They might be tiny, but prepositions pull a lot of weight in French. These little words show where, when, why, or how something is happening – and without them, you’re just pointing and hoping.
We’ve gathered around 42 of the most common French prepositions for learners who want to stop second‑guessing themselves. Each entry gives you a clear meaning and a natural example sentence, so you can see how the word behaves in real French – not a dusty textbook line.
Let’s make French prepositions feel a little less mysterious and a lot more useful—tiny words, big job! Scroll to the bottom of the article to find the free printable Most Common French Prepositions vocabulary list PDF and the free downloadable printable Most Common French Prepositions flashcards.
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
Think you’ve locked these prepositions into memory? Give the quick quiz below a nudge – no pressure, just a friendly way to see which ones need a second look.
Browse the Full List
| Word | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| de retour | duh ruh-toor | Je suis de retour lundi. |
| de…à… | duh…ah… | Je travaille de lundi à vendredi. |
| depuis | duh-pwee | J’habite ici depuis 2020. |
| derrière | deh-ryair | Le jardin est derrière la maison. |
| devant | duh-vahn | La voiture est devant la banque. |
| en | ahn | J’habite en France. |
| en face de | ahn fahs duh | Le musée est en face de la poste. |
| en vacances | ahn vah-kahns | Ils sont en vacances en août. |
| entre | ahntr | La pharmacie est entre la boulangerie et le café. |
| Feminine country | en | We live in France. |
| jusqu’à | zhoos-kah | Continuez jusqu’au feu rouge. |
| jusqu’à demain | zhoos-kah duh-mahn | Je reste ici jusqu’à demain. |
| le long de | luh long duh | Promenez-vous le long du canal. |
| loin d’ici | lwahn dee-see | La plage n’est pas loin d’ici. |
| loin de | lwahn duh | L’hôtel est loin du centre. |
| Masculine country | au | He works in Canada. |
| Month | often none / en | He arrives in April. |
| par | par | Passez par le parc. |
| pendant | pahn-dahn | Il a étudié pendant deux heures. |
| Place Type | Preposition | Translation |
| Plural country | aux | They are traveling in the United States. |
| pour | poor | Je pars pour deux jours. |
| Preposition | Main Idea | English Translation |
| près d’ici | preh dee-see | Il y a un café près d’ici ? |
| près de | preh duh | J’habite près de la gare. |
Free Most Common French Prepositions PDF and Flashcards to Download
You can download the Most Common French Prepositions vocabulary list from the purple button and the Most Common French Prepositions flashcards from the teal button. Everything is 100% free and requires no signup.
