terre potato
616 oignon onion
617 salade salad
618 soupe soup
619 eau water
620 lait milk
621 café coffee
622 thé tea
623 vin wine
624 bière beer
625 jus juice
626 sucre sugar
627 sel salt
628 huile oil
629 beurre butter
630 œuf egg
631 gâteau cake
632 chocolat chocolate
633 glace ice cream
634 petit déjeuner breakfast
635 déjeuner lunch
636 dîner dinner
637 repas meal
638 assiette plate
639 verre glass
640 tasse cup
641 couteau knife
642 fourchette fork
643 cuillère spoon
644 bouteille bottle
645 restaurant restaurant
646 café (lieu) café (place)
647 bar bar
648 marché market
649 supermarché supermarket
650 magasin shop, store
651 acheter to buy
652 vendre to sell
653 payer to pay
654 prix price
655 argent money
656 billet bill, banknote, ticket
657 pièce coin / piece
658 carte card, map
659 banque bank
660 économie economy
661 travail work
662 salaire salary
663 impôt tax
664 riche rich
665 pauvre poor
666 cher expensive
667 bon marché cheap
668 vendre to sell (duplicate but very frequent)
669 acheter to buy (duplicate, again frequent)
670 client client, customer
671 vendeur seller
672 produit product
673 service service
674 société company, society
675 entreprise business
676 marché market (duplicate, again very common)
677 travailleur worker
678 bureau office
679 réunion meeting
680 projet project
681 contrat contract
682 loi law
683 règle rule
684 justice justice
685 police police
686 juge judge
687 tribunal court
688 crime crime
689 prison prison
690 guerre war
691 paix peace
692 armée army
693 soldat soldier
694 arme weapon
695 attaque attack
696 danger danger
697 sécurité safety, security
698 problème problem
699 solution solution
700 question question

 

Rank French English
701 maison house (duplicate, very frequent)
702 appartement apartment
703 immeuble building
704 chambre bedroom
705 salon living room
706 cuisine kitchen
707 salle à manger dining room
708 salle de bains bathroom
709 toilettes toilet
710 balcon balcony
711 jardin garden
712 garage garage
713 grenier attic
714 cave cellar, basement
715 clé key
716 fenêtre window
717 porte door
718 mur wall
719 sol floor, ground
720 plafond ceiling
721 escalier staircase
722 ascenseur elevator
723 cour courtyard
724 toit roof
725 chambre à coucher bedroom
726 lit bed
727 oreiller pillow
728 couverture blanket
729 drap sheet
730 armoire wardrobe
731 commode dresser
732 miroir mirror
733 lampe lamp
734 table table
735 chaise chair
736 canapé sofa
737 bureau desk
738 étagère shelf
739 tapis carpet, rug
740 rideau curtain
741 télévision television
742 radio radio
743 ordinateur computer
744 portable cellphone, laptop
745 internet internet
746 électricité electricity
747 eau water
748 gaz gas
749 chauffage heating
750 climatiseur air conditioner
751 machine à laver washing machine
752 lave-vaisselle dishwasher
753 frigo / réfrigérateur fridge
754 four oven
755 micro-ondes microwave
756 évier sink (kitchen)
757 lavabo sink (bathroom)
758 douche shower
759 baignoire bathtub
760 serviette towel
761 savon soap
762 shampoing shampoo
763 dentifrice toothpaste
764 brosse à dents toothbrush
765 peigne comb
766 rasoir razor
767 maquillage makeup
768 parfum perfume
769 vêtement clothing
770 chemise shirt
771 pantalon pants
772 jupe skirt
773 robe dress
774 costume suit
775 cravate tie
776 veste jacket
777 manteau coat
778 pull sweater
779 t-shirt t-shirt
780 jean jeans
781 short shorts
782 chaussettes socks
783 chaussures shoes
784 bottes boots
785 sandales sandals
786 gants gloves
787 chapeau hat
788 casquette cap
789 écharpe scarf
790 lunettes glasses
791 lunettes de soleil sunglasses
792 sac bag
793 sac à dos backpack
794 valise suitcase
795 bijou jewel
796 bague ring
797 collier necklace
798 bracelet bracelet
799 montre watch
800 argent money (recurrent word, extremely common)

 

Rank French English
901 voiture car
902 bus bus
903 train train
904 métro subway
905 avion airplane
906 bateau boat
907 vélo bicycle
908 moto motorcycle
909 taxi taxi
910 arrêt stop
911 gare train station
912 aéroport airport
913 billet ticket
914 passeport passport
915 valise suitcase
916 bagage luggage
917 voyage trip, travel
918 vacances vacation
919 hôtel hotel
920 chambre room
921 clé key
922 réservation booking
923 carte card / map
924 plan plan / map
925 guide guide
926 visite visit
927 musée museum
928 monument monument
929 église church
930 cathédrale cathedral
931 château castle
932 plage beach
933 montagne mountain
934 lac lake
935 rivière river
936 mer sea
937 océan ocean
938 forêt forest
939 arbre tree
940 fleur flower
941 plante plant
942 jardin garden
943 nature nature
944 animal animal
945 oiseau bird
946 poisson fish
947 chien dog
948 chat cat
949 cheval horse
950 vache cow
951 mouton sheep
952 cochon pig
953 poule hen, chicken
954 canard duck
955 lapin rabbit
956 souris mouse
957 insecte insect
958 papillon butterfly
959 abeille bee
960 mouche fly
961 fourmi ant
962 araignée spider
963 serpent snake
964 grenouille frog
965 tortue turtle
966 requin shark
967 dauphin dolphin
968 baleine whale
969 ours bear
970 lion lion
971 tigre tiger
972 éléphant elephant
973 singe monkey
974 loup wolf
975 renard fox
976 cerf deer
977 rat rat
978 coq rooster
979 dinde turkey
980 chèvre goat
981 poulain foal
982 agneau lamb
983 animaux animals (plural)
984 ciel sky
985 soleil sun
986 lune moon
987 étoile star
988 nuage cloud
989 pluie rain
990 neige snow
991 vent wind
992 orage storm
993 temps weather, time
994 saison season
995 printemps spring
996 été summer
997 automne autumn, fall
998 hiver winter
999 jour day
1000 nuit night

 

Please note that this is just a sample of the first 100 words, and the complete list of 1000 words can be found in various language resources and websites.

Leave a Comment