Most Common Words in French: 350 Words You’ll Hear Every Day

In real conversations:

• The same words come back again and again.

• Native speakers recycle a small core vocabulary.

• Fluency is not about rare words. It’s about automatic words.

I’ve seen advanced learners struggle to debate ideas because they hesitate on:

• mais

• donc

• déjà

• en fait

That’s not a vocabulary problem.That’s a core-words problem.

How This List of the Most Common Words in French Is Organized

This is not a random frequency list.

The 350 words are grouped by function, because that’s how your brain uses them in conversation:

1. Core verbs

2. Pronouns

3. Articles & determiners

4. Prepositions

5. Connectors & logical words

6. Time & frequency

7. Everyday nouns

8. Descriptive adjectives

9. Spoken French essentials

10. Opinion & debate vocabulary

This structure mirrors how conversation groups and debate classes actually work.

1. Core Verbs – The Backbone of French

être – to be

avoir – to have

faire – to do / to make

dire – to say

aller – to go

voir – to see

savoir – to know (a fact)

pouvoir – can / to be able

vouloir – to want

devoir – must / to have to

venir – to comeprendre – to take

donner – to give

mettre – to put

passer – to pass / to spend

rester – to stay

trouver – to find

penser – to think

croire – to believe

parler – to speak

travailler – to work

demander – to ask

répondre – to answer

comprendre – to understand

écouter – to listen

regarder – to watch

vivre – to live

utiliser – to use

essayer – to try

commencer – to start

finir – to finish

tenir – to hold

laisser – to leave / to let

arriver – to arrive / to manage to

partir – to leave

entrer – to enter

sortir – to go out

suivre – to follow

sentir – to feel / smell

exister – to exist

If you hesitate on these, conversation stops.

2. Pronouns – What Makes French Sound French

je – I

tu – you (informal)

il – he / it

elle – she / it

on – we / people

nous – we

vous – you (formal / plural)

ils – they (masculine)

elles – they (feminine)

me – me

te – you

se – oneself

lui – him / her

leur – them

y – there

en – some / of it

moi – me (stressed)

toi – you (stressed)

eux – them

celui – the one (masc.)

celle – the one (fem.)

ceux – the ones (masc.)

celles – the ones (fem.)

ce – this / it

ça – that

qui – who

que – that / which

dont – whose / of which

où – where

quoi – what

3. Articles & Determiners

le – the

la – the

les – the (plural)

un – aune – ades – some

du – some (masc.)

de la – some (fem.)

ce – this

cet – this (before vowel)

cette – this (fem.)

ces – these

mon – my

ma – my

mes – my

ton – your

ta – your

tes – your

son – his/her

sa – his/her

ses – his/her

quel – which

quelle – which

chaque – each

plusieurs – several

4. Prepositions – Small Words, Big Problems

à – to / at

de – of / from

dans – in

sur – on

avec – with

sans – without

pour – forpar – by

chez – at someone’s place

entre – between

sous – under

avant – before

après – after

pendant – during

contre – against

vers – toward

depuis – since

autour – around

selon – according to

malgré – despite

parmi – among

près – near

loin – far

en – in / by

jusque – until

5. Connectors & Logic Words

et – and

mais – but

ou – ordonc – so

car – because

parce que – because

puisque – since

alors – then / so

pourtant – however

cependant – however

aussi – also

ainsi – thus

sinon – otherwise

même – even / same

déjà – already

encore – still / again

toujours – always

jamais – never

souvent – often

parfois – sometimes

rarement – rarely

surtout – especially

plutôt – rather

enfin – finally

bref – in short

en fait – actually

par contre – on the other hand

par exemple – for example

au moins – at least

au plus – at most

d’ailleurs – by the way

voilà – there you go

quoi – you know

alors que – whereas

tandis que – while

comme – like / as

si – if

quand– when

donc – therefore

alors là – well then

6. Time & Frequency

aujourd’hui – today

demain – tomorrow

hier – yesterday

maintenant – now

tôt – early

tard – late

bientôt – soon

longtemps – a long time

encore – again

déjà – already

ensuite – then

puis – then

avant – before

après – after

pendant – during

depuis – since

quand – when

chaque – each

souvent – often

parfois – sometimes

jamais – never

toujours – always

rarement – rarely

finalement – finally

actuellement – currently

immédiatement – immediately

progressivement – gradually

récemment – recently

autrefois – in the past

désormais – from now on

7. Everyday Nouns

temps – time

jour – day

soir – evening

matin – morning

nuit – night

année – year

semaine – week

moment – moment

chose – thing

personne – person

gens – people

travail – work

argent – money

problème – problem

question – question

réponse – answer

idée – idea

vie – life

monde – world

maison – house

place – place

pays – country

ville – city

ami – friend

femme – woman

homme – man

enfant – child

main – hand

tête – head

yeux – eyes

voix – voice

mot – word

raison – reason

point – point

cas – case

exemple – example

situation – situation

côté – side

fin – end

début – beginning

milieu – middle

moyen – means

façon – way

niveau – level

choix – choice

besoin – need

envie – desire

droit – right

fait – fact

effet – effect

but – goal

résultat – result

sens – meaning

accord – agreement

8. Common Adjectives

bon – good

mauvais – bad

grand – big

petit – small

nouveau – new

vieux – old

même – same

autre – other

premier – first

dernier – last

seul – alone

différent – different

important – important

simple – simple

facile – easy

difficile – difficult

possible – possible

impossible – impossible

certain – certain

vrai – true

faux – false

clair – clear

prêt – ready

plein – full

vide – empty

content – happy

sûr – sure

libre – free

ouvert – open

fermé – closed

fort – strong

faible – weak

rapide – fast

lent – slow

utile – useful

inutile – useless

normal – normal

bizarre – weird

drôle – funny

sérieux – serious

9. Spoken French Essentials

ça – that

là – there

ici – here

très – very

trop – too much

assez – enough

bien – well

mal – badly

mieux – better

pire – worse

oui – yes

non – no

peut-être – maybe

franchement – honestly

exactement – exactly

vraiment – really

genre – like / kind of

truc – thing

machin – thingy

voilà – there you go

hein – right?

bon – well

alors – so

bref – anyway

ok – ok

super – great

grave – seriously

carrément – totally

juste – just

quand même – still

en gros – basically

limite – kind of

clair – clear

sûrement – surely

10. Opinion, Conversation & Debate

avis – opinion

penser – to think

croire – to believe

d’accord – agree

pas d’accord – disagree

expliquer – to explain

défendre – to defend

argument – argument

point de vue – point of view

raison – reason

cause – cause

conséquence – consequence

exemple – example

comparer – to compare

analyser – to analyze

critiquer – to criticize

proposer – to propose

suggérer – to suggest

accepter – to accept

refuser – to refuse

discuter – to discuss

débattre – to debate

convaincre – to convince

nuancer – to nuance

préciser – to clarify

résumer – to summarize

conclure – to conclude

selon moi – in my opinion

à mon avis – in my opinion

il me semble que – it seems to me

Final Reality Check

Knowing the most common words in French is not optional.But memorizing them silently won’t make you fluent.

You need:

• repetition

• correction

• interaction

That’s why conversation groups, debate groups, and semi-private lessons work.

They force these words into your mouth — until fluency becomes automatic.

Ways to improve your French