The first 100 French words
Ordered by how many whole sentences each word makes readable, not by raw frequency — the reason that matters. «Sentences opened» is how many of the shelf's 679 sentences — every one that is more than a name or a cry — have nothing unknown left in them by the time you reach that rung; it is a running total, not a score for the single word.
| # | French | English | As it appears in the text | Sentences opened |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | de | of, from; some, any (prep./partitive art.) — du pain, de l’eau; pas de — no, not any; de… en… — from… to… | d’ | 2 |
| 2 | ah | ah!, oh! (interj.) | 4 | |
| 3 | le | the (le, la, l’, les); him, her, it, them — as an object (art./pron.) | la, les, l’ | 5 |
| 4 | mon | my (mon, ma, mes) (poss. adj.) | ma, mes | 6 |
| 5 | pauvre | poor (adj.) | pauvres | 7 |
| 6 | entrer | to enter, go in, come in (v.); faire entrer — to get (something) in | entrèrent, entrez, entrai, entra | 8 |
| 7 | je | I (pron.) | j’ | 9 |
| 8 | venir | to come (v.); venir de + inf. — to have just done; il vint à elle — there came up to her; venir à passer — to happen to pass | venait, viens, vint, venu | 10 |
| 9 | personne | person (n., f.); nobody, anybody — ne… personne (pron.); de sa personne — in his person | personnes | 11 |
| 10 | moi | me, I (stressed pron.); pour moi — as for me | 12 | |
| 11 | homme | man (n., m.); saint homme — holy man | hommes | 13 |
| 12 | saint | holy; saint (adj./n., m.); saint Pierre — Saint Peter; sainte croix! — holy cross!; histoire sainte — Bible history | sainte | 14 |
| 13 | alors | then, so (adv.) | 15 | |
| 14 | non | no; not (adv.); non plus — either, for his part; non sans — not without | 16 | |
| 15 | comment | how; what! (adv.) | 17 | |
| 16 | fils | son (n., m.) — le fils du roi, the King’s son | 18 | |
| 17 | ici | here (adv.) | 19 | |
| 18 | hélas | alas (interj.) | 20 | |
| 19 | curé | parish priest (n., m.); monsieur le curé — Father | 21 | |
| 20 | vivre | to live (v.); vive… ! — long live…! | vive | 22 |
| 21 | hou | hoo! — a wolf’s howl (interj.) | 23 | |
| 22 | croix | cross (n., f.) | 24 | |
| 23 | adieu | farewell, goodbye (interj.) | 25 | |
| 24 | pan | bang!, knock! (interj.); pan! pan! — knock! knock! | 26 | |
| 25 | jeudi | Thursday (n., m.) | 27 | |
| 26 | amen | amen (interj.) | 28 | |
| 27 | et | and (conj.) | 28 | |
| 28 | répondre | to answer, reply (v.) | répondit, répondait, répondirent | 29 |
| 29 | cheminer | to walk, trudge along (v.) | cheminai, cheminez | 30 |
| 30 | être | to be (v.); c’est — it is; also forms the past of some verbs: elle est venue — she came | était, est, fut, étaient | 30 |
| 31 | frère | brother (n., m.); mes frères — my brethren | frères | 31 |
| 32 | possible | possible (adj.) | 32 | |
| 33 | abbé | abbé, Father — title of a secular priest (n., m.); l’abbé Martin — Father Martin | 33 | |
| 34 | que | that, which, whom; than; how…! (conj./rel. pron.); ne… que — only | qu’ | 33 |
| 35 | avoir | to have (v.); il y a — there is, there are; avoir beau + inf. — to do in vain; avoir peur — to be afraid | avait, a, eut, avez | 33 |
| 36 | à | to, at, in; with (prep.); c’est à… — it belongs to…; à boire — something to drink | 33 | |
| 37 | un | a, an; one (art./num.); l’un… l’autre — the one… the other; les unes… les autres — some… others | une, unes | 33 |
| 38 | ami | friend (n., m.; f. amie) | amis, amies, amie | 34 |
