FrenchMore French books BooksSearch for more LanguagesWhy languages? GermanItalianJapaneseSpanishForumCareer resourcesWhy a language major? Study abroad | 100 most frequently used French wordsThe word list below is based on a scientific study conducted by Deryle Lonsdale & Yvon Le Bras. For a much longer list of the most common 5000 French words (!), consult their book A Frequency Dictionary of French. Core Vocabulary for Learners.See also the top 25 lists: the 25 most common French nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, etc. 1. le (det.) the; (pron.)him, her, it, them2. de (det.) some, any; (prep.) of, from 3. un (det.) a, an; (adj., pron.) one 4. à (prep.) to, at, in 5. être (verb) to be; (noun [m.]) being 6. et (conj.) and 7. en (prep.) in, by; (adv., pron.) 8. avoir (verb) to have; (noun [m.]) assets 9. que (adv., pron., conj.) that, which, who, whom 10. pour (prep.) for, in order to 11. dans (prep.) in, into, from 12. ce (det., pron.) this, that 13. il (pron.) he, it 14. qui (pron.) who, whom 15. ne (adv.) not 16. sur (prep.) on, upon; (adj.) sour 17. se (pron.) oneself, himself, herself, itself, themselves 18. pas (adv.) not; (noun [m.]) footstep 19. plus (adv.) more, no more 20. pouvoir (verb) to be able to, can; (noun [m.]) power 21. par (prep.) by 22. je (pron.) I 23. avec (prep.) with 24. tout (adj., adv., pron., det.) all, very 25. faire (verb) to do, make 26. son (det.) his, her its; (noun [m.]) sound; bran 27. mettre (verb) to put, place 28. autre (det., pron.) other 29. on (pron.) one, we 30. mais (conj., adv.) but 31. nous (pron.) we, us 32. comme (conj., adv.) like, as 33. ou (conj.) or 34. si (conj.) if, whether; (adv.) so 35. leur (det., pron.) their, theirs, them 36. y (adv.) there; (pron.) it 37. dire (verb) to say; (noun [m.]) saying 38. elle (pron.) she, her 39. devoir (verb) to have to, owe; (noun [m.]) duty 40. avant (prep., adv.) before; (noun [m.]) front 41. deux (det., noun [m.]) two 42. même (adj., pron.) same; (adv.) even 43. prendre (verb) to take 44. aussi (adv.) to, also; (conj.) as 45. celui (pron.) that, the one, he, him 46. donner (verb) to give 47. bien (adv.) well; (noun [m.]) good 48. où (adv., pron.) where 49. fois (noun [f.]) time(s) 50. vous (pron.) you 51. encore (adv.) again, yet 52. nouveau (adj.) new; (noun [m.]) new (thing) 53. aller (verb) to go 54. cela (pron.) that, it 55. entre (prep.) between 56. premier (det., adj.) first 57. vouloir (verb) to want; (noun [m.]) will, desire 58. déjà (adv.) already 59. grand (adj., adv.) great, big, tall 60. mon (det.) my 61. me (pron.) me, to me, myself 62. moins (adv.) less; (prep., noun [m.]) minus 63. aucun (det., adj., pron.) none, either, neither, not any 64. lui (pron.) him, her 65. temps (noun [m.]) time 66. très (adv.) very 67. savoir (verb) to know; (noun [m.]) learning, knowledge 68. falloir (verb) to take, require, need 69. voir (verb) to see 70. quelque (det., adj., adv.) some 71. sans (prep.) without 72. raison (noun [f.]) reason 73. notre (det.) our 74. dont (pron.) whose, of which 75. non (adv.) no, not 76. an (noun [m.]) year 77. monde (noun [m.]) world, people 78. jour (noun [m.]) day 79. monsieur (noun [m.]) mister, sir, gentleman 80. demander (verb) to ask for 81. alors (adv.) then, so 82. après (adv., prep.) after 83. trouver (verb) to find 84. personne (noun [f.]) person; (pron.) anyone, nobody 85. rendre (verb) to render, return, yield, give up 86. part (noun [f.]) share 87. dernier (adj). last 88. venir (verb) to come 89. pendant (adj.) during; (prep.) for; (noun [m.]) pendant 90. passer (verb) to pass 91. peu (adv.) little 92. lequel (pron.) who, whom, which 93. suite (noun [f.]) result, follow-up, rest 94. bon (adj., adv.) good; (noun [m.]) coupon, voucher 95. comprendre (verb) to understand 96. depuis (prep., adv.) since 97. point (adv.) at all; (noun [m.]) point 98. ainsi (adv.) thus 99. heure (noun [f.]) hour 100. rester (verb) to stay Source: This provides a frequency list of the most common 5000 words in the French language based on a 23 million-word corpus of contemporary French. Each entry lists the word's rank, part of speech, its English translation, a sentence demonstrating the word's usage in context, and the number of occurrences of the word per million words of the corpus. Where relevant, the distribution of a word's use across register -- spoken, literary, or non-fiction -- is also given. There is an additional alphabetical list of the 5000 words and ordered lists of those words by parts of speech: French adjectives, adverbs, nouns, and verbs, as well as conjunctions, determiners, interjections, prepositions, and pronouns. Of interest are also the 27 thematically organized lists interspersed throughout the book (e.g., colors, professions, sports, adjectives describing positive, neutral and negative emotions, vocabulary usage by register) that rank and provide frequencies of the included words. This is a useful book for instructors and students alike.
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