Vocabulaire · niveau découverte

French A1 vocabulary

Reviewed words for absolute beginners — greetings, food, family, and places: the concrete everyday vocabulary your first French conversations are made of. Every entry has a real example sentence and translations in six languages.

74 words46 nouns · 11 verbs6 languages74 examples

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l’adresse n.

address

« Je ne connais pas son adresse exacte. »

I don’t know his exact address.

en · es · pt · de · it · ar

What A1 means — and what this list covers

A1 is the CEFR “discovery” level (niveau découverte): you can introduce yourself, ask simple questions, and understand slow, clear speech. The fastest lever at this stage is concrete vocabulary — the words for what you see, eat, and do every day — because almost every A1 sentence is built directly from them.

This list is deliberately focused. Rather than a frequency dump, it is a reviewed selection of high-value A1 words — words like l’année, l’arrêt, acheter 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 · 46 Verbes · 11 Adjectifs · 9 Adverbes · 4 Expressions · 4 Stories Grammar FAQ

Noms · nouns 46

l’adresse n. address Je ne connais pas son adresse exacte. I don’t know his exact address. l’année n. year J’étudie le français cette année. I am studying French this year. l’arrêt n. stop Je descends à l’arrêt suivant. I’m getting off at the next stop. le café n.m. coffee / café Je prends un café le matin. I have a coffee in the morning. le carnet n.m. the notebook J’écris mes idées dans ce carnet. I write my ideas in this notebook. le chat n.m. the cat Le chat dort sur le canapé. The cat is sleeping on the sofa. le chien n.m. the dog Le chien joue dans le jardin. The dog is playing in the garden. la classe n.f. class / classroom Notre classe est au premier étage. Our classroom is on the first floor. le client n.m. customer Le client est dans le magasin. The customer is in the shop. le compte n.m. account (bank) J’ai ouvert un compte à la banque. I opened an account at the bank. la couverture n.f. blanket Prends une couverture, il fait froid. Take a blanket, it’s cold. le crayon n.m. the pencil Peux-tu me prêter un crayon, s’il te plaît ? Can you lend me a pencil, please? la cuisine n.f. kitchen (the room) La cuisine est très petite. The kitchen is very small. l’école n. school Les enfants vont à l’école. The children go to school. l’enfant n. child L’enfant joue dans le jardin. The child plays in the garden. la famille n.f. family Ma famille habite à Paris. My family lives in Paris. le film n.m. movie Nous allons voir un film au cinéma. We are going to watch a movie at the cinema. le frère n.m. brother Mon frère joue au foot. My brother plays football. le frigo n.m. the fridge Il y a du lait dans le frigo. There is milk in the fridge. le fromage n.m. cheese J’aime le fromage français. I like French cheese. l’heure n. time / hour Il est quelle heure ? What time is it? le jardin n.m. garden Mon grand-père travaille dans le jardin. My grandfather works in the garden. le jour n.m. day (calendar day) Quel jour sommes-nous aujourd’hui ? What day is it today? le journal n.m. newspaper Je lis le journal tous les matins. I read the newspaper every morning. le lait n.m. milk Je bois du lait le matin. I drink milk in the morning. le légume n.m. vegetable Je mange beaucoup de légumes. I eat a lot of vegetables. la main n.f. hand Je me lave les mains. I wash my hands. la maison n.f. the house La maison est très grande. The house is very big. la mère n.f. mother Ma mère est très gentille. My mother is very kind. le métro n.m. subway Le métro est rapide en ville. The subway is fast in the city. le pain n.m. bread J'achète du pain à la boulangerie. I buy bread at the bakery. le parapluie n.m. the umbrella Prends ton parapluie, il va pleuvoir. Take your umbrella, it’s going to rain. la photo n.f. photo La photo est belle. The photo is beautiful. la pomme n.f. apple Elle mange une pomme rouge. She eats a red apple. la porte n.f. door La porte est ouverte. The door is open. le quartier n.m. neighborhood J’aime mon quartier, il est très animé. I like my neighborhood, it’s very lively. la règle n.f. the ruler Utilise la règle pour tracer une ligne droite. Use the ruler to draw a straight line. la semaine n.f. week Je travaille cinq jours par semaine. I work five days a week. la serviette n.f. the towel Sèche-toi les mains avec la serviette. Dry your hands with the towel. la sœur n.f. sister Ma sœur habite à Paris. My sister lives in Paris. le soleil n.m. sun Le soleil brille aujourd’hui. The sun is shining today. le téléphone n.m. the phone Mon téléphone est en charge. My phone is charging. la tête n.f. head J’ai mal à la tête. I have a headache. le train n.m. train Le train part à 15h30. The train leaves at 3:30 PM. le vent n.m. wind Le vent est très froid. The wind is very cold. la ville n.f. city / town J’habite dans une petite ville. I live in a small town.

Verbes · verbs 11

acheter v. to buy J’achète du pain le matin. I buy bread in the morning. coûter v. to cost Combien coûte ce livre ? How much does this book cost? donner v. to give Je donne un cadeau à ma sœur. I’m giving a gift to my sister. manger v. to eat Nous aimons manger ensemble. We like to eat together. mettre v. to put, to put on Je mets le livre ici. I'm putting the book here. monter v. to go up / to climb Monte les escaliers, l’ascenseur est en panne. Go up the stairs, the elevator is broken. ouvrir v. to open Peux-tu ouvrir la fenêtre ? Can you open the window? parler v. to speak / to talk Je parle un peu français. I speak a little French. passer v. to pass / to spend time Je passe devant la poste tous les matins. I pass by the post office every morning. penser v. to think Je pense à ma famille. I think about my family. remercier v. to thank Je veux remercier mon professeur. I want to thank my teacher.

Adjectifs · adjectives 9

beau adj. beautiful, good-looking C’est un beau jardin. It's a beautiful garden. calme adj. calm Le lac est calme aujourd’hui. The lake is calm today. chaud adj. hot, warm Il fait très chaud aujourd’hui. It is very hot today. compliqué adj. complicated Ce problème est un peu compliqué. This problem is a bit complicated. grand adj. big / tall Il habite dans un grand appartement. He lives in a big apartment. jeune adj. young Mon frère est jeune. My brother is young. nouveau adj. new J’ai un nouveau vélo. I have a new bike. petit adj. small / little C'est un petit village. It's a small village. vieux adj. old Mon grand-père est vieux. My grandfather is old.

Adverbes · adverbs 4

aussi adv. also J’aime le café, et j’aime aussi le thé. I like coffee, and I also like tea. beaucoup adv. a lot, much (with a verb) Elle parle beaucoup. She talks a lot. ensuite adv. then / next D’abord, je mange, ensuite je me repose. First, I eat, then I rest. très adv. very (before an adjective) Il est très grand. He is very tall.

Expressions · phrases 4

avec prép. with Je vais au cinéma avec mes amis. I’m going to the cinema with my friends. bonjour interj. hello / good morning Bonjour, comment ça va ? Hello, how are you? merci interj. thank you Merci beaucoup ! Thank you very much! sans prép. without Je suis sorti sans mon parapluie. I went out without my umbrella.

Common questions

How many words do I need for A1?

Around 500 word families are commonly cited for basic A1 communication. 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 A1 actually mean?

The Common European Framework calls A1 the “découverte” stage (niveau découverte). Absolute beginner: everyday situations, short sentences, and high-frequency vocabulary.

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 A1 grammar lessons and the A1 stories where the same vocabulary reappears in context. When recognising feels easy, move to the A2 list.

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