eiffel tower in paris

The Intensive Guide to Mastering French Nouns

Napoleon, Paris and furry little Chartreux kittens have one thing in common—they are all nouns.

You might remember from English class that a noun is a person, place, thing or idea.

Simple, right? But what about in French?

Luckily for you, French nouns are easy to understand, and I’ve collected a list of some of the most popular nouns for people, places, animals and more, that you’ll see on a regular basis!

Contents

 

People Nouns

FrenchEnglish
la femme the woman
l'homme the man
le garçon the boy
la fille the girl
le bébé the baby
le père the father
la mère the mother
le grand-père the grandfather
la grand-mère the grandmother
le frère the brother
la sœur the sister
l'oncle the uncle
la tante the aunt
le cousin the cousin (male)
la cousine the cousin (female)
le mari the husband
la femme the wife
le fils the son
la fille the daughter
l'homme intelligent the intelligent man
la femme intelligente the intelligent woman
l'homme paresseux the lazy man
la femme paresseuse the lazy woman
l'homme âgé the old man
la femme âgée the old woman
l'homme malade the sick man
la femme malade the sick woman
l'homme étranger the foreign man
la femme étrangère the foreign woman
l'homme actif the active man
la femme active the active woman

Animal Nouns

FrenchEnglish
le chat the cat
le chien the dog
le loup the wolf
le cheval the horse
le chien intelligent the intelligent dog
le chat heureux the happy cat
le chameau the camel
le lapin the rabbit
le lion the lion
le tigre the tiger
le singe the monkey
le serpent the snake
le crocodile the crocodile
l'éléphant the elephant
le zèbre the zebra
le cochon the pig
le canard the duck
le poisson the fish
le requin the shark
le papillon the butterfly
le perroquet the parrot
la grenouille the frog
le pingouin the penguin
le hérisson the hedgehog

Place Nouns

FrenchEnglish
l'église the church
la vieille maison the old house
la maison the house
l'école the school
le parc the park
la plage the beach
le restaurant the restaurant
le café the café
le musée the museum
le cinéma the cinema
le magasin the store/shop
le stade the stadium
le jardin the garden
le bateau the boat
le centre commercial the shopping mall
le bureau the office
la bibliothèque the library
le pont the bridge
la gare the train station
l'aéroport the airport
le monument the monument
la montagne the mountain
la plage the beach

Object Nouns

FrenchEnglish
l'arbre the tree
la pomme the apple
la chaise the chair
le jus the juice
le livre the book
le stylo the pen
le téléphone the telephone
l'ordinateur the computer
le sac the bag
la clé the key
le vélo the bicycle
la voiture the car
la table the table
la télévision the television
le couteau the knife
la fourchette the fork
la cuillère the spoon
le crayon the pencil
le sac à dos the backpack
la lampe the lamp
le parapluie the umbrella
le miroir the mirror

 

Even something as simple as nouns can become complex. Luckily, there are some great resources out there to learn new nouns (vocabulary), practice writing sentences and research doubts.

Once you master the different ways nouns can be put into sentences, you will be able to speak and write like a native!

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