150 Common French Words to Survive Most

Situations [Plus Pronunciation]

fluentu.com/blog/french/easy-french-words/

Michael Cristiano August 25, 2023

Learning vocabulary is one of the cornerstones of learning French.

By knowing the most common vocabulary, you’ll get better at everyday communication—
which gets you closer to interacting with some of the 300 million people who speak French
around the world.

In this post, we’ll get you started with 150 easy and common French words!

You’ll be well on your way to having a solid base in the French language in no time.

Contents

150 French Words to Help You Get Started

1. The Most Essential French Words for Any Conversation

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Let’s start with some essential vocabulary that you’ll end up using a lot in French
conversations:

2. Common -ER, -IR and -RE French Verbs

Aside from the conversational words and phrases above, you’ve also got to know the absolute
most common French verbs:

These verbs are irregular, meaning they don’t follow the same rules of usage (or conjugation)
that so-called regular verbs do.

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Most French verbs are regular, meaning you only have to learn the endings of their
group.

In French, there are three groups of so-called regular verbs, denoted by their infinitive
(unconjugated) endings: -er verbs,-ir verbs and -re verbs.

Here are the most common verbs in each group:

-Er Verbs

-Ir Verbs

Finir — to finish
Choisir — to choose
Grandir — to grow
Grossir — to gain weight
Réussir — to succeed / pass (a test)

-Re Verbs

Vendre — to sell
Attendre — to wait
Entendre — to hear
Perdre — to lose
Répondre — to respond

With all these different kinds of verbs, it’s handy to have a verb conjugation tool, like the one
from Reverso.

Another option is to study these verbs in action with FluentU, which features authentic
French videos with interactive subtitles. Click on any French verb or other word used in the
video to see its definition, along with grammar notes and examples.

You can then add new words to flashcards and take personalized quizzes to grow your French
vocabulary.

The language learning program is also available on iOS and Android, so you can take your
French studies with you wherever you go.

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3. What? Where? When? Common French Words For Asking Questions

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Looking for directions? Do you want to know the price of something?

Whatever you do on your trip to France, you’re definitely going to need to ask for help or
direction at some point.

Here are some common questions to help you get around:

Où ? — Where?
Qui ? — Who?
Quoi ? — What?
Quand ? — When?
Comment ? — How?
Pourquoi ? — Why?
Combien ? — How much? / How many?

Of course, the beauty of learning a language is to be able to communicate with native

speakers, which means people might also ask you questions!

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4. French Words for People

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Want to learn how to describe friends, family members or even strangers? Below you’ll find
ten key words for people in French.

L’homme — the man

La femme — the woman
L’enfant — the child
La fille — the girl
Le garçon — the boy
Le bébé — the baby
La personne — the person
L’ami / L’amie — the friend (male/female)
Le collègue / La collègue — the colleague (male/female)
Le voisin / La voisine — the neighbor (male/female)

Guess Who? 5 Keys to Describing People in French

Want to describe someone whose name you can’t remember? Or that hot guy from the bar?
We’ll give you all the French you need to know to describe that someone.

5. French Words for Professions

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Headed to a French-speaking region for employment? Then the following words are
essential!

The following are common words associated with professions:

Le dentiste — the dentist

Le médecin — the doctor (medical)
Le serveur / La serveuse — the waiter / waitress
L’avocat / L’avocate — the lawyer
Le caissier / La caissière — the cashier
L’ingénieur / L’ingénieure — the engineer
Le plombier / La plombière — the plumber
Le policier / La policière — the police officer
L’ouvrier / L’ouvrière — the worker

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6. Food & Drinks in French

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Hungry or thirsty? Check out the most common French words for food and drinks.

Le restaurant — the restaurant

Le café — the cafe / coffee
Le thé — the tea
Le lait — the milk
Le vin — the wine
L’eau — the water
Le fruit — the fruit
La pomme — the apple
L’orange — the orange
Les légumes — the vegetables
La carotte — the carrot
La pomme de terre — the potato
La tomate — the tomato
La viande — the meat
Le poisson — the fish
Le poulet — the chicken
Le petit-déjeuner — breakfast
Le déjeuner — lunch
Le dîner — dinner

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7. Parts of the House and Furniture in French

It’s crucial to learn the French words that describe the places where we live.

