A surprisingly small set of words carries most everyday French. Articles, pronouns, and a handful of verbs like etre, avoir, and faire show up again and again in conversation. Learn these first and you will recognize far more of what you read and hear than the number 100 suggests.
How to use this list
Do not work through this list top to bottom. Read down it and mark only the words you could not have produced yourself. Those are your list. The rest are already yours, and reviewing them is wasted effort better spent on words you actually meet in reading, conversation, or subtitles.
The 100 words
| # | French | English | In use |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | le | the (masc.) | Le chat dort sur le canapé.The cat is sleeping on the couch. |
| 2 | de | of, from | Je viens de Paris.I come from Paris. |
| 3 | un | a, one (masc.) | J'ai un frère.I have a brother. |
| 4 | être | to be | Elle veut être médecin.She wants to be a doctor. |
| 5 | et | and | J'aime le café et le thé.I like coffee and tea. |
| 6 | à | to, at | Nous allons à l'école.We are going to school. |
| 7 | il | he, it | Il habite à Lyon.He lives in Lyon. |
| 8 | avoir | to have | Tu as une belle voiture.You have a nice car. |
| 9 | ne | not (particle) | Je ne sais pas.I don't know. |
| 10 | je | I | Je parle français.I speak French. |
| 11 | son | his, her (masc.) | Elle cherche son sac.She's looking for her bag. |
| 12 | que | that, which | Je pense que tu as raison.I think that you're right. |
| 13 | se | oneself | Il se lave le matin.He washes himself in the morning. |
| 14 | qui | who | Qui est à la porte?Who is at the door? |
| 15 | ce | this, that | Ce livre est intéressant.This book is interesting. |
| 16 | dans | in | Le chien est dans le jardin.The dog is in the garden. |
| 17 | en | in, of it | Elle habite en France.She lives in France. |
| 18 | du | of the, some (masc.) | Il boit du café.He drinks some coffee. |
| 19 | elle | she | Elle chante très bien.She sings very well. |
| 20 | au | to the (masc.) | Nous allons au marché.We're going to the market. |
| 21 | une | a, one (fem.) | J'ai une idée.I have an idea. |
| 22 | ça | that | Ça me plaît beaucoup.I like that a lot. |
| 23 | pas | not | Il n'est pas là.He isn't there. |
| 24 | tout | all, everything | Tout va bien.Everything is fine. |
| 25 | plus | more | Je veux plus de temps.I want more time. |
| 26 | par | by | Le livre a été écrit par elle.The book was written by her. |
| 27 | grand | big, tall | C'est une grande maison.It's a big house. |
| 28 | mais | but | Il est petit mais fort.He is small but strong. |
| 29 | on | one, we (informal) | On va au cinéma ce soir.We're going to the movies tonight. |
| 30 | faire | to do, to make | Je dois faire mes devoirs.I have to do my homework. |
| 31 | comme | as, like | Elle chante comme un ange.She sings like an angel. |
| 32 | pour | for | Ce cadeau est pour toi.This gift is for you. |
| 33 | vous | you (formal, plural) | Comment allez-vous aujourd'hui?How are you today? |
| 34 | avec | with | Je pars avec mes amis.I'm leaving with my friends. |
| 35 | bien | well | Tu parles bien anglais.You speak English well. |
| 36 | où | where | Où est-ce que tu habites?Where do you live? |
| 37 | sans | without | Il est sorti sans manteau.He went out without a coat. |
| 38 | leur | their | Ils aiment leur maison.They love their house. |
| 39 | homme | man | Cet homme est mon voisin.This man is my neighbor. |
| 40 | si | if | Si tu veux, on peut partir.If you want, we can leave. |
| 41 | deux | two | J'ai deux sœurs.I have two sisters. |
| 42 | mon | my (masc.) | Voici mon ami.Here is my friend. |
| 43 | nous | we | Nous sommes contents.We are happy. |
| 44 | jour | day | Chaque jour, je cours.Every day, I run. |
| 45 | temps | time, weather | Je n'ai pas le temps.I don't have the time. |
| 46 | moi | me | C'est pour moi.It's for me. |
| 47 | très | very | Elle est très intelligente.She is very intelligent. |
| 48 | savoir | to know | Je ne sais pas la réponse.I don't know the answer. |
| 49 | falloir | to be necessary | Il faut partir maintenant.We must leave now. |
| 50 | voir | to see | Je veux voir ce film.I want to see this movie. |
| 51 | sur | on | Le livre est sur la table.The book is on the table. |
| 52 | quand | when | Quand est-ce que tu pars?When are you leaving? |
| 53 | non | no | Non, merci beaucoup.No, thank you very much. |
| 54 | pouvoir | can, to be able | Je peux t'aider.I can help you. |
| 55 | dire | to say | Elle veut dire la vérité.She wants to tell the truth. |
| 56 | aller | to go | Nous allons à la plage.We're going to the beach. |
| 57 | venir | to come | Tu peux venir avec nous.You can come with us. |
| 58 | vouloir | to want | Je veux un café.I want a coffee. |
| 59 | prendre | to take | Il faut prendre le bus.We need to take the bus. |
| 60 | donner | to give | Elle va donner un cadeau.She's going to give a gift. |
| 61 | trouver | to find | Je n'arrive pas à trouver mes clés.I can't find my keys. |
| 62 | parler | to speak | Nous parlons souvent au téléphone.We often talk on the phone. |
| 63 | aimer | to love, to like | J'aime beaucoup ce restaurant.I really like this restaurant. |
