Decks100 Essential French Words with Gender and IPA
These are the first 100 cards of Essential French, a deck of 599 common French words for beginners. Each card gives the English meaning, the IPA pronunciation and, for nouns, the gender: (m) for masculine, (f) for feminine. In the app every card also has audio, and most have a picture.
| # | French | English · gender · IPA |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | acteur | Actor (m) /ak.tœʁ/ |
| 2 | adjectif | Adjective (m) /ad.ʒɛk.tif/ |
| 3 | adulte | Adult (m) /a.dylt/ |
| 4 | après-midi | afternoon (m) /a.pʁɛ mi.di/ |
| 5 | aéroport | Airport (m) /aeʁɔ.pɔʁ/ |
| 6 | animal | Animal (m) /a.ni.mal/ |
| 7 | appartement | Apartment (m) /a.paʁ.tə.mɑ̃/ |
| 8 | pomme | Apple (f) /pɔm/ |
| 9 | avril | April (m) /a.vʁil/ |
| 10 | bras | Arms (m) /bʁɑ/ |
| 11 | armée | Army (f) /aʁ.me/ |
| 12 | tante | Aunt (f) /tɑt/ |
| 13 | artiste | Artist (m) /aʁ.tist/ |
| 14 | attaque | Attack (Assault, Stroke, Offensive) (f) /a.tak/ |
| 15 | août | August (m) /u/, /ut/ |
| 16 | écrivain | Writer (m) /e.kʁi.vɛ̃/ |
| 17 | Terre | Earth (f) /tɛʁ/ |
| 18 | le ciel | Sky (Heaven) (m) /sjɛl/ |
| 19 | un | One /œ̃/ |
| 20 | blanc | White /blɑ̃/ |
| 21 | point | Point (item, location, spot, dot, matter) (m) /pwɛ̃/ |
| 22 | étoile | Star (f) /e.twal/ |
| 23 | vendredi | Friday (m) /vɑ̃.dʁə.di/ |
| 24 | serveur | Server (host, waiter, barman) (m) /sɛʁ.vœʁ/ |
| 25 | se lever | Get up (stand up, rise) /lə.ve/ |
| 26 | dos | Back (backside, reverse side) (m) /do/ |
| 27 | douleur | Pain (suffering, sorrow) (f) /du.lœʁ/ |
| 28 | compter | Count /kɔ̃.te/ |
| 29 | jeune | Young /ʒœn/ adj |
| 30 | cent un | 101 /sɑ̃.tœ̃/ |
| 31 | chien | Dog (m) /ʃjɛ̃/ |
| 32 | parc | Park (m) /paʁk/ |
| 33 | mars | March (m) /maʁs/ |
| 34 | vingt | Twenty /vɛ̃/ |
| 35 | peu profond | Shallow /pø pʁɔ.fɔ̃/ adj |
| 36 | fleuve | River (f) /flœv/ |
| 37 | glace | Ice (ice cream) (f) /ɡlas/ |
| 38 | fondre | to melt /fɔ̃dʁ/ verb |
| 39 | verbe | verb /verbe/ |
| 40 | embrasser | kiss /ɑ̃.bʁa.se/ |
| 41 | cou | neck (m) /ku/ |
| 42 | toucher | to touch /tu.ʃe/ |
| 43 | corps | body (m) /kɔʁ/ |
| 44 | janvier | January (m) /ʒɑ̃.vje/ |
| 45 | premier | first /pʁə.mje/ ord. number |
| 46 | nouveau | new /nu.vo/ adj IRR. masculine before vowel is nouvel |
| 47 | sport | sport (m) /spɔʁ/ |
| 48 | exercice | exercise (physical, training, homework) (m) /ɛɡ.zɛʁ.sis/ |
| 49 | sain | healthy /sɛ̃/ adj |
| 50 | cinq | five /sɛ̃k/ |
| 51 | pied | foot (m) /pje/ |
| 52 | petit | small /pə.ti/ adj |
| 53 | femme | woman, wife (f) /fam/ |
| 54 | oreille | ear (f) /ɔ.ʁɛj/ |
