French words often stretch out with little endings that change everything-turn a verb into a noun, or an adjective into an adverb. Those endings are suffixes, and once you know the common ones, you can guess meanings without reaching for a dictionary every five seconds.
We’ve gathered roughly 50 of the most frequent French suffixes you’ll meet in everyday reading and chat. Each one comes with a plain meaning and a practical example sentence, so you see exactly how it works in a real French sentence-not just a dusty translation.
When you’re ready to take your study offline, the free PDF download button is sitting right below the table. That way, you can review wherever you like, no Wi‑Fi needed.
Use this list as a starting point, then keep going in the Yak Yacker French section for more words, phrases, and study-friendly reference pages.
Quick Quiz
Ready to test your suffix smarts? The vocabulary quiz below will show you which endings you’ve already locked into memory.
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Browse the Full List
| Word | Example |
|---|---|
| -able | aimable |
| -ade | promenade |
| -ade | salade |
| -age | voyage |
| -aire | vocabulaire |
| -aire | nécessaire |
| -al | national |
| -ance | importance |
| -ant | intéressant |
| -ard | fainéant |
| -asse | sacoche |
| -ée | journée |
| -el | naturel |
| -ence | différence |
| -ent | différent |
| -er | parler |
| -erie | boulangerie |
| -esse | jeunesse |
| -ette | cigarette |
| -ette | maisonnette |
| -ette | navette |
| -eur | chanteur |
| -eur | bonheur |
| -euse | chanteuse |
| -euse | heureuse |
