150 Common French Words to Survive Most Situations [Plus Pronunciation]

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
  • 2. Common -ER, -IR and -RE French Verbs
  • • -Er Verbs
    • -Ir Verbs
    • -Re Verbs
  • 3. What? Where? When? Common French Words For Asking Questions
  • 4. French Words for People
  • 5. French Words for Professions
  • 6. Food & Drinks in French
  • 7. Parts of the House and Furniture in French
  • 8. Modes of Transport in French
  • 9. Places in French
  • 10. Common French Adjectives 
  • 11. Animals & Nature Vocabulary in French
• Basic French Grammar 

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150 French Words to Help You Get Started

1. The Most Essential French Words for Any Conversation

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

• Bonjour ! — Hello / Good morning!
• Bonsoir ! — Good evening!
• Oui — Yes
• Non — No
• Excusez-moi — Excuse me
• Je suis désolé / Je suis désolée  — I’m sorry (with an extra e if you’re female)
• S’il vous plaît — Please 
• Merci — Thank you
• À bientôt — See you soon
• Au revoir — Goodbye

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:

• Être — to be
• Avoir — to have
• Aller — to go

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

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

• Parler — to speak
• Aimer — to like
• Demander — to ask
• Étudier — to study
• Regarder — to watch
• Visiter — to visit (a place)
• Habiter — to live
• Penser — to think
• Manger — to eat

-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. 

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

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!

4. French Words for People

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)

5. French Words for Professions

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

6. Food & Drinks in French

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

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
• 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)

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

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

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!

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
• Quel temps fait-il ? — What’s the weather?
• Il fait chaud / Il fait froid — It’s hot/It’s cold

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!

Bonne chance ! (Good luck!)

Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere. Click here to get a copy. (Download)