| 39 | dire | to say, tell (v.); on aurait dit — you would have said; se dire — to say to oneself | dit, dirent, disait, disant | 35 |
| 40 | il | he; it (il, ils — they) (pron.); il y a — there is; il faut — one must | ils | 36 |
| 41 | tu | you — familiar (pron.) | 37 | |
| 42 | rire | to laugh (v.); se mettre à rire — to burst out laughing | riant, rirait, riras, ris | 38 |
| 43 | volontiers | gladly, willingly (adv.) | 39 | |
| 44 | son | his, her, its (det.) — son, sa, ses; also le son, sound: à son de trompe; also bran (n., m.) — du son, rabbit bait | sa, ses | 39 |
| 45 | avec | with (prep.) | 40 | |
| 46 | ne | not (neg. particle) — ne… pas, ne… point, ne… plus, ne… que (only); ne… rien — nothing; ne… guère — hardly | n’ | 40 |
| 47 | pas | not (ne… pas) (adv.); step, pace (n., m.); pas même — not even | 41 | |
| 48 | ce | this, that; these, those (dem. adj.); it, that (pron.) — c’est, it is; ce qui, ce que — what | c’, cette, ces, cet | 42 |
| 49 | vouloir | to want (v.); que voulez-vous? — what would you have?; en vouloir — to be willing to have (someone) | veux, voulez, voulu, voudrais | 43 |
| 50 | loup | wolf (n., m.) | 44 | |
| 51 | faire | to do, make (v.); faire + inf. — to have (something) done; il se fit — there came; faire le mort — to play dead; se faire à — to get used to | fit, fait, faisait, faite | 45 |
| 52 | qui | who, which, that (rel./interr. pron.); à qui — to whom, whose; qui… qui — one… another | 46 | |
| 53 | là | there; then (adv.); en rester là — to stop there; ce fut là — that was | 48 | |
| 54 | rien | nothing (pron.); ne… rien — nothing; rien que — merely, just; ne valoir rien — to be no good | 49 | |
| 55 | quand | when (conj.) | 50 | |
| 56 | voilà | here is, there is; here are (prep.); les voilà — there they are; la voilà partie — off she goes; voilà qui est bien — that’s it | 51 | |
| 57 | bien | well; very, quite; indeed (adv.) — bien aise, very glad; bien autre chose — something quite different; bien plus — far more | biens | 52 |
| 58 | eh | eh!, hey!, why! (interj.); eh bien — well | 54 | |
| 59 | y | there; in it, to it (pron./adv.); il y a — there is | 55 | |
| 60 | nous | we; us, to us; ourselves (pron.) | 56 | |
| 61 | encore | still, yet; again; even (adv.) — encore plus, even more | 57 | |
| 62 | histoire | story; history (n., f.); pas d’histoires! — no stories, no fuss!; histoire sainte — Bible history | histoires | 58 |
| 63 | entre | between, among (prep.); entre autres choses — among other things; entre nous — between ourselves; il entre — he goes in (from entrer) | 59 | |
| 64 | bientôt | soon (adv.); j’aurai bientôt fait — I’ll soon be done | 60 | |
| 65 | âme | soul (n., f.); pas une âme — not a soul | âmes | 61 |
| 66 | en | in, into; while (+ -ing) (prep.); of it, of them, some (pron.); en train de — in the middle of; s’en aller — to go away | 61 | |
| 67 | vous | you (pron.) | 62 | |
| 68 | donner | to give (v.) — donner un bal, to give a ball; donner des coups de corne — to butt | donna, donne, donné, donnait | 63 |
| 69 | donc | so, then, therefore; (emphatic) do…! (conj./adv.) | 64 | |
| 70 | fleur | flower (n., f.); la fine fleur de farine — the finest wheat flour | fleurs | 65 |
| 71 | paradis | paradise, heaven (n., m.) | 66 | |
| 72 | purgatoire | purgatory (n., m.) | 67 | |
