Learning to speak or understand French starts with learning a few basic French words. These common French words can get you started on your journey to the language of France or as a tourist in France. Keep in mind that there might be slight dialect differences between different French speaking countries, such as French Canada versus France.
French Number Words
You’ll need to know les nombres, or the numbers, if you want to count, tell time, or pay for things in France.
- zéro (zay-roh) - zero
- un (uh) - one
- deux (deu) - two
- trois (twah) - three
- quatre (kat-r) - four
- cinq (sank) - five
- six (sees) - six
- sept (set) - seven
- huit (weet) - eight
- neuf (nuf) - nine
- dix (dees) - ten
- onze (ohnze) - eleven
- douze (doos) - twelve
- treiz (trayz) - thirteen
- quatorze (kat-or-z) - fourteen
- quinze (kaz) - fifteen
- seize (say-z)- sixteen
- dix-sept (dees-set) - seventeen
- dix-huit (dees-weet) - eighteen
- dix-neuf (dees-nuf) - nineteen
- vingt (vah) - twenty
French Colors and Common Adjectives
In the French language adjectives, such as colors, have to agree with the gender of the noun they describe. For some words, the masculine and feminine forms are the same, but those that differ typically add an “e” on the end for the feminine form. French adjectives also usually come after the word they describe, not before it.
French Colors
Le couleur words listed here show the masculine form first and only the singular forms. For many plural forms, you add an “s” to the end.
- rouge - red
- jaune - yellow
- bleu/bleue - blue
- vert/verte - green
- orange - orange
- violet/violette - purple
- rose - pink
- blanc/blanche - white
- noir/noire - black
- gris/grise - gray
- marron - brown
Basic French Adjectives
Although many French adjectives come after the noun they describe, there are many that come before it. These BANGS adjectives, which describe beauty, age, number, goodness, and size, all come before the noun they describe.
- bon/bonne - good
- beau/belle - beautiful
- chaud/chaude - hot
- facile - easy
- fort/forte - strong
- froid/froide - cold
- gros/grosse - big
- jeune - young
- mauvais/mauvaise - bad
- petit/petite - small
- vieux/vielle - old
French Animals
Many animaux names in French are assigned a gender already for the purposes of creating the word. This means the spellings don’t change based on the gender of your subject.
- le canard - duck
- le chat - cat
- le cheval - horse
- le chien - dog
- le cochon - pig
- le lapin - rabbit
- l’oiseau - bird
- le poisson - fish
- le poulet - chicken
- le singe - monkey
- le tigre - tiger
- la tortue - turtle
- la vache - cow
French Body Parts
Learning le corps, or the body parts, can help you, especially if you are sick or injured. Body parts in French are assigned a gender, so the spelling won’t change. The “la” before a word indicates it’s feminine, the le” indicates it’s masculine, and “les” indicates it’s plural.
- la bouche - mouth
- le bras - arm
- le dos - back
- la jambe - leg
- la main - hand
- le nez - nose
- les oreilles - ears
- le pied - foot
- la tête - head
- le ventre - stomach
- le visage - face
- les yeux - eyes
French Calendar and Time Terms
To make appointments, catch a train, or set up a date, you’ll need to understand things like time and days of the week in French.
Days of the Week in French
The days of the week, or les jours de la semaine, are not capitalized in French.
- lundi - Monday
- mardi - Tuesday
- mercredi - Wednesday
- jeudi - Thursday
- vendredi - Friday
- samedi - Saturday
- dimanche - Sunday
Months of the Year in French
The months of the year, or les mois de l’an, are not capitalized in French either.
- janvier - January
- février - February
- mars - March
- avril - April
- mai - May
- juin - June
- juillet - July
- août - August
- septembre - September
- octobre - October
- novembre - November
- décembre - December
Time Terms in French
When you're talking about a specific time on the clock, instead of saying “o’clock” after the number, you’ll say “heures,” which means “hour.” For this, you’ll need to know your numbers up to 24 because the French use a 24-hour clock system. For example, if it’s 3:00, in French you’d say “Il est trois heures.”
- le matin - the morning
- dans l'après-midi - in the afternoon
- en soirée - in the evening
- la nuit - the night
- tard - late
- bientôt - soon
- maintenant - now
- hier - yesterday
- aujourd'hui - today
- demain - tomorrow
- l’heure - time
- midi - noon
- minuit - midnight
- Quelle heure est-il? - What time is it?
French Greetings and Important Phrases
If you want to have a nice French conversation, you’ll need to know the proper ways to greet others, introduce yourself, and leave the group.
- Allô? – Hello? (for phone calls only)
- À plus tard! - See you later!
- Au revoir. - Goodbye.
- Bonjour! - Hello! or Good morning!
- Bonsoir! - Good evening!
- Ça va? - How are you? or How’s it going?
- C’est combien? - How much is it?
- Comment t'appelles-tu? - What’s your name?
- Excusez moi. - Excuse me.
- Je ne comprends pas. - I don’t understand.
- Je suis désolé(e), mais je dois y aller. - I’m sorry, but I have to go.
- Merci beaucoup. - Thanks a lot.
- Non - No
- Où est…? - Where is …?
- Où sont les toilettes? - Where are the toilets?
- Oui - Yes
- Salut! - Hi!
- S'il vous plait. - If you please, or please.
Common French Pronouns
French subject pronouns are important parts of standard sentences. The trick to many of these is making sure the pronoun you use matches the gender or formality level of the subject.
- je - I
- tu/vous - you (tu is informal and singular, vous is formal and/or plural)
- il - he or it (masculine)
- ils - they (masculine)
- elle - she or it (feminine)
- elles - they (feminine)
- nous - we
Basic French Verbs and Action Words
As with English verbs, part of using these action words involves conjugating them to fit in your sentences. For the purpose of beginner learning, these are the base forms of the verbs along with their conjugations for basic subjects.
être - to be
je suis - I am
tu es - you are
il est - he is
elle est - she is
nous sommes - we are
vous êtes - you are
ils sont/elles sont - they are
avoir - to have
j‘ai- I have
tu as - you have
il/elle a - he/she has
nous avons - we have
vous avez - you have
ils/elles ont - they have
aller - to go
je vais - I’m going
tu vas - you’re going
il/elle va - he/she is going
nous allons - we are going
vous allez - you’re going
ils/elles vont - they’re going
faire - to do
je fais - I’m doing
tu fais - you’re doing
il/elle fait - he/she makes
nous faisons - we’re making
vous faites - you’re making
ils/elles font - they’re doing
Parlez-Vous Francais?
Do you speak French? You might feel like you could have a basic conversation or at least get by in a French speaking country now that you’ve learned some simple French words. Continue your language learning by discovering how to say “Hello” in different languages or even how to say “I love you.” in different languages.