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The 100 most common verbs in French 🇫🇷

French verbs ranked by how often they appear, each with its translation and an example sentence. Press the speaker to hear a word.

#	French	English	Example
1	être	to be	Vous devez être plus clairs.You must be clearer.
2	aller	to go
3	faire	to do	Fais pas ton innocent avec moi.Don't act like you're so innocent around me./Don't give me that innocent act.
4	dire	to say, to tell
5	pouvoir	can, to be able to	Il se peut que je sois malade.It could be that I'm ill / I may be ill. / I could be ill.
6	vouloir	to want, wish, desire	Je veux voir le soleil.I want to see the sun.
7	savoir	to know	Savais-tu qu’il parle si bien l’anglais?Did you know that he speaks English so well?
8	voir	to see	Je vois ma mère là-bas.I see my mother over there.
9	venir	to come
10	suivre	to follow	Je t’invite à me suivre.I invite you to follow me.
11	parler	to speak, talk
12	prendre	to take	Pour finir dans deux heures, ça prend trois personnes.To finish in two hours, it'll take three people.
13	croire	to believe	Il jure qu’il dit la vérité. Je ne le crois pas.He swears that he's telling the truth. I do not believe him.
14	aimer	to love	Donne-moi une raison de t’aimer.Give me a reason to like you.
15	falloir	to need, have to, to be necessary	Il faut que j’y ailleI need to go.
16	passer	to go past	L’assassin n’avait donc pas passé par là et ne pouvait se sauver par là […]The murderer, therefore, could not have entered that way and could not possibly escape that way.
17	penser	to think, reflect, concentrate one's mind on something	Penser tout haut.Think aloud, speak one's mind freely.
18	attendre	to wait for, to await	J’attends mon cousin à la gare.I'm waiting for my cousin at the station.
19	trouver	to find, to retrieve something lost, turn up something hidden, or encounter something previously unknown to one	Quand est-ce qu’elle a trouvé les clés ?When did she find the keys?
20	laisser	to leave, to leave behind	Laissez le pistolet sur la tableLeave the gun on the table
21	arriver	to arrive	On est arrivés à Paris vers 9 heures.We arrived in Paris around 9 o'clock.
22	donner	to give, to transfer the possession/holding of something to someone else	Finalement, ayant perdu l’esprit sans ressource, il vint à donner dans la plus étrange pensée dont jamais fou se fût avisé dans le monde.Finally, having lost his mind completely, he happened to come across the strangest thought in the world of which a crazy person ever conceived.
23	regarder	to look at	Tu regardes quoi ?What are you looking at?
24	appeler	to call	Appelle-moi ce soir.Call me this evening.
25	partir	to share, to share out, to divide	Avoir maille à partir avec quelqu’un.To have scores to settle with someone, to have a bone to pick with someone.
26	mettre	to put, to place	il a pris un chiffon grisâtre et l’a mis sur la plaieHe took a grayish cloth and placed it over the wound.
27	rester	to stay	On est restés à l’hôtel pendant une bonne part du séjour, on était tous malades.We stayed at the hotel for a good part of the trip, we were all sick.
28	arrêter	to halt, to stop	Aujour-d’hui que la Constitution est définitivement arrêtée...Now that the Constitution is definitively settled...
29	connaître	to know , to be familiar with	Après la levée de l’état de siège, les tribunaux militaires continuent de connaître des crimes et délits dont la poursuite leur avait été déférée.After the lifting of the state of siege, the military tribunals continue to address crimes and offences whose prosecution has been submitted to them.
30	tuer	to kill	Il les a tués! Il a tué tous!He killed them! He killed everyone!
31	mourir	to die, to be dying	Ô nuit désastreuse ! ô nuit effroyable, où retentit tout à coup, comme un éclat de tonnerre, cette étonnante nouvelle : Madame se meurt, Madame est morte !O disastrous night! O terrible night, in which suddenly rings out, like a thunderclap, the shocking news: Madame is dying, Madame is dead!
32	demander	to ask	Elle s’est demandé ce qu’elle devait faire.She wondered what she had to do.
33	comprendre	to understand, comprehend	Est-ce que vous avez bien compris ?Did you understand?
34	sortir	to exit, go out, come out
35	entendre	to hear
36	voilà	there is	Voilà l’homme tout entier, s’en prenant à sa chaussure alors que c’est son pied le coupable.There is man in his entirety, blaming his shoe when his foot is guilty.
37	chercher	to look for, to seek	Je cherche du boulot.I'm looking for some work.
38	aider	to help, to aid
39	essayer	to test, to try on	J’essaie vraiment d’ t’aider sans m’oublier.I'm truly trying to help you without forgetting myself.
40	revenir	to come back, to return	Est-ce que la lumière reviendra ? Est-ce qu’on retrouvera le sommeil ? Y aura-t-il un nouveau soleil, quelqu’un d’autre qui brillera ?Will the light return? Will we get back to sleep? Will there be a new sun, someone else who will shine?
41	plaire	to please, to appeal to
42	jouer	to play	Est-ce que tu voudrais jouer à un jeu avec moi ?Would you like to play a game with me?
43	finir	to finish, end, complete
44	perdre	to lose	J’ai perdu les clés, mais un de mes amis les a trouvées.I lost my keys, but one of my friends found them.