| 55 | bague | ring (f) /baɡ/ |
| 56 | serré | tight (close, narrow, squeezed) /se.ʁe/, /sɛ.ʁe/ adj |
| 57 | jupe | skirt (f) /ʒyp/ |
| 58 | sexe | sex (gender) (m) /sɛks/ |
| 59 | mariage | marriage (m) /ma.ʁjaʒ/ |
| 60 | sourd | deaf /suʁd/ adj |
| 61 | parent | parent (m) /pa.ʁɑ̃/ |
| 62 | bruyant | noisy, loud /bʁɥi.jɑ̃/ adj |
| 63 | téléphone | telephone (m) /te.le.fɔn/ |
| 64 | bébé | baby (m) /be.be/ |
| 65 | pleurer | to cry, weep (grieve) /plœ.ʁe/ verb |
| 66 | larme | tear, teardrop (f) /laʁm/ |
| 67 | sombre | dark /sɔ̃bʁ/ adj |
| 68 | théâtre | theater (m) /te.ɑtʁ/ |
| 69 | roi | king (m) /ʁwa/ |
| 70 | aimer | to love, like /e.me/ |
| 71 | nuit | night (f) /nɥi/ |
| 72 | nom | name (noun, title) (m) /nɔ̃/ |
| 73 | hiver | winter (m) /i.vɛʁ/ |
| 74 | deuxième | second /dø.zjɛm/ |
| 75 | février | February (m) /fe.vʁi.je/ |
| 76 | marcher | to walk /maʁ.ʃe/ |
| 77 | froid | cold /fʁwa/ |
| 78 | nord | north (m) /nɔʁ/ |
| 79 | ville | city (town) (f) /vil/ |
| 80 | pluie | rain (f) /plɥi/ |
| 81 | mouiller | to wet /mu.je/ |
| 82 | gris | grey /ɡʁi/ |
| 83 | acheter | to buy, purchase /a.ʃø.te/ changes to achète in boot |
| 84 | cadeau | gift (m) /ka.do/ |
| 85 | vélo | bike (m) /ve.lo/ |
| 86 | il/elle | he/her /il/, /ɛl/ |
| 87 | argent | money (cash, silver) (m) /aʁ.ʒɑ̃/ |
| 88 | habillement | clothes, apparel (m) /abijmɑ̃/ |
| 89 | magasin | store, shop (m) /ma.ɡa.zɛ̃/ |
| 90 | signe | sign (m) /siɲ/ |
| 91 | vendre | to sell /vɑ̃dʁ/ |
| 92 | long | long /lɔ̃/ IRR -- f. longue |
| 93 | desserrer | to loosen (release, relax) /de.se.ʁe/ |
| 94 | pantalon | pant (m) /pɑ̃.ta.lɔ̃/ |
| 95 | poche | (f) /pɔʃ/ |
| 96 | prix | price (m) /pʁi/ |
| 97 | quatre-vingts | eighty /ka.trə.vɛ̃/ |
| 98 | soixante-dix | seventy /swa.sɑ̃t dis/ |
| 99 | million | million |
| 100 | année | year (f) /a.ne/ |
Why learn the gender with the word
Every French noun is masculine or feminine, and the gender changes the words around it: le or la, un or une, and the ending of adjectives. There are patterns (nouns ending in -tion are almost always feminine; most ending in -ment are masculine), but they have exceptions, so the reliable way is to learn each noun with its gender from the start. Say un acteur, not just acteur.
How to use the IPA
French spelling and sound often disagree. The IPA line shows what is said: année is /a.ne/, two syllables, and the double n sounds like one. If IPA is new to you, you don't need the whole alphabet; learning the dozen or so French vowel symbols covers most of the difference between spelling and sound.
Published 2026-10-07.