Check out the following common words that denote specific rooms and spaces in our
households.

La maison — the house

La pièce — the room
La cuisine — the kitchen
La salle à manger — the dining room
Le salon — the living room
La chambre — the bedroom
La salle de bain — the bathroom (may not include a toilet)
Les toilettes — the bathroom (includes a toilet, sometimes exclusively)
La porte — the door
La fenêtre — the window
L’escalier — the stairs
Le mur — the wall
Le sol — the floor

Common words associated with rooms in the house:

La télévision — the television

Le canapé / le sofa — the couch

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 La chaise — the chair
La lampe — the lamp
Le réfrigérateur — the refrigerator
Le four — the oven
La table — the table
Le lit — the bed
La douche — the shower
Les toilettes — the toilet (object)

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8. Modes of Transport in French

Traveling for leisure or commuting to work? Make sure you learn these words!

La voiture — the car

Le bus — the bus
Le train — the train
Le métro — the subway
Le taxi — the taxi
La moto — the motorcycle

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 Le vélo — the bicycle
L’avion — the airplane
Le bateau — the boat
Le navire — the ship

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9. Places in French

Going somewhere? These French words will help you find what you’re looking for on a map
or on Google!

Le centre-ville — the city center

Le village — the village
La campagne — the countryside
Le quartier — the neighborhood
Le musée — the museum
Le parc — the park
Le marché — the market
Le magasin — the store
L’école — the school
L’université — the university

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10. Common French Adjectives

The following are common words that can be used to describe yourself, others or inanimate
things.

Grand / Grande — big

Petit / Petite — small
Intelligent / Intelligente — smart
Fâché / Fâchée — angry
Triste — sad
Heureux / Heureuse — happy
Drôle — funny
Jeune — young
Vieux / Vieille — old
Nerveux / Nerveuse — nervous
Beau / Belle — beautiful
Facile — easy
Difficile — hard
Fort / Forte — strong

Keep in mind that some adjectives change genders depending on the gender of the noun it
describes.

In this list, the masculine forms are given first, with the feminine forms being either those
with an added -e or the second form of the adjective.

Interested in more adjectives? Check out how to say common colors in French as well!

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11. Animals & Nature Vocabulary in French

The following are common French words that can be used to describe animals or nature.

Le chien — the dog

Le chat — the cat
Le lapin — the rabbit
Le cheval — the horse
L’oiseau — the bird
Le soleil — the sun
La pluie — the rain
Le vent — the wind
La neige — the snow
Le nuage — the cloud
La montagne — the mountain
La plage — the beach
L’océan — the ocean
La météo — the weather forecast

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Basic French Grammar

Now that you’ve seen 150 of the most common French words, it’s important to go over basic
grammar so you can start incorporating these words into your own conversations!

Gender

In the French language, nouns are either masculine or feminine. For example, le vent (the
wind) is masculine and la pluie (the rain) is feminine.

Words that begin with a vowel sound or “h” have their article changed to l’.

Conjugation

There are three types of French verb endings: -er, -ir and -re.

When conjugating in the present tense: Take the infinitive form, remove the verb ending to
get the stem and add the corresponding conjugation.

For more French verb conjugations in different tenses, check out this post.

Adjective Placement

Adjectives are most often placed after the noun. However, in some cases, they may be placed
before.

For example:

Le chien est petit. — The dog is small.

Le petit chien. — The small dog.

Adjectives must agree with the gender (and number) of a noun:

La petite maison. — The small house.

(Using the feminine form of “petit”)

And just like that, you have 150 words to bring your French to the next level. Practice these
words often and watch your French comprehension and production vastly improve!

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Once you’ve mastered them, check out the 500 most frequently used French words for
additional targeted vocabulary study.

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