French essential verb vocabulary: 300 words
The everyday verbs that carry most conversations (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 |
|---|---|---|
| be | être | To exist, or to link a subject with a state or description. |
| have | avoir | To possess or hold something as yours. |
| do | faire | To perform an action or carry out a task. |
| go | aller | To move from here toward another place. |
| get | obtenir | To obtain or receive something; not become. |
| make | faire | To produce or create something. |
| take | prendre | To get hold of something and carry it away with you. |
| come | venir | To move toward the speaker or arrive at a place. |
| see | voir | To perceive something with your eyes. |
| know | savoir | To have knowledge or be aware of facts; not to understand or meet. |
| think | penser | To use your mind to reason or form an opinion. |
| say | dire | To utter words aloud. |
| find | trouver | To discover or locate something you were looking for. |
| give | donner | To hand something over to someone so it becomes theirs. |
| tell | raconter | To narrate or recount; also to communicate information to someone. |
| work | travailler | To exert effort at a job or task. |
| call | appeler | To use your voice loudly to summon someone. |
| try | essayer | To attempt something, putting in effort to achieve it. |
| feel | sentir | To experience an emotion or a physical sensation. |
| become | devenir | To grow into a new state or turn into something different. |
| put | mettre | To place something in a particular spot. |
| mean | signifier | To express a particular sense, as a word or sign does. |
| keep | garder | To retain or maintain possession; not just to guard. |
| let | laisser | To allow or permit someone to do something. |
| begin | commencer | To start doing something or to come into existence. |
| seem | sembler | To appear or give a certain impression. |
| help | aider | To assist someone so their task is easier. |
| talk | parler | To speak with someone in conversation. |
| turn | tourner | To rotate or spin around a point or axis. |
| start | commencer | To do the first part of something, or come into being for the first time. |
| show | montrer | To let someone see something, or point it out to them. |
| hear | entendre | To take in sound through the ears. |
| play | jouer | To take part in a game or amuse oneself for fun. |
| run | courir | To go on foot faster than walking, with both feet leaving the ground. |
| move | bouger | To go from one position to another, or make something do so. |
| like | aimer | To find someone or something pleasant and enjoyable. |
| live | vivre | To have one's home in a particular place. |
| believe | croire | To accept something as true, or trust that someone is honest. |
| hold | tenir | To keep something in your hands or arms. |
| bring | apporter | To carry or take something with you to the place where you are going. |
260 more words in the full “Essential Verbs” 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
- Accents count. Answers are graded accent-sensitively, so you need
àâçéèêîïô— LinguaSwap shows a one-tap keypad for them while you type. - 300 words carry a usage note in the full library, for the cases where a direct translation would mislead you.
Practise French essential verb vocabulary
Words come back just before you would forget them, and every language direction is tracked separately.