| 73 | monsieur | Mr, Monsieur; sir, gentleman (n., m.; pl. messieurs); M. — short for Monsieur; monsieur le marquis — my lord Marquis | m’, messieurs | 68 |
| 74 | comme | like, as; how…! (conj./adv.); comme si — as if | 69 | |
| 75 | peine | trouble, difficulty; sorrow (n., f.) — sans peine, easily; en peine, at a loss; à peine — hardly, scarcely; faire de la peine — to grieve | 70 | |
| 76 | oui | yes (adv.) | 71 | |
| 77 | oh | oh! (interj.) | 72 | |
| 78 | soupirer | to sigh (v.) | soupirant | 73 |
| 79 | se | himself, herself, itself, themselves; each other (reflexive pron.); s’ also stands for si — if — in s’il, s’ils | s’ | 73 |
| 80 | tout | all, every; quite, very (adj./adv.); tout à coup — suddenly; tout de suite — at once; tout à fait — entirely; tout à l’heure — right away | toute, tous, toutes | 73 |
| 81 | elle | she, her; it (pron.) — elles, they, them (f.) | elles | 73 |
| 82 | peur | fear (n., f.); avoir peur — to be afraid; de peur que — for fear that; faire peur — to frighten | 74 | |
| 83 | voir | to see (v.); se voir — to see oneself; voyons — let’s see; voyez-vous — you see | vit, vu, vis, voyait | 74 |
| 84 | peu | little (adv.); un peu — a little; si peu — so little; peu instruit — little schooled | 75 | |
| 85 | silence | silence (n., m.) | 76 | |
| 86 | lui | him; to him, to her (pron.) | 76 | |
| 87 | ennui | boredom, weariness (n., m.) | 77 | |
| 88 | aller | to go (v.); s’en aller — to go away, leave; aller + inf. — to go and…, be going to…; y aller de bon cœur — to throw oneself into it | alla, allait, va, vais | 77 |
| 89 | finir | to finish, end (v.); c’est fini — it’s over | fini, finie | 78 |
| 90 | dans | in, into (prep.) | 78 | |
| 91 | montagne | mountain; the mountains, the hills (n., f.) | 79 | |
| 92 | cabinet | small room, closet; cabinet (piece of furniture) (n., m.) | cabinets | 80 |
| 93 | fête | feast, festival (n., f.); faire fête à — to give a joyful welcome | 81 | |
| 94 | pour | for; in order to (prep.); pour moi — as for me; pour sa sœur — as for her sister | 81 | |
| 95 | si | if, whether (conj.); so (adv.) — si fort, so hard; yes (after a negative question); s’il vous plaît — please | 81 | |
| 96 | heure | hour (n., f.); tout à l’heure — at once (old), in a moment | heures | 82 |
| 97 | cucugnanais | of Cucugnan (adj.); les Cucugnanais — the people of Cucugnan (n., m.) | 83 | |
| 98 | du | some; of the, from the (de + le) (art./contr.); du reste — besides | 83 | |
| 99 | mais | but (conj.) | 84 | |
| 100 | on | one, people, they, someone (pron.) | 84 |
Download all 100, with the printed forms (CSV, opens in Anki or Excel) → No account, no address, nothing to sign. Columns are Anki's import order.
The fourth column
A French verb is printed in more shapes than any list has room for, and the shapes are where a beginner stalls: être is on every list, while the page says «fut», «était», «sont». The column carries the commonest shapes each word takes in these eight tales, counted, with the glued forms given their apostrophe back. Inverted forms like «dit-il» are left out of it, because they are the verb with a pronoun attached rather than a new spelling.
Learning them in sentences works better than learning them in a list
In the reading room every one of these words is glossed where it stands, inside a real sentence of Perrault or Daudet, and the English sits under the line rather than in a column. «Le petit Chaperon rouge» is free and entire, with no account.