100 most common French adjectives

Ranked by how often each adjective is actually spoken in films and TV series, with the English meaning and a short example. Free to download for Anki, Quizlet, Excel or print.

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The list

100 adjectives

#	French	English and example
1	bonadjective	good, right, wellC'est une bonne idée! That's a good idea!
2	autreadjective	other, anotherJ'aime l'autre film. I like the other film.
3	mêmeadjective	same, evenC'est le même problème chaque jour. It's the same problem every day.
4	petitadjective	small, little, youngElle a un petit chien très mignon. She has a small, very cute dog.
5	sûradjective	sure, certain, safeJe suis sûr que tu vas réussir. I'm sure you'll succeed.
6	seuladjective	alone, only, soleJe suis seul à la maison aujourd'hui. I'm alone at home today.
7	désoléadjective	sorry, apologeticJe suis désolé, c'est ma faute. I'm sorry, it's my fault.
8	vraiadjective	true, realC'est une vraie histoire. It's a true story.
9	nouveauadjective	newJ'ai une nouvelle voiture. I have a new car.
10	grandadjective	big, great, tallC'est un grand homme. He's a great man.
11	dernieradjective	lastC'est mon dernier jour ici. It's my last day here.
12	beauadjective	beautiful, handsome, niceC'est une belle journée aujourd'hui. It's a beautiful day today.
13	premieradjective	firstC'est mon premier jour ici. It's my first day here.
14	prêtadjective	ready, preparedTu es prêt pour demain? Are you ready for tomorrow?
15	meilleuradjective	best, betterC'est le meilleur film de l'année. It's the best film of the year.
16	fouadjective	crazy, mad, insaneTu es fou ou quoi? Are you crazy or what?
17	vieuxadjective	old, ancientC'est une vieille maison très belle. It's a beautiful old house.
18	finiadjective	finished, done, overC'est fini entre nous maintenant. It's over between us now.
19	superadjective	great, awesome, superC'est super, j'adore ça! That's great, I love it!
20	entenduadjective	understood, agreed, of courseD'accord, c'est entendu entre nous. Okay, it's understood between us.
21	grosadjective	big, fat, largeC'est un gros problème pour nous. It's a big problem for us.
22	mauvaisadjective	bad, wrong, poorC'est une mauvaise idée de partir maintenant. It's a bad idea to leave now.
23	jeuneadjective	young, youthfulElle est très jeune pour ce travail difficile. She's very young for this difficult job.
24	perduadjective	lost, missing, wastedJe suis complètement perdu dans cette ville. I'm completely lost in this city.
25	pleinadjective	full, completeMon verre est plein d'eau. My glass is full of water.
26	heureuxadjective	happy, gladJe suis très heureux aujourd'hui. I'm very happy today.
27	venuadjective	come, arrivedIl est venu hier soir. He came yesterday evening.
28	importantadjective	important, significant, majorC'est une décision très importante pour toi. It's a very important decision for you.
29	possibleadjective	possible, feasible, likelyC'est possible, mais difficile. It's possible, but difficult.
30	parfaitadjective	perfect, ideal, greatC'est parfait pour moi! That's perfect for me!
31	propreadjective	own, clean, neatC'est ma propre maison. It's my own house.
32	génialadjective	brilliant, great, awesomeC'est une idée géniale! That's a brilliant idea!
33	prochainadjective	next, comingLe prochain train arrive dans dix minutes. The next train arrives in ten minutes.
34	joliadjective	pretty, nice, lovelyTu as une très jolie robe aujourd'hui. You have a very pretty dress today.
35	duradjective	hard, tough, difficultCe travail est très dur pour moi. This work is very hard for me.
36	cheradjective	dear, expensive, costlyMon ami cher, je suis heureux de te voir. My dear friend, I'm happy to see you.
37	secretadjective	secret, hiddenC'est un secret, ne le dis à personne. It's a secret, don't tell anyone.
38	contentadjective	happy, pleased, satisfiedJe suis très content de te voir aujourd'hui. I'm very happy to see you today.
39	longadjective	long, lengthyC'est un long voyage en train. It's a long train journey.
40	gentiladjective	kind, nice, gentleElle est très gentille avec les enfants. She is very kind to the children.
41	inquietadjective	worried, anxious, uneasyIl est inquiet pour son examen demain. He is worried about his exam tomorrow.
42	différentadjective	different, various, distinctNous avons des opinions très différentes. We have very different opinions.
43	difficileadjective	difficult, hard, toughCet exercice est très difficile pour moi. This exercise is very difficult for me.
44	hautadjective	high, tall, upperLa montagne est très haute et belle. The mountain is very high and beautiful.
45	sérieuxadjective	serious, earnest, graveIl parle d'une voix très sérieuse. He speaks in a very serious voice.
46	facileadjective	easyC'est facile pour toi. It's easy for you.
47	basadjective	low, bottomLa voix est très basse. The voice is very low.
48	blancadjective	whiteJ'aime cette robe blanche. I like this white dress.
49	maladeadjective	sick, illIl est malade aujourd'hui. He's sick today.
50	pauvreadjective	poor, unfortunateCe pauvre garçon est seul. This poor boy is alone.
51	drôleadjective	funny, amusing, strangeC'est drôle, non? That's funny, right?
52	humainadjective	humanC'est très humain de peur. It's very human to be afraid.
53	pireadjective	worst, worseC'est le pire jour jamais. It's the worst day ever.
54	impossibleadjective	impossibleC'est impossible pour moi. It's impossible for me.
55	fauxadjective	false, wrong, fakeC'est complètement faux! That's completely false!
56	bizarreadjective	strange, odd, weirdC'est bizarre, tu trouves? That's strange, don't you think?
57	clairadjective	clear, bright, obviousC'est clair pour toi? Is that clear for you?
58	mariéadjective	married, husband, wifeTu es marié ou célibataire? Are you married or single?
59	calmeadjective	calm, quiet, peacefulReste calme, tout va bien. Stay calm, everything is fine.
60	courantadjective	current, common, usualC'est une situation très courante. That's a very common situation.
61	simpleadjective	simple, easy, plainC'est très simple à comprendre. It's very simple to understand.
62	nuladjective	useless, worthless, nil, noCe film est complètement nul. This film is completely useless.
63	vivantadjective	alive, livingIl est encore vivant! He's still alive!
64	teladjective	such, like thatJe n'ai jamais vu tel spectacle. I've never seen such a show.
65	saleadjective	dirty, filthyTes mains sont sales. Your hands are dirty.
66	graveadjective	serious, grave, solemnC'est une situation très grave. It's a very serious situation.
67	libreadjective	free, available, unoccupiedTu es libre ce soir? Are you free tonight?
68	rougeadjective	redElle porte une robe rouge. She's wearing a red dress.
69	ancienadjective	old, former, ancientC'est un ancien ami de mon père. He's an old friend of my father's.
70	normaladjective	normal, usual, ordinaryC'est complètement normal. That's completely normal.
71	généraladjective	general, overall, broadEn général, j'aime les films. In general, I like films.
72	pareiladjective	same, similar, alikeC'est pareil pour moi. It's the same for me.
73	amoureuxadjective	in love, lover, romanticIl est amoureux d'elle. He's in love with her.
74	blesséadjective	injured, wounded, hurtIl est blessé au bras. He is injured on the arm.
75	américainadjective	AmericanC'est un film américain. It's an American film.
76	incroyableadjective	incredible, amazing, unbelievableC'est incroyable! That's incredible!
77	chaudadjective	hot, warmIl fait chaud aujourd'hui. It's hot today.
78	ouvertadjective	open, openedLa porte est ouverte. The door is open.
79	froidadjective	cold, coolIl fait froid dehors. It's cold outside.
80	sympaadjective	nice, friendly, likeableIl est très sympa. He's very nice.
81	stupideadjective	stupid, silly, dumbC'est une idée stupide. That's a stupid idea.
82	procheadjective	close, near, nearbyL'école est très proche d'ici. The school is very close to here.
83	magnifiqueadjective	magnificent, wonderful, beautifulC'est une magnifique journée aujourd'hui. It's a wonderful day today.
84	raviadjective	delighted, pleased, happyJe suis ravi de te rencontrer. I'm delighted to meet you.
85	gaucheadjective	leftTourne à gauche au feu. Turn left at the light.
86	neufadjective	newJ'ai une voiture neuve. I have a new car.
87	spécialadjective	special, particularC'est un jour spécial pour moi. It's a special day for me.
88	publicadjective	public, audienceC'est un endroit très public ici. It's a very public place here.
89	assisadjective	sitting, seatedIl est assis sur la chaise. He is sitting on the chair.
90	exactadjective	exact, precise, rightC'est l'heure exacte? Is that the exact time?
91	fieradjective	proud, proud ofJe suis fier de toi. I'm proud of you.
92	dangereuxadjective	dangerous, risky, hazardousC'est très dangereux pour toi. It's very dangerous for you.
93	bleuadjective	blue, bruisedLe ciel est bleu aujourd'hui. The sky is blue today.
94	censéadjective	supposed to, meant toTu es censé être ici à huit heures. You're supposed to be here at eight o'clock.
95	tranquilleadjective	calm, quiet, peacefulC'est un endroit très tranquille. It's a very quiet place.
96	merveilleuxadjective	wonderful, marvelousC'est une idée merveilleuse! That's a wonderful idea!
97	richeadjective	rich, wealthyIl est très riche et généreux. He is very rich and generous.
98	personneladjective	personal, staffC'est une question personnelle. It's a personal question.
99	tristeadjective	sad, unhappyIl est triste depuis hier. He's been sad since yesterday.
100	entieradjective	whole, entire, completeJ'ai mangé le gâteau entier. I ate the whole cake.

