Do you know how many words there are in the French language? Come on, have a guess.
Most French dictionaries list around 60,000. But Le Grand Robert, one of the most prominent resources, gathers more than 100,000 words for a total of 350,000 different meanings.
Sounds overwhelming? Keep in mind that even native French speakers know merely a fraction of that! To start having basic conversations, you only need a few hundred basic French words for beginners.
Further down the line, you’ll be considered “proficient” in French upon reaching around 5,000 words. That’s only about 5% of the whole collection.
But let’s not get ahead of ourselves! In this article, we’ll list all of the French beginner words that will allow you to handle many everyday situations, whether you want to talk, listen, or both.
You only need a few words to start a conversation and make friends.
Let’s start our list of beginner French words with the most useful pronouns you should learn as you begin your studies.
At first, all you’re gonna need are the personal subject pronouns (“she,” “you,” “we,” and so on). As you move forward, you’ll quickly add some more to your arsenal.
→ To learn all about this topic, from the general rules to the 10 main categories of French pronouns, make sure to visit our complete guide on FrenchPod101.com.
1 – Personal Subject Pronouns
Personal subject pronouns replace the subject of a sentence.
Sophie parle français. (“Sophie speaks French.”)
Elle parle français. (“She speaks French.”)
Person
French pronoun
English
1st person sg.
je, j’
I
2nd person sg.
tu / vous
you (casual / formal)
3rd person sg.
il, elle, on
he, she, one
1st person pl.
on / nous
we (casual / formal)
2nd person pl.
vous
you
3rd person pl.
Ils, elles
they
2 – Impersonal Pronouns
When a sentence doesn’t have a clear subject, let’s stay vague and impersonal:
ça, ce, c’ (“it”)
Ça fait mal. (“It hurts.”)
Ce n’est pas vrai. (“It is not true.”)
C’est important. (“It is important.”)
il (“it”)
Il est temps. (“It’s time.”)
Il pleut. (“It’s raining.”)
3 – Reflexive Pronouns
Reflexive pronouns are used with reflexive verbs. For example:
se lever (“to stand up”)
se promener (“to stroll”)
s’habiller (“to get dressed”)
Person
French pronoun
Example
1st person sg.
me, m’
Je me lève. (“I stand up.”)
2nd person sg.
te, t’
Tu te lèves. (“You stand up.”)
3rd person sg.
se, s’
Elle s’habille. (“She gets dressed.”)
1st person pl.
nous
Nous nous préparons. (“We’re getting ready.”)
2nd person pl.
vous
Vous vous rasez. (“You shave.”)
3rd person pl.
se
Ils se promènent. (“They are strolling.”)
4 – Interrogative Pronouns
Qui ? (“Who?”) Qui est là ? (“Who’s there?”)
Où ? (“Where?”) Où es-tu ? (“Where are you?”)
Quand ? (“When?”) On commence quand ? (“When do we start?”)
Quoi ? (“What?”)
On fait quoi ce soir ? (“What are we doing tonight?”)
Pourquoi ? (“Why?”)
Pourquoi tu ris ? (“Why are you laughing?”)
5 – Indefinite Pronouns
tout (“everything”)
rien (“nothing”)
quelque chose (“something”)
tout le monde (“everybody”)
personne (“nobody”)
quelqu’un (“somebody”)
Elle se réveille. (“She wakes up.”)
2. Verbs
Here’s a list of the 50 most useful French verbs for beginners. Of course, depending on whether you’re studying, visiting, or working in France, you might have different needs. But this is a good place to start in any case!
→ For all the information you’ll need on regular verb groups (-ER and -IR), irregular verbs, and reflexive verbs, be sure to have a look at our full article on FrenchPod101.com.
être
to be
avoir
to have
aller
to go
vouloir
to want
pouvoir
to be able to / can
devoir
to have to / must
falloir
to be necessary
This verb is only conjugated in the third person, with the impersonal pronoun il (“it”). In this case, it means “it is necessary that.”
Il faut partir à l’heure. (“We must leave on time.”)
Il faut que je parte. (“I have to go.”)
faire
to do
dire
to say / to tell
parler
to talk / to speak
aimer
to like / to love
mettre
to put / to place
remettre
to put back
poser
to put down / to ask
prendre
to take / to catch / to capture
donner
to give
savoir
to know
entendre
to hear
voir
to see
demander
to ask / to request
répondre
to answer / to reply
chercher
to look for
trouver
to find / to discover
retrouver
to regain / to meet up
rendre
to return / to give back / to make
venir
to come
passer
to pass / to go / to come
croire
to believe / to think
montrer
to show
commencer
to begin / to start
continuer
to continue / to keep going
penser
to think
comprendre
to understand / to include
rester
to stay / to remain
attendre
to wait
partir
to leave
arriver
to arrive / to happen
suivre
to follow
revenir
to come back
connaître
to know
compter
to count
permettre
to permit / to allow
s’occuper
to take care of
sembler
to seem
lire
to read
écrire
to write
devenir
to become / to turn into
décider
to decide
tenir
to hold
porter
to carry / to wear
Just add a few tenses and you can talk about anything!
3. Numbers
As a beginner, you really won’t need much as far as counting and numbers go. In most situations, you can get by with only small numbers; I’d not go further than 1 to 10 for now.
→ Should you need more digits, you could check out our article on French numbers. You’ll find everything you need to count from zero to infinity! It’s available for free on FrenchPod101.com.
0 Zéro
1 Un
2 Deux
3 Trois
4 Quatre
5 Cinq
6 Six
7 Sept
8 Huit
9 Neuf
10 Dix
4. Nouns
As a beginner, your basic French vocabulary arsenal should consist of the most common nouns in various categories. Knowing these alone will allow you to communicate basic ideas in a pinch.
French nouns can be masculine or feminine, and you can generally determine which gender a word is based on the ending. However, because you don’t want to think about it in the middle of a conversation or get tricked by exceptions, the best way to learn nouns is to always use the article.
Train Un train (“A train”)
Voiture Une voiture (“A car”)
In the following list, I’ll mention the article for each word. In case the plural is irregular, I will include that as well. For every other word, the general rules apply.
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