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French vocabulary

4,389 words from real stories, organized by topic and frequency. Hear the pronunciation, read examples and find pictures for concrete words. Practice any list for free, without an account.

4,389words to discover
7,338meanings in context
174stories to explore

French vocabulary lists by topic

Choose a topic to see its words and their meanings. Listen to any word, then practice the whole list.

Family & relationships

FlashcardsMeaning quiz
  • famille/fa.mij/family
  • père/pɛʁ/father
  • ami/ami/friend
  • grand-mère/ɡʁɑ̃.mɛʁ/grandmother
  • mère/mɛʁ/mother
  • fils/fis/son

The 100 most common French words

Ranked by how often each word appears across 174 French stories. Start here: these words make up a large share of everything you read.

  1. 1le/lə/the
  2. 2de/də/of
  3. 3un/œ̃/a/an
  4. 4la/la/her
  5. 5que/kə/that
  6. 6et/e/and
  7. 7ce/sə/this/it
  8. 8je/ʒə/I
  9. 9à/a/to
  10. 10être/ɛtʁ/be
  11. 11en/ɑ̃/in
  12. 12il/il/he
  13. 13pour/puʁ/for
  14. 14qui/ki/who/that/which
  15. 15pas/pa/not
  16. 16a/a/letter a
  17. 17avoir/a.vwaʁ/have
  18. 18on/ɔ̃/we
  19. 19dans/dɑ̃/in
  20. 20si/si/if; in “s’il te plaît,” part of the polite expression “please”
  21. 21litrel (litre)
  22. 22se/sə/pronominal-verb marker
  23. 23est/ɛst/east
  24. 24ne/nə/negative marker used with “pas”
  25. 25mais/mɛ/but
  26. 26elle/ɛl/she
  27. 27y/i/there
  28. 28sur/syʁ/on
  29. 29par/paʁ/by
  30. 30ça/sa/that
  31. 31du/dy/some
  32. 32me/mə/
  33. 33plus/ply/no longer
  34. 34avec/avɛk/with
  35. 35son/sɔ̃/his/her
  36. 36tout/tu/everything
  37. 37mon/mɔ̃/my
  38. 38vous/vu/you
  39. 39ils/il/they
  40. 40sa/sa// her / its
  41. 41moi/mwa/me
  42. 42ou/u/or
  43. 43te/tə/you
  44. 4400/zeʁo/
  45. 45nous/nu/us
  46. 46aller/ale/be going to
  47. 47comme/kɔm/like
  48. 48non/nɔ̃/no
  49. 49lui/lɥi/to him/her
  50. 50bien/bjɛ̃/well
  51. 51faire/fɛʁ/do
  52. 52deux/dø/two
  53. 53n’/n/elided negative marker before a vowel
  54. 54même/mɛm/same
  55. 55voir/vwaʁ/see
  56. 56leur/lœʁ/their
  57. 57toi/twa/you
  58. 58quand/kɑ̃/when
  59. 59où/u/where
  60. 60pouvoir/puvwaʁ/be able to
  61. 61bon/bɔ̃/good
  62. 62notre/nɔtʁ/our
  63. 63été/ete/summer
  64. 64ses/se/his/her (with a plural noun)
  65. 65alors/alɔʁ/so
  66. 66oui/wi/yes
  67. 67aussi/o.si/also
  68. 68grand/ɡʁɑ̃/large
  69. 69là/la/there
  70. 70autre/otʁ/other
  71. 71rien/ʁjɛ̃/nothing
  72. 72fait/fɛ/fact
  73. 73monde/mɔ̃d/everyone
  74. 74très/tʁɛ/very
  75. 75après/a.pʁɛ/after
  76. 76sans/sɑ̃/without
  77. 77avant/avɑ̃/before
  78. 78donc/dɔ̃k/so
  79. 79jamais/ʒamɛ/never
  80. 80encore/ɑ̃kɔʁ/still
  81. 81comment/kɔmɑ̃/how
  82. 82votre/vɔtʁ/(formal or plural)
  83. 83dire/diʁ/say
  84. 84trois/tʁwa/three
  85. 85entre/ɑ̃tʁ/between
  86. 86savoir/sa.vwaʁ/know
  87. 87trop/tʁo/too
  88. 88personne/pɛʁsɔn/no one
  89. 89ton/tɔ̃/your
  90. 90Monsieur/mə.sjø/mr
  91. 91peu/pø/little
  92. 92juste/ʒyst/just
  93. 93vraiment/vʁɛ.mɑ̃/really
  94. 94celui/səlɥi/one(s)
  95. 95peut-être/pø.tɛtʁ/perhaps
  96. 96quelque/kɛlk/some-
  97. 97mes/me/my
  98. 98toujours/tu.ʒuʁ/always
  99. 99premier/pʁəmje/first
  100. 100aujourd'hui/o.ʒuʁ.dɥi/today
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4,389 words · Illustrated discoveries

Illustration for dans

/dɑ̃/

in · into · in; on (as a member) · to

141 stories
Illustration for mais

/mɛ/

but

132 stories
Illustration for sur

/syʁ/

on · be about · at · in

102 stories
Illustration for regarder

/ʁə.ɡaʁ.de/

look at · look · watch · regard

94 stories
Illustration for savoir

/sa.vwaʁ/

know · know what … · be able to

92 stories
Illustration for deux

/dø/

two · both

90 stories
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From a word to a whole world

You’ve met the words.
Now follow the story.

Every example in this library comes from an Inklingo story. Read at your level, listen to the narration, and tap a word whenever you need its meaning.

  1. Pick a story that interests you.
  2. Tap unfamiliar words as you read.
  3. Save the ones you want to remember.

A little guidance before you start

What are the most common French words?

The most common French words are short, everyday words such as le, de, un, la, que, et, ce, je. The list above ranks them by how often they appear in our stories. Learn the first 100 and you will recognize a large share of the words in any text. The 100 most common French words

How many French words do I need to know?

A few hundred frequent words are enough to follow simple texts and conversations. Around 1,000 to 2,000 cover most everyday reading, and the rest comes naturally as you read. Learn frequent words first, then the topic words for the situations you care about.

What’s the best way to learn French vocabulary?

Start with a small set of useful words. Recall their meanings in an exercise, then read their story examples. Save words you want to revisit and return to them over several short sessions.

Can I practice without an account?

Yes. Browse the library and use all five exercises freely. Create a free account when you want to keep a word in your Word Bank and review it later on the web or in the app.

Why does a word have several meanings?

The right translation depends on the sentence. Open any word to compare its meanings, pictures, and original examples instead of memorizing a single translation.

Are these words for beginners?

You can filter by the reading level of the stories where each word appears, starting at A0 or A1. That tells you about the story’s difficulty; it is not a certified level for the word itself.

Learn the meaning, not just the translation.
A word can express different ideas in different stories. This library brings its meanings, images, and examples together. The level filter refers to the source story’s reading level, not a certified level for the word. Translations are available in 26 languages. Free practice progress stays in this browser. Save words to your account to keep them in your Word Bank.