45	sentir	to smell	Lui cherchant alors un nom qui ne s’écartât pas trop du sien, qui sentît et représentât la grande dame et la princesse, il vint à l’appeler Dulcinée du Toboso, parce qu’elle était native de ce village : nom harmonieux à son avis, rare et distingué, et non moins expressif que tous ceux qu’il avait donnés à son équipage et à lui-même.Through searching himself thus for a name that did not diverge too much from his own, that would give a feeling of and represent the great lady and princess, he came to call her Dulcinea del Toboso, because she was a native of this village [Toboso]: a name in his opinion harmonious, rare and distinguished, and no less expressive than all the ones that he had given to his team and to himself.
46	rentrer	to go back, to re-enter	rentrer dans la sallego back in the room/re-enter the room
47	vivre	to live
48	rendre	to give back, to return, to restore	Les Français libérés lors d’une opération de secours après s’être rendus dans une zone étrangère dangereuse pourraient devoir en régler la facture.French people liberated during a rescue operation after having gotten themselves into a dangerous foreign zone may have to pay the bill.
49	tenir	to have, to hold	"J'me tenais dans l’ouest de la ville, ça me fait plus peur l’exil"I used to hang out in the west end; exile doesn't scare me anymore.
50	oublier	to forget	J’essaie vraiment d’ t’aider sans m’oublier.I'm truly trying to help you without forgetting myself.
51	travailler	to work	Il ne fait que travailler.All he does is work.
52	écouter	to listen	J’écoute la radio.I am listening to the radio.
53	manger	to eat	J’ai mangé de la viande pour le souper.I ate some meat for dinner.
54	entrer	to enter	Entrer dans la salle.Enter the room.
55	commencer	to begin, commence
56	payer	to pay
57	tirer	to draw, drag, pull	Ils s’imaginent qu’en ne répondant pas, ou qu’en répondant n’importe quoi, quitte à se contredire toutes les cinq minutes, ils parviendront à s’en tirer.They imagine they can save themselves by refusing to answer questions—or by answering at random and even contradicting themselves every five minutes.
58	ouvrir	to open	À peine arrivé, il a ouvert les hostilités.He initiated hostilities almost as soon as he arrived.
59	changer	to exchange
60	tomber	to fall	Un tamis placé à l’intérieur du dispositif empêchera les choses de tomber dans le tube.A screen placed inside the device will keep things from falling into the tube.
61	foutre	to do, to fuck around with, to dick around, to fritter, to tinker	Qu’est-ce qu’elles foutent ?What the fuck are they doing?
62	excuser	to excuse
63	dormir	to sleep
64	occuper	to occupy, to take up	Moi, je m’occupe des clients.Me, I'll take care of the clients.
65	marcher	to walk	Il marche au milieu de la rue.He is walking in the middle of the street
66	envoyer	to send
67	apprendre	to learn	Grâce à vous, j’en apprends tous les jours.Thanks to you, I learn every day.
68	boire	to drink	Je rêve de boire à tes motsI dream of drinking to your words
69	garder	to keep, to retain, to store, to save	Elle a le droit de garder secrètes la plupart de ses caractéristiques.She has the right to keep most of her characteristics secret.
70	montrer	to show	Montre-le-moi.Show it to me.
71	asseoir	to sit down, to get seated	Assieds les enfants sur des chaises !Sit the children down on chairs!
72	porter	to carry
73	souvenir	to remember	Est-ce que vous vous souvenez de ce que vous m’avez dit la semaine dernière ?Do you remember what you told me last week?
74	prier	to pray
75	servir	to serve	Je suis allée en France avec ma mère l’année dernière et le serveur nous a servi des escargots!I went to France last year with my mother and the waiter served us escargots!
76	écrire	to write	Qu’est-ce que t’aimes ? Qu’est-ce que t’aimes ? Sourire un peu bêtement, en silence écrire une lettre.What do you like? What do you like? To smile a little stupidly, in silence to write a letter.
77	espérer	to hope
78	désoler	to sadden, distress
79	retrouver	to find , to rediscover	Ils ont retrouvé le trésor qu’ils avaient enterré.They re-found the treasure they had buried.
80	gagner	to win	On a gagné la ligue !We won the league!
81	acheter	to purchase, buy
82	rappeler	to call again, to call back	Ton père a téléphoné. Peux-tu le rappeler ?Your father phoned. Can you call him back?
83	lire	to read
84	voici	here is	Voici le fromage.Here's the cheese.
85	monter	to go up, to climb	J’ai monté les valises.I brought up the cases.
86	quitter	to discharge somebody from an obligation
87	emmener	to take off, take away or out	Allez viens, j’t’emmène au vent / Je t’emmène au-dessus des gensCome on, I'll take you with me to the wind / I'll take you with me above the people
88	continuer	to continue
89	revoir	to see again
90	importer	to import	En quoi cela m’importe-t-il ?Why does that matter to me?
91	manquer	to lack, to be lacking in	Tu me manques.I miss you.
92	raconter	to recount, to tell, to narrate
93	répondre	to reply, to answer	Tu dois répondre aux questions que je te pose.You must answer the questions I ask you.
94	sauver	to save, rescue, to protect
95	retourner	to turn over, turn upside-down, to turn	J’ai retourné le livre pour en voir le prix.I turned the book over to see the price of it.
96	rencontrer	to meet
97	voler	to fly	Quel mec a volé mon pantalon?Which guy stole my pants?
98	fermer	to shut	Ce professeur l’a fermé au sujet des mathématiques.That teacher turned him off maths.
99	valoir	to be worth	Selon leur mère, une femme vaut deux hommes.According to their mother, a woman is worth two men.
100	descendre	to go down

French frequency word lists

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Most common verbs

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Most common adjectives

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