The 103 most common French verbs

These are the 103 verbs among the 500 most common French words, in the order a corpus of everyday writing says you will meet them.

Meanings are given in English on this page. In the app they appear in your own language, translated on your device.

#WordTypeMeaning
2êtreVerbsto be
6avoirVerbsto have; to own; to possess; to get
21faireVerbsto do
30pouvoirVerbscan, to be able to
41allerVerbsto go
43direVerbsto say, to tell (to express through speech)
54voirVerbsto see
57devoirVerbsmust, to have to, should (as a requirement)
59vouloirVerbsto want, wish, desire
64savoirVerbsto know (something)
75prendreVerbsto take
77falloirVerbsto need, have to, to be necessary (that)
84mettreVerbsto put; to place
92parlerVerbsto speak, talk
94donnerVerbsto give
106trouverVerbsto find
111penserVerbsto think, reflect, concentrate one's mind on something
113passerVerbsto go past
119aimerVerbsto love
126croireVerbsto believe (someone)
133comprendreVerbsto understand, comprehend
138mourirVerbsto die; to be dying
147compterVerbsto count
150arriverVerbsto arrive (often followed by a location)
157connaîtreVerbsto know (of), to be familiar with
162sortirVerbsto exit, go out, come out
167permettreVerbsto permit, to allow (to grant permission or access)
181rendreVerbsto return, to restore, to give back
183jouerVerbsto play (engage in games or play)
188devenirVerbsto become
199partirVerbsto go away, leave, depart
201lireVerbsto read
202regarderVerbsto look at
207commencerVerbsto begin, commence
210attendreVerbsto wait for, to await
213aiderVerbsto help; to aid
227arrêterVerbsto stop, to come to a standstill
233importerVerbsto import
237appelerVerbsto call (out)
240demanderVerbsto ask
244perdreVerbsto lose (be unable to find)
247vivreVerbsto live
249utiliserVerbsto use, to utilize
250changerVerbsto exchange (something)
252soirVerbspost-1990 spelling of seoir
253chercherVerbsto look for, to seek
254laisserVerbsto leave, to leave behind
259suivreVerbsto follow (literal sense)
270semblerVerbsto seem, to resemble, to look like
272montrerVerbsto show
273agirVerbsto act, to do (something)
277resterVerbsto stay
282tenirVerbsto have; to hold
288écrireVerbsto write
289retrouverVerbsto find (again); to rediscover
293causerVerbsto speak (a language)
300travaillerVerbsto work
301essayerVerbsto test, to try on
310gagnerVerbsto win
320répondreVerbsto reply, to answer
325porterVerbsto carry
326recevoirVerbsto receive
330vientVerbsthird-person singular present indicative of venir
334servirVerbsto serve (to help in a shop; to bring a meal to someone)
335continuerVerbsto continue
337nuireVerbsto harm, to spoil
351manquerVerbsto lack; to be lacking in
353revenirVerbsto come back, to return
354oublierVerbsto forget
356apprendreVerbsto learn
361marcherVerbsto walk
368créerVerbsto create
372tomberVerbsto fall
377existerVerbsto exist
378entendreVerbsto hear
379expliquerVerbsto explain
383produireVerbsto produce, to yield
389forcerVerbsto force
394proposerVerbsto propose, suggest
396poserVerbsto stop carrying, to put down (something or somebody)
404espérerVerbsto hope
407rappelerVerbsto call again; to call back
411acheterVerbsto purchase; buy
412payerVerbsto pay (for)
421annoncerVerbsto announce
425représenterVerbsto represent (to be the representative of)
427douterVerbsto doubt
431rechercherVerbsto search for, seek, to look for
433mangerVerbsto eat
434découvrirVerbsto discover
439couperVerbsto cut, cut up; to chop, to sever
445obtenirVerbsto get, to obtain
447choisirVerbsto choose
455déciderVerbsto decide
459mesurerVerbsto measure
463assurerVerbsto assure, to ensure, to make sure
474sentirVerbsto smell (to have a certain odor)
476daterVerbsto date, to add a date onto something
483écouterVerbsto listen
484ouvrirVerbsto open
486monterVerbsto go up, to climb (go to a higher position)
492voterVerbsto vote
500présenterVerbsto present, to introduce

All 500 A1 words are on this page, free, with no sign-up.

The rest of the list

  • A2A2 Beginner: 500 more wordsrisquer · santé · voix · feu · relation
  • B1B1 Intermediate: 750 more wordsvéritable · comité · vacance · ouverture · document
  • B2B2 Upper intermediate: 750 more wordspape · relatif · monnaie · présenté · manifester

A2 to B2 are part of Oqou Pro, in the app, where you can also send any word straight into spaced review and meet it again on the day you are about to forget it.

Download on the App Store

Where this comes from

The order is measured: it comes from how often each word appears in a large corpus, counted across all the forms of a word rather than each form separately, so a verb is ranked where you really meet it. The band edges are a convention rather than a measurement. Nothing says word 501 is harder than word 500; the levels are cut where established graded reader series cut theirs.

wordfreq 3.1 (frequency order) + en.wiktionary via kaikki.org (part of speech, gender, gloss). Corpus read on 2026-09-16.

Questions

Where does the order come from?

From how often each word appears in a large corpus of everyday writing. Frequency is counted across all the forms of a word and attributed to the dictionary form, so a verb is ranked where a reader really meets it rather than being spread thinly over a dozen endings.

Why are these lists shorter than the ones with 5,000 or 10,000 words?

Because past about 2,500 a frequency rank stops meaning much. Rank 6,000 in a web corpus is not a harder word, it is a word that happens to be common in journalism. Established graded reader series top out near 2,500 headwords for the same reason.

Is every word in the list a real dictionary word?

Yes. Every headword is checked against the language's own Wiktionary entry, which is where the part of speech, the gender and the meaning come from. That check is what removes the proper nouns, single letters and corpus noise that raw frequency lists are full of.

Do I need the app?

Not for this page. The A1 list is free here and free in the app. A2 to B2 are part of Oqou Pro, and the app is also where a word can go from a list into a review queue, which is the part a page cannot do.

Has a native speaker checked these?

Not yet. The frequency order and the part of speech are mechanical, and the meanings come from a dictionary rather than being written by hand, but nothing here has been through native review. If you spot a meaning that is technically right and practically useless, we would like to hear about it.