100 most common French verbs

Ranked by how often each verb 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 verbs

#	French	English and example
1	êtreverb	to beJe suis très heureux. I am very happy.
2	avoirverb	to haveJ'ai deux frères. I have two brothers.
3	allerverb	to goOn va au cinéma ce soir. We're going to the cinema tonight.
4	pouvoirverb	can, to be able to, mayTu peux m'aider demain? Can you help me tomorrow?
5	faireverb	to do, to makeQu'est-ce que tu fais? What are you doing?
6	direverb	to say, to tellElle dit toujours la vérité. She always tells the truth.
7	vouloirverb	to want, to wishJe veux un café, s'il vous plaît. I want a coffee, please.
8	savoirverb	to knowTu sais où est la gare? Do you know where the station is?
9	devoirverb	must, have to, oweJe dois partir maintenant. I must leave now.
10	voirverb	seeTu vois ce film? Do you see this film?
11	venirverb	comeTu viens ce soir? Are you coming tonight?
12	penserverb	think, believeJe pense que oui. I think so.
13	parlerverb	speak, talkOn parle français ici. We speak French here.
14	prendreverb	take, have, getJe prends un café. I'm having a coffee.
15	croireverb	believe, thinkJe crois que oui. I believe so.
16	aimerverb	like, loveJ'aime beaucoup ce film. I really like this film.
17	trouververb	find, thinkJe trouve que c'est une bonne idée. I think it's a good idea.
18	falloirverb	must, have to, needIl faut que tu viennes demain. You have to come tomorrow.
19	laisserverb	leave, let, allowLaisse-moi tranquille, s'il te plaît. Leave me alone, please.
20	arriververb	arrive, happen, manageLe train arrive à dix heures. The train arrives at ten o'clock.
21	attendreverb	wait, expectAttends-moi ici, je reviens bientôt. Wait for me here, I'll be back soon.
22	appelerverb	call, nameJe vais t'appeler ce soir. I'll call you tonight.
23	passerverb	pass, spend, happenPasse-moi le sel, s'il te plaît. Pass me the salt, please.
24	donnerverb	giveDonne-moi ton numéro de téléphone. Give me your phone number.
25	resterverb	stay, remain, be leftReste ici avec moi ce soir. Stay here with me tonight.
26	regarderverb	look, watch, seeRegarde ce film, c'est excellent! Watch this film, it's excellent!
27	arrêterverb	stop, arrest, ceaseArrête de crier, s'il te plaît! Stop shouting, please!
28	comprendreverb	understandTu comprends ce que je dis? Do you understand what I'm saying?
29	tuerverb	killLe méchant veut le tuer. The villain wants to kill him.
30	connaîtreverb	knowJe connais bien cette ville. I know this city well.
31	mettreverb	put, placeMets ton manteau avant de partir. Put your coat on before leaving.
32	écouterverb	listen, listen toÉcoute-moi, c'est important. Listen to me, it's important.
33	essayerverb	tryJe vais essayer cette robe. I'm going to try on this dress.
34	sortirverb	go out, leaveOn sort ce weekend? Are we going out this weekend?
35	aiderverb	helpTu peux m'aider? Can you help me?
36	partirverb	leave, goJe pars demain matin. I'm leaving tomorrow morning.
37	chercherverb	look for, searchJe cherche mes clés. I'm looking for my keys.
38	plaireverb	to please, to likeÇa te plaît? Do you like it?
39	demanderverb	to ask, to requestJe te demande pardon. I'm asking your forgiveness.
40	tenirverb	to hold, to keepTiens, c'est pour toi. Here, this is for you.
41	travaillerverb	to workJe travaille tous les jours. I work every day.
42	jouerverb	to playOn joue au football? Shall we play football?
43	commencerverb	to start, to beginOn commence à quelle heure? What time do we start?
44	revenirverb	come back, returnJe reviens dans une heure. I'll be back in an hour.
45	rentrerverb	come home, go home, returnJe rentre à la maison maintenant. I'm going home now.
46	vivreverb	live, existOù tu vis maintenant? Where do you live now?
47	oublierverb	forget, leave behindN'oublie pas tes clés demain. Don't forget your keys tomorrow.
48	rendreverb	return, give back, makeRends-moi mon argent maintenant! Give me back my money now!
49	entendreverb	hear, understand, meanTu m'entends bien maintenant? Can you hear me well now?
50	devenirverb	become, turn into, getQu'est-ce que tu veux devenir? What do you want to become?
51	importerverb	matter, be important, importÇa n'importe pas vraiment pour moi. It doesn't really matter to me.
52	mangerverb	eatOn va manger au restaurant ce soir. We're going to eat at the restaurant tonight.
53	mourirverb	die, pass awayJe ne veux pas mourir ici seul. I don't want to die here alone.
