French 300 most common word vocabulary: 300 words
The 300 most common everyday words, ranked by real-world usage — the fastest route to understanding most of what you hear (English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese). This page lists 40 of them with their French translations, then lets you practise the full set in either direction with spaced repetition.
English to French: the first 40 words
| English | French | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| like | aimer | To find something pleasant or attractive, not to be similar. |
| time | temps | |
| new | nouveau | |
| people | gens | |
| good | bon | |
| first | premier | |
| know | savoir | To have knowledge or be acquainted with; not to learn for the first time. |
| see | voir | |
| make | faire | |
| think | penser | |
| want | vouloir | |
| way | façon | |
| need | avoir besoin | |
| right | correct | Correct or accurate, not a direction or legal entitlement. |
| work | travail | |
| year | an | |
| day | jour | |
| take | prendre | |
| many | beaucoup de | |
| life | vie | |
| say | dire | |
| world | monde | |
| great | grand | |
| last | dernier | Most recent or final in a series, not to continue or endure. |
| best | meilleur | |
| love | aimer | Deep affection or attachment, not mild preference. |
| man | homme | |
| home | maison | Where you live and feel belonging; not just a building. |
| long | long | |
| look | regarder | To direct your gaze, not appearance or expression. |
| use | utiliser | |
| part | partie | |
| state | état | A condition or situation, not a region or to say aloud. |
| three | trois | |
| better | meilleur | |
| find | trouver | |
| help | aider | |
| high | haut | |
| little | petit | |
| old | vieux |
260 more words in the full “300 Most Common Words” library, each aligned across seven languages and scheduled for you by spaced repetition. Add it to your account and start drilling English to French in one click.
What to watch out for in French
- 66 of these 300 words are near-identical in English and French (22%) —
long,différent,public. Those are free; the value of drilling is in the rest. - Accents count. Answers are graded accent-sensitively, so you need
àâçéèêîïô— LinguaSwap shows a one-tap keypad for them while you type. - 76 words carry a usage note in the full library, for the cases where a direct translation would mislead you.
Practise French 300 most common word vocabulary
Words come back just before you would forget them, and every language direction is tracked separately.