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Vocabulaire · niveau seuil

French B1 vocabulary

Reviewed words that carry intermediate French — the nouns and verbs you need to narrate events, give opinions, and talk about work, feelings, and plans. Every entry has a real example sentence and translations in six languages.

60 words39 nouns · 20 verbs6 languages60 examples
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l’actualité n.

current events

« Il suit l’actualité pour mieux comprendre les débats. »

He follows current events to better understand the debates.

en · es · pt · de · it · ar

What B1 means — and what this list covers

B1 is the CEFR “threshold” level (niveau seuil): the point where you stop surviving in French and start functioning. A B1 speaker can follow the main points of clear speech, deal with most situations while travelling, and produce connected text on familiar topics. The vocabulary that unlocks this is less about objects and more about abstraction — words that let you compare, argue, and describe change.

This list is deliberately focused. Rather than a frequency dump, it is a reviewed selection of high-value B1 words — words like l’ambiance, l’argument, ajouter from this list — each published with a natural example sentence and checked translations in English, Spanish, Portuguese, German, Italian, and Arabic. Each entry passes automated quality gates and human approval before publication.

On this pageNoms · 39Verbes · 20Expressions · 1StoriesGrammarFAQ

Noms · nouns 39

l’actualité n. current events Il suit l’actualité pour mieux comprendre les débats. He follows current events to better understand the debates. l’ambiance n. atmosphere J’adore l’ambiance de ce petit café en été. I love the atmosphere of this small café in summer. l’argument n. argument Il a présenté un argument convaincant pendant la discussion. He presented a convincing argument during the discussion. l’avantage n. advantage Vivre à la campagne a beaucoup d’avantages. Living in the countryside has many advantages. le bénévolat n.m. volunteering Le bénévolat lui permet de se sentir utile dans son quartier. Volunteering allows her to feel useful in her neighborhood. le but n.m. goal Notre but est de finir le projet avant la fin du mois. Our goal is to finish the project before the end of the month. la candidature n.f. application J’ai envoyé ma candidature avant la date limite. I submitted my application before the deadline. le choix n.m. choice Ce n’était pas un choix facile à faire. It wasn’t an easy choice to make. la circulation n.f. traffic La circulation est particulièrement dense aux heures de pointe. Traffic is particularly heavy during rush hour. la compétence n.f. skill Elle a développé de nouvelles compétences en suivant ce cours. She developed new skills by taking this course. le comportement n.m. behavior Son comportement était très poli pendant l’entretien. His behavior was very polite during the interview. la confiance n.f. confidence Il a gagné en confiance après avoir réussi son projet. He gained confidence after successfully completing his project. la conséquence n.f. consequence Les conséquences de ses actions ont été graves. The consequences of his actions were serious. la culture n.f. culture J’aime découvrir la culture des pays que je visite. I love discovering the culture of the countries I visit. la décision n.f. decision Elle a pris une décision importante hier. She made an important decision yesterday. le défi n.m. challenge Apprendre une nouvelle langue est un vrai défi. Learning a new language is a real challenge. la démarche n.f. approach Cette démarche permet de simplifier les inscriptions. This approach makes the registration process simpler. la disponibilité n.f. availability Pouvez-vous confirmer votre disponibilité pour mardi matin ? Can you confirm your availability for Tuesday morning? la durée n.f. duration La durée du film est de deux heures. The duration of the movie is two hours. l’échec n. failure Il considère cet échec comme une occasion d’apprendre. He sees this failure as an opportunity to learn. l’effort n. effort Elle a fait beaucoup d’efforts pour terminer à temps. She made a lot of effort to finish on time. l’émotion n. emotion Ce film a provoqué beaucoup d’émotions. This movie provoked a lot of emotions. l’enthousiasme n. enthusiasm Son enthousiasme pour ce projet est contagieux. His enthusiasm for this project is contagious. l’entretien n. interview Elle prépare ses réponses pour l’entretien de demain. She is preparing her answers for tomorrow’s interview. l’environnement n. environment Nous devons protéger l’environnement tout en développant la ville. We must protect the environment while developing the city. l’équilibre n. balance Trouver un équilibre entre travail et vie personnelle est important. Finding a balance between work and personal life is important. l’expérience professionnelle n. work experience Son expérience professionnelle est impressionnante. His work experience is impressive. la formation n.f. training course Cette formation prépare les employés à utiliser le nouveau logiciel. This training prepares employees to use the new software. la frustration n.f. frustration Il a ressenti une grande frustration après avoir échoué. He felt great frustration after failing. l’habitude n. habit J’ai pris l’habitude de lire les nouvelles en français. I have got into the habit of reading the news in French. l’inconvénient n. drawback Le principal inconvénient de ce logement est le bruit. The main drawback of this accommodation is the noise. le logement n.m. housing Trouver un logement abordable près du centre est difficile. Finding affordable housing near the center is difficult. la panne n.f. breakdown À cause d’une panne, le train est resté en gare. Because of a breakdown, the train remained at the station. le permis n.m. permit Il faut un permis pour stationner dans cette rue. You need a permit to park on this street. la réussite n.f. success Sa réussite dépend surtout de son travail régulier. Her success mainly depends on her consistent work. la santé n.f. health Faire une promenade chaque jour est bon pour la santé. Taking a walk every day is good for your health. le soutien n.m. support Elle a reçu le soutien de ses collègues pendant le projet. She received support from her colleagues during the project. le témoignage n.m. testimony Son témoignage a aidé les journalistes à comprendre la situation. His testimony helped the journalists understand the situation. le voisinage n.m. neighborhood residents Le voisinage s’est réuni pour nettoyer le parc. The neighborhood residents met to clean the park.

