Starting French can feel like you’re handed a bag of random words and told to just talk, but you need the ones that actually show up at the boulangerie, in your first chat, or on a street sign. This CEFR-aligned A1 list gathers around 800 practical French words you’ll lean on daily-no dusty textbook relics, just useful vocabulary that gets you through real situations.
Bonjour, language explorer! If you’re building your very first French word bank, you’re in the right place—SCROLL TO THE BOTTOM for the free printable A1 French vocabulary list PDF and the free downloadable printable A1 French flashcards.
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Quick Quiz
Think you’ve already locked in these 800 words? Take the quiz below-it’s a friendly nudge to see which ones still need a little love.
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Browse the Full List
| Word | Type | Meaning | Audio |
|---|---|---|---|
| religieuse | Noun | nun | |
| remorque | Noun | tow | |
| remuer | Verb | stir | |
| rencontrer | Verb | meet, come across, encounter, sink, strike, tap | |
| rendre | Verb | return | |
| rentrer | Verb | reenter | |
| repasser | Verb | pass | |
| répondre | Verb | answer, reply, respond | |
| ressortir | Verb | leave | |
| reste | Noun | remnant | |
| rester | Verb | stay, remain, stay over, abide, keep, rest, stop | |
| retour | Noun | return | |
| retourner | Verb | turn around, turn round, turn, inside out, turn | |
| retrouver | Verb | refind, rediscover | |
| rêve | Noun | dream | |
| revenir | Verb | come again | |
| revoir | Verb | review, revise | |
| rien | Noun | nothing, nil | |
| rime | Noun | rhyme | |
| rire | Verb | laugh | |
| ROC | Other | OCR | |
| roi | Noun | king | |
| romain | Adjective | Roman | |
| rosée | Noun | dew | |
| rouge | Adjective | red |
Free A1 French Vocabulary List PDF and Flashcards to Download
Grab the purple vocab-list button for your A1 French vocabulary list and the teal flashcards button for your A1 French flashcards. Both downloads are 100% free, with no signup required.
