400 Most Common French Words (Free List)
Knowing the 400 most common French words gives you a solid foundation for everyday spoken French. Combined with basic grammar, this vocabulary base is enough to follow conversations, navigate daily life, and begin consuming authentic French content.
This list is compiled from frequency analysis of spoken and written French — news, subtitles, podcasts, and everyday conversation. It's organised thematically rather than alphabetically.
How to Use This List
Don't read linearly — scan each section, mark what you already know, and add unknown words to a spaced repetition deck. Review daily at a sustainable pace (10–15 new words per day). The download link at the bottom contains these words in an importable format.
Function Words (~100 words)
Articles and determiners le, la, les (the) — un, une, des (a/some) — ce, cet, cette, ces (this/these) — mon, ma, mes / ton, ta, tes / son, sa, ses (my/your/his-her) — notre, nos / votre, vos / leur, leurs (our/your/their) — quelque, quelques (some/a few) — chaque (each/every) — autre, autres (other/another) — même (same/even) — tout, toute, tous, toutes (all/every)
Pronouns je, tu, il, elle, nous, vous, ils, elles — me, te, se, nous, vous — le, la, les (direct object) — lui, leur (indirect object) — y (there/it), en (of it/them) — qui (who/which), que (that/which), dont (of which), où (where) — ce, ça, cela (this/that) — quelqu'un (someone), quelque chose (something), personne (nobody), rien (nothing)
Prepositions à (to/at/in) — de (of/from/about) — en (in/to/by) — dans (in/inside) — sur (on/about) — sous (under) — pour (for/in order to) — par (by/through) — avec (with) — sans (without) — entre (between) — vers (toward) — depuis (since/for) — jusqu'à (until/as far as) — avant (before) — après (after) — pendant (during) — contre (against) — selon (according to) — malgré (despite) — grâce à (thanks to)
Conjunctions and connectors et (and) — mais (but) — ou (or) — donc (so/therefore) — car (because/for) — parce que (because) — comme (as/like/since) — quand (when) — si (if) — que (that) — bien que (although) — alors que (while/whereas) — pourtant (however/yet) — cependant (however) — néanmoins (nonetheless) — d'ailleurs (moreover/besides) — en fait (in fact) — c'est-à-dire (that is to say) — par contre (on the other hand) — en revanche (on the other hand)
Core Verbs — Top 100 Most Frequent
Being and having être (to be) — avoir (to have) — devenir (to become) — rester (to stay/remain) — sembler (to seem) — paraître (to appear/seem) — s'avérer (to prove to be)
Thinking, knowing, communicating savoir (to know a fact) — connaître (to know a person/place) — comprendre (to understand) — penser (to think) — croire (to believe) — imaginer (to imagine) — se souvenir (to remember) — oublier (to forget) — décider (to decide) — choisir (to choose) — préférer (to prefer) — vouloir (to want) — pouvoir (to be able to) — devoir (to have to/must) — expliquer (to explain) — dire (to say/tell) — parler (to speak/talk) — demander (to ask) — répondre (to answer) — raconter (to tell/recount) — promettre (to promise) — admettre (to admit) — refuser (to refuse) — suggérer (to suggest)
Movement and action aller (to go) — venir (to come) — partir (to leave) — arriver (to arrive) — entrer (to enter) — sortir (to go out) — monter (to go up) — descendre (to go down) — courir (to run) — marcher (to walk) — passer (to pass/spend) — suivre (to follow) — rencontrer (to meet) — attendre (to wait) — arrêter (to stop) — commencer (to begin) — continuer (to continue) — finir (to finish) — revenir (to come back) — retourner (to return) — apporter (to bring) — prendre (to take) — mettre (to put) — enlever (to remove) — ouvrir (to open) — fermer (to close) — chercher (to look for) — trouver (to find) — perdre (to lose) — envoyer (to send) — recevoir (to receive) — tenir (to hold) — porter (to carry/wear)
Daily life manger (to eat) — boire (to drink) — dormir (to sleep) — se lever (to get up) — se coucher (to go to bed) — s'habiller (to get dressed) — acheter (to buy) — payer (to pay) — vendre (to sell) — travailler (to work) — étudier (to study) — apprendre (to learn) — lire (to read) — écrire (to write) — jouer (to play) — écouter (to listen) — regarder (to watch/look at) — appeler (to call) — aider (to help) — utiliser (to use) — changer (to change) — créer (to create) — construire (to build)
Nouns — People and Society (~80 words)
People personne (person) — homme (man) — femme (woman) — enfant (child) — garçon (boy) — fille (girl) — jeune (young person) — adulte (adult) — ami/amie (friend) — ennemi/e (enemy) — collègue (colleague) — voisin/e (neighbour) — étranger/ère (foreigner/stranger) — habitant/e (inhabitant) — citoyen/ne (citizen) — client/e (customer) — médecin (doctor) — infirmier/ère (nurse) — avocat/e (lawyer) — enseignant/e (teacher) — étudiant/e (student) — professeur (professor) — policier (police officer) — pompier (firefighter) — cuisinier/ère (cook/chef) — conducteur/trice (driver)
Family famille (family) — mère (mother) — père (father) — fils (son) — fille (daughter) — frère (brother) — sœur (sister) — mari (husband) — femme (wife) — grand-père (grandfather) — grand-mère (grandmother) — oncle (uncle) — tante (aunt) — cousin/e (cousin) — neveu/nièce (nephew/niece) — parents (parents) — enfants (children) — couple (couple) — mariage (marriage)