Verbes · verbs 20

ajouter v. to add Peux-tu ajouter un peu de sucre dans mon thé ? Can you add a little sugar to my tea? améliorer v. to improve Nous cherchons à améliorer la qualité du service. We are trying to improve the quality of the service. analyser v. to analyze Il faut analyser les résultats avant de tirer des conclusions. We need to analyze the results before drawing conclusions. apprécier v. to appreciate J’apprécie beaucoup ton aide. I really appreciate your help. arriver à v. to manage to Il est arrivé à finir son travail avant minuit. He managed to finish his work before midnight. communiquer v. to communicate Il est important de bien communiquer en équipe. It’s important to communicate well in a team. confirmer v. to confirm Peux-tu confirmer ton arrivée par email ? Can you confirm your arrival by email? convaincre v. to convince Elle a réussi à convaincre son équipe de changer de méthode. She managed to convince her team to change methods. créer v. to create Elle a créé une belle peinture pour l’exposition. She created a beautiful painting for the exhibition. découvrir v. to discover J’ai découvert un nouveau restaurant dans le quartier. I discovered a new restaurant in the neighborhood. développer v. to develop Il développe une nouvelle application mobile. He is developing a new mobile app. emprunter v. to borrow J’ai emprunté ce roman à la bibliothèque municipale. I borrowed this novel from the municipal library. évoluer v. to evolve La situation a beaucoup évolué ces dernières années. The situation has evolved a lot in recent years. gérer v. to manage Elle sait gérer plusieurs tâches sans perdre son calme. She knows how to manage several tasks without losing her calm. improviser v. to improvise Il a dû improviser un discours à la dernière minute. He had to improvise a speech at the last minute. participer à v. to take part in Plus de cent personnes ont participé à la consultation publique. More than one hundred people took part in the public consultation. prévenir v. to let someone know Merci de me prévenir si la réunion est annulée. Please let me know if the meeting is canceled. proposer v. to suggest Le responsable a proposé une solution plus simple. The manager suggested a simpler solution. résoudre v. to solve Nous devons résoudre ce problème avant la fin de la journée. We must solve this problem before the end of the day. s’adapter à v. to adapt to Il lui a fallu quelques semaines pour s’adapter à son nouveau rythme. It took him a few weeks to adapt to his new routine.

Expressions · phrases 1

se rendre compte de expr. to realize Je me suis rendu compte de mon erreur trop tard. I realized my mistake too late.

Common questions

How many words do I need for B1?

Around 2,000 word families are commonly cited for comfortable B1 comprehension. You do not memorise them from a list — most arrive through reading and listening. This page gives you the highest-value items to study deliberately; the rest come from stories at your level.

What does CEFR level B1 actually mean?

The Common European Framework calls B1 the “seuil” stage (niveau seuil). Intermediate: longer texts, opinions, narration, and more varied structures.

Are these translations machine-generated?

Drafts are generated with structured tooling, then pass automated quality gates and human approval before anything is published — no entry appears here without review. Found an error? Report it to support@toba.solutions.

What should I study after this list?

Pair the words with the B1 grammar lessons and the B1 stories where the same vocabulary reappears in context. When recognising feels easy, move to the B2 list.

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