List of common and useful verbs in French

Learn 100 common and useful verbs in French

When you learn a new language, in this case French, verbs are essential to learn because they will allow you to express what you do, what you think, and what you like or dislike.

They are important to create sentences and express yourself orally in your daily life. Once you learn the pronouns and some verbs, you will already be able to express things with small sentences, for example:

Je comprends – I understand
Je dors – I sleep
Je mange – I eat
Je lis – I read
Elle court – She runs
Il parle – He talks
Vous partez – You go
Ils reviennent – They come back

As you can see, with just a pronoun and a verb you can already make sentences.

To progress quickly and save time in your learning, it is important to focus on the most frequent and useful verbs in French.

Below, you can find audio files to learn 100 useful and common verbs in French, a video, and a list in alphabetic order that you can print so you can practice at any time, anywhere.

I hope this list of verbs was useful for you, you can also watch it in video if you prefer. If you have any questions, please leave a comment.

List of common and useful verbs in French in alphabetic order: [download pdf version]

• acheter – to buy
• agir- to act
• aimer – to like/to love
• ajouter – to add
• aller – to go
• apercevoir – to see/to spot
• apprendre – to learn
• arriver – to arrive
• avoir – to have
• boire – to drink
• cacher – to hide
• changer – to change
• chanter – to sing
• chercher – to look for
• comprendre – to understand
• compter – to count
• conduire – to drive
• connaitre – to know
• continuer – to continue
• courir – to run
• crier – to shout
• croire – to believe
• défaire – to undo
• demander – to ask
• descendre – to come down
• devenir – to become
• dire – to say/to tell
• donner – to give
• dormir – to sleep
• écouter – to listen to
• entendre – to hear
• envoyer -to send
• essayer – to try
• être – to be
• étudier – to study
• exister – to exist
• faire – to do
• faire du shopping – to go shopping (for leisure)
• faire les courses – to go shopping (for groceries)
• finir – to finish
• frapper – to hit
• garder – to keep
• jeter – to throw
• jouer – to play
• lire – to read
• manger – to eat
• mettre – to put/to place
• obtenir – to get
• occuper – to occupy
• offrir – to offer
• oublier – to forget
• parler – to speak
• passer – to pass
• payer- to pay
• penser – to think
• peser – to weigh
• pleurer – to cry
• poser – to put
• pousser – to push
• pouvoir – to be able to
• prendre – to take
• présenter – to present
• quitter – to leave
• rappeler – to call back
• recevoir – to receive
• reconnaitre – to recognize
• redire – to repeat/to say again
• refaire – to redo
• regarder – to look
• remettre – to put back
• rencontrer – to meet
• rendre – to return
• répéter – to repeat
• répondre – to answer
• rester – to stay
• retourner – to return
• retrouver – to find
• revenir – to come back
• rire – to laugh
• saigner – to bleed
• saisir – to cease
• sauver – to save
• savoir – to know
• se sentir – to feel/ to feel something
• secourir – to rescue
• sembler – to seem
• sentir – to feel/to smell
• servir – to serve
• suivre – to follow
• tirer – to pull, to shoot
• tourner – to turn
• travailler – to work
• trouver – to find
• tuer – to kill
• vendre- to sell
• venir – to come
• vivre – to live
• voir – to see
• voler – to steal/ to fly
• vomir – to vomit
• vouloir – to want