300 Basic French Words Every Beginner Should Know
The core French vocabulary that covers 80% of everyday conversations, organized by theme with English translations and grammar notes.
The 80/20 rule of French vocabulary
About 300 words make up roughly 80% of everyday spoken French. Learn those 300 first and you'll understand the gist of most conversations — even before you can produce them yourself.
This list is grouped by frequency and theme. The first 50 are the most important: function words, basic verbs, and the words you'll hear in almost every sentence.
The 20 most essential words
These appear in nearly every French sentence. Master them before anything else.
- le / la / les — the
- un / une — a / an
- et — and
- ou — or
- mais — but
- de — of / from
- à — to / at
- dans — in
- sur — on
- avec — with
- pour — for
- ne… pas — not · Wraps the verb
- oui — yes
- non — no
- très — very
- aussi — also
- ici — here
- là — there
- maintenant — now
- bien — well / good
Pronouns
- je — I
- tu — you (informal)
- il / elle — he / she
- on — we / one / people · Used more than 'nous' in speech
- nous — we
- vous — you (formal / plural)
- ils / elles — they (m/f)
- moi — me
- toi — you (informal)
- ce / cette — this
The 25 most common verbs
These verbs do most of the work in French. Many are irregular — worth learning in their conjugated forms too.
- être — to be
- avoir — to have
- faire — to do / make
- aller — to go
- dire — to say
- voir — to see
- savoir — to know (a fact)
- pouvoir — to be able to
- vouloir — to want
- venir — to come
- devoir — to have to
- prendre — to take
- trouver — to find
- donner — to give
- parler — to speak
- aimer — to like / love
- passer — to pass / spend (time)
- mettre — to put
- demander — to ask
- tenir — to hold
- sembler — to seem
- laisser — to leave / let
- rester — to stay
- penser — to think
- comprendre — to understand
People and family
- homme — man
- femme — woman / wife
- enfant — child
- garçon — boy
- fille — girl / daughter
- ami(e) — friend
- famille — family
- père — father
- mère — mother
- frère — brother
- sœur — sister
- mari — husband
- gens — people
Time
- jour — day
- semaine — week
- mois — month
- année / an — year
- matin — morning
- après-midi — afternoon
- soir — evening
- nuit — night
- heure — hour / time
- aujourd'hui — today
- demain — tomorrow
- hier — yesterday
- toujours — always
- jamais — never
- souvent — often
Places
- maison — house
- ville — city / town
- pays — country
- rue — street
- école — school
- travail — work
- magasin — shop
- restaurant — restaurant
- gare — train station
- aéroport — airport
- hôtel — hotel
Everyday objects
- eau — water
- pain — bread
- livre — book
- table — table
- chaise — chair
- porte — door
- fenêtre — window
- voiture — car
- téléphone — phone
- argent — money
- clé — key
How to learn these without flashcards
Flashcards work, but they're slow and dull. A faster method: read graded French passages that recycle these words in different contexts. You'll encounter "avoir" not as a flashcard but as "j'ai faim", "elle a vingt ans", "nous avons un chien" — and your brain locks in the meaning AND the usage at the same time.
Aim for 10–15 minutes of reading a day at your level. After a month, you'll recognize all 300 of these words on sight.