Are these really the most important French words?

They're picked for coverage, not curiosity: core verbs like être, avoir, faire, and aller appear in a huge share of everyday French sentences, and the nouns and adjectives here are the ones beginners reach for first.

Why do the nouns include le/la/l'?

Because French nouns have grammatical gender, and learning "la maison" as one unit is much easier than memorizing the word and its gender separately. It also trains your ear for how the words are actually used.

How long does it take to learn all 100?

At roughly twenty new cards a day with a daily review, most people can get through the deck in one to two weeks. Keep reviewing after that: spaced repetition is what moves words into long-term memory.

Yes. All 100 cards, no sign-up. Scores are saved in your browser.

100 Essential French Words Flash Cards

Flash cards100 cards~15 minLanguages

All 100 cards in this deck

bonjourhello / good day
bonsoirgood evening
bonne nuitgood night
saluthi / bye (informal)
au revoirgoodbye
s'il vous plaîtplease
mercithank you
de rienyou're welcome
ouiyes
nonno
pardonsorry / excuse me
comment ?how?
quoi ?what?
qui ?who?
où ?where?
quand ?when?
pourquoi ?why?
jeI
tuyou (informal)
ilhe
elleshe
nouswe
ilsthey
êtreto be
avoirto have
faireto do / to make
allerto go
venirto come
vouloirto want
pouvoirto be able to / can
savoirto know (facts)
connaîtreto know (people & places)
parlerto speak
mangerto eat
boireto drink
vivreto live
voirto see
regarderto look at / to watch
écouterto listen
lireto read
écrireto write
acheterto buy
payerto pay
ouvrirto open
fermerto close
comprendreto understand
aiderto help
travaillerto work
étudierto study
dormirto sleep
aimerto love / to like
donnerto give
direto say / to tell
la maisonthe house
la villethe city
la ruethe street
l'eauthe water
la nourriturethe food
le painthe bread
le laitthe milk
le caféthe coffee
l'argentthe money
le tempsthe time / the weather
le jourthe day
la nuitthe night
la semainethe week
l'annéethe year
le livrethe book
aujourd'huitoday
demaintomorrow
hieryesterday
maintenantnow
aprèsafter / later
avantbefore
icihere
làthere
beaucoupa lot / much
peulittle / few
plusmore
moinsless
grandbig / tall
petitsmall
bongood
mauvaisbad
nouveaunew
vieuxold
jolipretty
heureuxhappy
tristesad
chaudhot
froidcold
facileeasy
difficiledifficult
rapidefast
lentslow
l'amithe friend
la famillethe family
l'hommethe man
la femmethe woman
l'enfantthe child

Flip through them with the card player above. No sign-up.

About this deck

French gets a lot friendlier once the first hundred words are automatic. This deck collects them: greetings and politeness, question words, subject pronouns, thirty core verbs, and the everyday nouns, adjectives, and time words that make up most beginner sentences. French on the front, English on the back.

A few cards carry short notes where French makes a distinction English doesn't: savoir is knowing facts, connaître is knowing people and places, and aimer covers both "to love" and "to like," which surprises most beginners. Nouns include their article (la maison, l'eau) so the gender comes packaged with the word instead of being a separate chore later.

Don't binge all 100 in one sitting. Twenty cards a day, graded honestly, beats a marathon. The deck re-queues your misses within a session, and the report at the end lets you re-drill only what didn't stick. Read the French out loud as you flip, even badly; connecting the spelling to a sound, any sound, makes the word dramatically easier to recall than silent scanning.

Frequently asked questions

Are these really the most important French words?: They're picked for coverage, not curiosity: core verbs like être, avoir, faire, and aller appear in a huge share of everyday French sentences, and the nouns and adjectives here are the ones beginners reach for first.
Why do the nouns include le/la/l'?: Because French nouns have grammatical gender, and learning "la maison" as one unit is much easier than memorizing the word and its gender separately. It also trains your ear for how the words are actually used.
How long does it take to learn all 100?: At roughly twenty new cards a day with a daily review, most people can get through the deck in one to two weeks. Keep reviewing after that: spaced repetition is what moves words into long-term memory.
Is the deck free?: Yes. All 100 cards, no sign-up. Scores are saved in your browser.