54	souvenirverb	remember, recallJe me souviens de toi quand tu étais jeune. I remember you when you were young.
55	changerverb	change, alter, switchJe dois changer mes vêtements maintenant. I need to change my clothes now.
56	envoyerverb	send, dispatchJe vais t'envoyer un message demain. I'll send you a message tomorrow.
57	excuserverb	excuse, forgive, pardonExcuse-moi, je ne l'ai pas fait exprès. Excuse me, I didn't do it on purpose.
58	tirerverb	pull, draw, shootTire la porte pour l'ouvrir maintenant. Pull the door to open it now.
59	occuperverb	occupy, take up, keep busyJe m'occupe de mes enfants tous les jours. I take care of my children every day.
60	espérerverb	hope, expect, wishJ'espère que tu vas bien maintenant. I hope you're doing well now.
61	payerverb	pay, settle, compensateJe vais payer l'addition ce soir. I'll pay the bill tonight.
62	apprendreverb	learn, teach, find outJe veux apprendre le français rapidement. I want to learn French quickly.
63	revoirverb	see again, reviewJe veux te revoir demain. I want to see you again tomorrow.
64	fermerverb	close, shutFerme la porte, s'il te plaît. Close the door, please.
65	gagnerverb	win, earnMon équipe va gagner le match. My team will win the match.
66	continuerverb	continue, go onContinue ton travail, s'il te plaît. Continue your work, please.
67	tomberverb	fall, dropAttention, ne tombe pas! Watch out, don't fall!
68	rencontrerverb	meet, encounterJe vais rencontrer mon ami demain. I'm going to meet my friend tomorrow.
69	entrerverb	enter, come inEntre dans la maison, s'il te plaît. Come into the house, please.
70	sentirverb	feel, smell, senseJe sens que quelque chose ne va pas. I feel that something is wrong.
71	sauververb	save, rescue, helpTu m'as sauvé la vie! You saved my life!
72	écrireverb	write, compose, sendJe vais écrire une lettre demain. I'm going to write a letter tomorrow.
73	dormirverb	sleep, rest, be asleepJe dois dormir maintenant. I need to sleep now.
74	utiliserverb	use, employ, make use ofTu peux utiliser mon téléphone. You can use my phone.
75	semblerverb	seem, appear, lookTu sembles fatigué aujourd'hui. You seem tired today.
76	perdreverb	lose, waste, missJe ne veux pas perdre mon temps. I don't want to waste my time.
77	garderverb	keep, hold, watchGarde mon secret, s'il te plaît. Keep my secret, please.
78	ouvrirverb	open, unlock, turn onOuvre la porte, s'il te plaît. Open the door, please.
79	retrouververb	find, meet, recoverOn se retrouve demain soir? See you tomorrow evening?
80	acheterverb	buy, purchase, getJe vais acheter du pain. I'm going to buy bread.
81	retournerverb	return, go back, turn overJe retourne à la maison maintenant. I'm going back home now.
82	suivreverb	follow, pursue, watchSuis-moi, je connais le chemin. Follow me, I know the way.
83	rappelerverb	remind, recall, call backRappelle-moi demain matin. Remind me tomorrow morning.
84	monterverb	go up, climb, get onMonte les escaliers avec moi. Go up the stairs with me.
85	quitterverb	leave, quitJe dois quitter le bureau maintenant. I have to leave the office now.
86	lireverb	readJ'aime lire des livres le soir. I like to read books in the evening.
87	volerverb	steal, flyL'oiseau vole dans le ciel bleu. The bird flies in the blue sky.
88	répondreverb	answer, replyPourquoi tu ne réponds pas à mes messages? Why don't you answer my messages?
89	poserverb	put, place, askPose ta main sur mon épaule. Put your hand on my shoulder.
90	prierverb	pray, beg, askJe te prie de m'aider maintenant. I beg you to help me now.
91	boireverb	drinkJe bois un café chaque matin. I drink a coffee every morning.
92	bougerverb	move, stir, shiftNe bouge pas, reste assis ici. Don't move, stay sitting here.
93	montrerverb	show, display, point outMontre-moi ta nouvelle robe! Show me your new dress!
94	promettreverb	promiseJe te promets que c'est vrai. I promise you it's true.
95	recevoirverb	receive, get, welcomeJe reçois une lettre demain. I'm receiving a letter tomorrow.
96	asseoirverb	sit, sit downAssieds-toi à côté de moi. Sit down next to me.
97	adorerverb	love, adore, worshipJ'adore regarder les films le soir. I love watching films in the evening.
98	déciderverb	decide, determine, resolveNous devons décider où aller demain. We must decide where to go tomorrow.
99	battreverb	beat, hit, defeatSon équipe a battu la nôtre hier. His team beat ours yesterday.
100	imaginerverb	imagine, pictureImagine ce que je vois! Imagine what I see!

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.