| 64 | petit | small | Le chat est très petit.The cat is very small. |
| 65 | femme | woman, wife | Cette femme travaille à l'hôpital.This woman works at the hospital. |
| 66 | enfant | child | L'enfant joue dans le parc.The child is playing in the park. |
| 67 | monde | world | Il a voyagé partout dans le monde.He has traveled all over the world. |
| 68 | main | hand | Elle tient la main de son fils.She's holding her son's hand. |
| 69 | vie | life | La vie est belle.Life is beautiful. |
| 70 | yeux | eyes | Elle a les yeux bleus.She has blue eyes. |
| 71 | chose | thing | C'est une bonne chose.That's a good thing. |
| 72 | maison | house | Nous avons acheté une maison.We bought a house. |
| 73 | eau | water | Je bois beaucoup d'eau.I drink a lot of water. |
| 74 | année | year | Cette année a été difficile.This year has been difficult. |
| 75 | mot | word | Je ne connais pas ce mot.I don't know this word. |
| 76 | après | after | On se voit après le travail.We'll see each other after work. |
| 77 | avant | before | Réfléchis avant de parler.Think before you speak. |
| 78 | encore | still, again | Il pleut encore.It's still raining. |
| 79 | toujours | always | Elle arrive toujours à l'heure.She always arrives on time. |
| 80 | jamais | never | Je ne mens jamais.I never lie. |
| 81 | autre | other | Prends l'autre chemin.Take the other path. |
| 82 | même | same | Nous avons le même problème.We have the same problem. |
| 83 | tous | all (plural) | Tous les élèves sont présents.All the students are present. |
| 84 | chaque | each | Chaque personne a son avis.Each person has their opinion. |
| 85 | quelque | some | J'ai quelque chose pour toi.I have something for you. |
| 86 | beaucoup | a lot | Merci beaucoup pour ton aide.Thank you very much for your help. |
| 87 | peu | little, few | Il reste peu de temps.There's little time left. |
| 88 | rien | nothing | Il n'y a rien à faire.There's nothing to do. |
| 89 | quelqu'un | someone | Quelqu'un a frappé à la porte.Someone knocked on the door. |
| 90 | personne | nobody, person | Personne n'est venu.Nobody came. |
| 91 | ici | here | Viens ici, s'il te plaît.Come here, please. |
| 92 | là | there | Pose-le juste là-bas.Put it right over there. |
| 93 | maintenant | now | Je dois partir maintenant.I have to leave now. |
| 94 | aujourd'hui | today | Aujourd'hui, il fait beau.Today, the weather is nice. |
| 95 | demain | tomorrow | On se retrouve demain matin.We'll meet tomorrow morning. |
| 96 | hier | yesterday | Hier, j'ai vu un bon film.Yesterday, I saw a good movie. |
| 97 | nouveau | new | J'ai un nouveau travail.I have a new job. |
| 98 | premier | first | C'est mon premier voyage en France.This is my first trip to France. |
| 99 | dernier | last | C'est la dernière fois.This is the last time. |
| 100 | tu | you (informal, singular) | Tu es mon meilleur ami.You are my best friend. |
The ones English speakers get wrong
tu vs. vous
French has two words for you: tu for friends, family, children, and people your own age, and vous for strangers, elders, officials, and anyone in a formal setting, plus always for a group. Using tu with the wrong person can come across as overly familiar or even rude. When you're not sure, start with vous and let the other person invite you to switch to tu.
c'est vs. il est
Both can translate as it is or he is, but French splits them by what follows. Use c'est before a noun or a name, as in c'est un médecin (he's a doctor, literally it's a doctor). Use il est or elle est directly before an adjective or a profession with no article, as in il est médecin. Mixing up which one takes the article is one of the most common beginner slips.
du, de la, des: the partitive articles
French uses du, de la, and des to mean some, and it cannot be dropped the way English drops it. Je mange du pain means I'm eating (some) bread, not I'm eating of the bread. English speakers often skip the article entirely and say a sentence that sounds noticeably foreign as a result.
noun gender: le vs. la
Every French noun is either masculine or feminine, and the logic is often not guessable from meaning: le soleil (the sun) is masculine, la lune (the moon) is feminine. Gender changes the article, the adjective endings, and sometimes the pronoun, so it pays to learn each new noun together with le or la rather than adding gender as an afterthought.
false friends: actuellement and assister
Actuellement looks like actually but means currently or right now; the word for actually is en fait. Assister looks like assist but usually means to attend, as in j'assiste à la réunion (I'm attending the meeting), not I'm helping with the meeting. These false friends are common enough that they trip up even fairly advanced learners.
depuis vs. pendant vs. pour
All three can translate as for when talking about time, but they aren't interchangeable. Depuis marks a duration that started in the past and continues now: j'habite ici depuis 2020. Pendant marks a bounded stretch of time: j'ai voyagé pendant deux semaines. Pour is mostly reserved for a planned future duration, as in je pars pour trois jours.
What to do next
A list this size is about two weeks of light daily review, and it is the difference between decoding French and following it.