How this list was made

Most frequency lists count newspapers and books. This one counts what people say on screen: word counts from the OpenSubtitles 2018 collection of film and TV subtitles (318 million French words), published by the FrequencyWords project.

Different forms of the same word are counted together under the dictionary form, so every form of a verb adds to the verb's rank. Names, English words, typos and swear words were removed. Nouns are shown with their article where the language has one, so you learn the gender with the word.

Ranking: OpenSubtitles 2018 via FrequencyWords by Hermit Dave (CC BY-SA 4.0). This list is shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Questions

How many French words do you need to understand films and TV?

In 318 million words of French subtitles, the 100 most common words make up 65.8% of everything said, the top 500 make up 79.2% and the top 1000 make up 83.4%. The rest are rarer words that are easiest to pick up from the shows themselves, in context.

How do I import this list into Anki?

Download the Anki deck (.apkg) and open it, or in Anki choose File, Import and pick the file. The cards arrive in the order of the list, most common first, with the meaning and an example on the back. AnkiDroid and AnkiMobile open the same file.

Can I use it in Quizlet?

Yes. Open the Quizlet file, copy everything, then in Quizlet create a set, choose Import and paste. Keep "Tab" between term and definition and "New line" between cards. Knowt and Brainscape accept the same text.

Is it free to use and share?

Yes. Download it, print it and share it. The list is published under CC BY-SA 4.0: if you publish it or a changed version, credit Fluent by Accident and the FrequencyWords project and share it under the same licence.

Where do the translations and examples come from?

The ranking comes only from real word counts. The English meanings and example sentences were drafted with AI and can contain small mistakes. If you spot one, write to rk@coldabry.com.