French Vocabulary
Themed word lists with translation and transcription. Pick a topic below and start practicing.
Days of the week in French: lundi to dimanche
The seven days of the week in French are lundi, mardi, mercredi, jeudi, vendredi, samedi and dimanche. They are all masculine ( le lundi, le dimanche ) and, unlike in English, they are written in ...
Telling time in French: quelle heure est-il?
To ask the time in French, say Quelle heure est-il? To answer, use Il est… plus the hour: il est une heure (“it is one o’clock”), il est deux heures (“it is two o’clock”). Use singular heure for one ...
French numbers 70, 80 and 90: the soixante-dix pattern
French numbers from 70 to 99 look strange because they reuse earlier numbers. 70 is soixante-dix (“sixty-ten”), 80 is quatre-vingts (“four twenties”), and 90 is quatre-vingt-dix (“four-twenty-ten”) ...
Dates in French: days, months and how to say the date
To say a date in French, use le + number + month: le 14 juillet (“July 14”). The first day of the month is the exception: say le premier (“the first”), not le un. Days and months are written in ...
Voir vs regarder in French: see or look at
Use voir when sight happens: you see a person, a place, a film, a problem, or something in front of you. Use regarder when you look at or watch something on purpose. Je vois un oiseau means “I see a ...
Partir vs sortir in French: leaving or going out
Use partir when someone leaves, departs or goes away from a place. Use sortir when someone goes out, exits, goes out socially, or takes something out. Je pars demain means “I’m leaving tomorrow”; je ...
Jour vs journée, an vs année: French time words with -ée
French often has two words where English has one: jour and journée both mean “day”, while an and année both mean “year”. The shorter word usually counts the unit or names it on the calendar. The -ée ...
French body parts: head, hands, eyes and basic health words
Start French body-part vocabulary with le corps (body), la tête (head), le bras (arm), la jambe (leg), le pied (foot), la main (hand), l'œil (eye), l'oreille (ear), la bouche (mouth), le nez (nose) ...
Faire vs rendre in French: two ways to say make
Use faire for “make/do” when someone performs an action, creates something or causes an action: faire un gâteau, faire les devoirs, faire rire quelqu'un. Use rendre when “make” means “make someone or ...
Amener, emmener, apporter, emporter: bring and take in French
French splits English “bring” and “take” into two decisions. First ask: is it a person/animal or a thing? Use amener or emmener for people and animals; use apporter or emporter for objects. Then ask ...
Savoir vs connaître in French: two ways to know
French has two main verbs for “to know”. Use savoir for facts, information, and knowing how to do something. Use connaître for being familiar with a person, place, work, or thing. So je sais la ...
French airport vocabulary: check-in, security and boarding
At a French-speaking airport, start with the words you will actually need: l'aéroport (the airport), le vol (the flight), le billet (the ticket), le passeport (the passport), la valise (the suitcase) ...
S'il vous plaît vs s'il te plaît: 'please' in French
Both s'il vous plaît and s'il te plaît mean “please”. The difference is exactly the tu vs vous choice you already make for “you”: use s'il vous plaît when you address someone formally or speak to more ...
French weather words: how to talk about the weather
To talk about the weather in French, you need a handful of nouns and adjectives — le temps (weather), le soleil (sun), la pluie (rain), la neige (snow), le vent (wind), chaud (hot), froid (cold) — and ...
French clothing vocabulary: clothes, shoes and sizes
Clothes in French are les vêtements, and the everyday pieces are la chemise (shirt), le pantalon (trousers), la robe (dress), la veste (jacket) and les chaussures (shoes). The verb you build it all ...
Au revoir vs adieu: how to say goodbye in French
Au revoir is the normal, all-purpose “goodbye” in French — you can use it in almost any situation, from a shop to an office. It literally means “until we see each other again”, so it carries the idea ...
Quitter vs partir in French: two ways to say 'leave'
Use partir when someone leaves / departs / goes away and there is no direct object: je pars à huit heures, elle est partie. Use quitter when someone leaves a specific place, person, job, company ...
French restaurant phrases: ordering food politely
The safest French restaurant phrase is je voudrais... (“I would like…”). It is polite, simple and useful for ordering almost anything: je voudrais un café, je voudrais la carte. Add s'il vous plaît ...
French food vocabulary: meals, drinks and basic café words
Start French food vocabulary with the words you can use every day: la nourriture (food), l'eau (water), le pain (bread), le café (coffee), le thé (tea), manger (to eat) and boire (to drink). For ...
French family vocabulary: parents, siblings and relatives
The most useful French family words are la famille (family), la mère (mother), le père (father), le frère (brother), la sœur (sister), le fils (son) and la fille (daughter). Learn each word with its ...
Entendre vs écouter in French: hear or listen?
Entendre means to hear: the sound reaches you, whether you planned it or not. Écouter means to listen: you pay attention on purpose. If you hear a noise, say j’entends un bruit. If you listen to ...
Salut vs bonjour: formal and informal hello in French
Bonjour is the polite, all-purpose “hello” — you can say it to anyone, in any situation, and never sound wrong. Salut is the casual “hi” you use only with people you are close to: friends, family ...
Bonjour vs bonsoir: when to say each in French
Bonjour is the all-purpose “hello” you use during the day, from the morning until the early evening. Bonsoir is “good evening”, used once evening sets in — roughly from 6 pm. The switch happens around ...