Society gouvernement (government) — état (state) — nation (nation) — pays (country) — région (region) — commune (municipality) — loi (law) — droit (right; law) — politique (politics) — parti (political party) — élection (election) — économie (economy) — marché (market) — entreprise (company) — travail (work/job) — emploi (employment) — chômage (unemployment) — salaire (salary) — impôt (tax) — prix (price) — coût (cost) — valeur (value)
Nouns — Places and the World (~80 words)
Geography monde (world) — pays (country) — ville (city) — capitale (capital) — région (region) — quartier (neighbourhood) — centre (centre) — banlieue (suburb) — campagne (countryside) — forêt (forest) — rivière (river) — fleuve (major river) — lac (lake) — mer (sea) — océan (ocean) — montagne (mountain) — colline (hill) — plaine (plain) — île (island) — côte (coast) — frontière (border)
Built environment bâtiment (building) — immeuble (apartment building) — maison (house) — appartement (apartment) — pièce (room) — couloir (corridor) — escalier (stairs) — ascenseur (lift) — étage (floor/level) — toit (roof) — mur (wall) — sol (floor/ground) — plafond (ceiling) — fenêtre (window) — porte (door) — jardin (garden) — cour (courtyard) — garage (garage) — cave (cellar) — grenier (attic)
Transport and infrastructure autoroute (motorway) — chemin de fer (railway) — port (port) — avion (aeroplane) — bateau (boat) — métro (underground) — arrêt (stop) — quai (platform) — gare (train station) — aéroport (airport) — feu rouge (traffic light) — carrefour (crossroads) — parking (car park) — pont (bridge) — tunnel (tunnel)
Nouns — Abstract Concepts (~80 words)
Time and process moment (moment) — période (period) — phase (phase) — début (beginning) — fin (end) — durée (duration) — avenir/futur (future) — passé (past) — présent (present) — histoire (history/story) — changement (change) — développement (development) — processus (process) — résultat (result) — conséquence (consequence) — cause (cause) — raison (reason) — but (goal/purpose) — objectif (objective) — plan (plan) — projet (project)
Knowledge and thought idée (idea) — concept (concept) — théorie (theory) — opinion (opinion) — point de vue (point of view) — argument (argument) — preuve (proof) — exemple (example) — cas (case) — problème (problem) — solution (solution) — réponse (answer) — question (question) — information (information) — nouvelle (news item) — connaissance (knowledge) — expérience (experience) — mémoire (memory) — intelligence (intelligence) — culture (culture)
Emotions and values sentiment (feeling) — émotion (emotion) — sensation (sensation) — caractère (character) — comportement (behaviour) — attitude (attitude) — confiance (trust/confidence) — espoir (hope) — peur (fear) — courage (courage) — patience (patience) — respect (respect) — fierté (pride) — honte (shame) — culpabilité (guilt) — responsabilité (responsibility) — liberté (freedom) — justice (justice) — vérité (truth) — mensonge (lie)
Adjectives (~100 words)
Physical long/longue (long) — court/e (short) — grand/e (tall/big) — petit/e (small) — large (wide) — étroit/e (narrow) — épais/se (thick) — mince (thin) — plat/e (flat) — rond/e (round) — dur/e (hard) — mou/molle (soft) — lisse (smooth) — rugueux/se (rough) — lourd/e (heavy) — léger/ère (light) — plein/e (full) — vide (empty) — propre (clean) — sale (dirty) — rangé/e (tidy) — désordonné/e (messy)
Evaluative important/e (important) — nécessaire (necessary) — utile (useful) — inutile (useless) — efficace (effective) — correct/e (correct) — faux/fausse (wrong/false) — juste (right/fair) — injuste (unjust) — normal/e (normal) — étrange (strange) — particulier/ère (particular/special) — général/e (general) — spécifique (specific) — principal/e (main) — secondaire (secondary) — fondamental/e (fundamental) — essentiel/le (essential)
Human qualities intelligent/e (intelligent) — stupide (stupid) — sympathique (likeable) — aimable (kind) — impoli/e (rude) — honnête (honest) — malhonnête (dishonest) — généreux/se (generous) — courageux/se (courageous) — timide (shy) — ambitieux/se (ambitious) — créatif/ve (creative) — responsable (responsible) — mature (mature)
Emotional anxieux/se (anxious) — nerveux/se (nervous) — calme (calm) — agité/e (agitated) — en colère (angry) — excité/e (excited) — déçu/e (disappointed) — satisfait/e (satisfied) — frustré/e (frustrated) — amoureux/se (in love) — jaloux/se (jealous) — fier/fière (proud) — gêné/e (embarrassed) — surpris/e (surprised) — confus/e (confused)
Adverbs and Discourse Markers (~60 words)
Manner and degree très (very) — peu (little) — trop (too much) — assez (enough) — presque (almost) — complètement (completely) — totalement (totally) — particulièrement (particularly) — surtout (above all) — au moins (at least) — environ (about/approximately) — ensemble (together) — facilement (easily) — probablement (probably) — certainement (certainly) — malheureusement (unfortunately) — heureusement (fortunately) — évidemment (obviously) — clairement (clearly) — exactement (exactly) — simplement (simply)
Discourse pourtant (however/yet) — cependant (however) — donc (therefore) — alors (so/then) — ainsi (thus) — en fait (in fact) — d'ailleurs (moreover) — par contre (on the other hand) — en revanche (on the other hand) — c'est-à-dire (that is) — en effet (indeed) — quand même (even so/still) — tout de même (all the same) — finalement (finally) — d'abord (first of all) — ensuite (then/next) — enfin (finally/at last) — par exemple (for example)
What Comes After 400 Words
At 400 words you'll understand the skeleton of everyday French. The path to B2 fluency requires vocabulary in the 3,000–5,000 range, acquired primarily through real French input. Read How Long Does It Take to Learn French for a realistic timeline.