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Essential GCSE vocab

Here is some very basic French vocabulary, most of which doesn't look much like the English equivalent. One or two look like the English word, but there's a phrase that often goes with the word that's worth knowing. You'll almost certainly need various of these words in the GCSE tests. Make sure you know them as well as you can:

If you have an iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch, you may also like to consider the site's French Vocab Games app.

mon ami	my (male) friend
mon amie	my (female) friend
avec mes ami(e)s	with my friends
en Angleterre	in/to England
de l'argent	some money
(à) la banque	(to/at) the bank
du beurre	some butter
une boisson	a drink
le bras	the arm, my arm, his/her arm etc
le bureau	the office
un cadeau (pour...)	a present (for...)
un café	a coffee
la caisse	the checkout, till
la carte	the menu; the map; the card
une chambre	a bedroom (in a house); a room (in a hotel)
un chat	a cat
le cheval	the horse
les cheveux	the hair, my hair, his hair etc
un chien	a dog
la clé	the key
mon/un copain	my/a (male) friend; my boyfriend
ma/une copine	my/a (female) friend; my girlfriend
(de quelle) couleur	(what) colo(u)r
un couteau	a knife
une cuillère	a spoon
(je prends) une douche	(I'm having/I'll have) a shower
(à) l'école	(at) school
un(e) enfant	a child
de l'essence	some petrol/"gas"
(mal à) l'estomac	stomach (ache)
une fille	a girl/daughter
un fils	a son
une fourchette	a fork
en France	in/to France
(mon) frère	(my) brother
des frites	some chips, fries
du fromage	some cheese
un garçon	a boy
(à) l'hôtel	(at) the hotel
(une bonne) idée	(a good) idea
le journal	the newspaper
du lait	some milk
un livre	a book
un oignon	an onion
le magasin	a shop
la maison; à la maison	the house/home; at home
un médecin	a doctor
la mer	the sea, seaside
(ma) mère	(mum) mum, mother
une note	a schoolmark; a note
de la nourriture	some food
un oeuf	an egg
du pain	some bread
un pantalon	a pair of trousers
(mon) père	(my) dad, father
des pommes	some apples
des pommes de terre	some potatoes
(à/sur) la plage	(at/on) the beach/seaside
du poulet	some chicken
(il y a) un problème avec...	(there's) a problem with...
mon/ma prof	my teacher
la salle	the hall, (large) room; the room (in certain expressions)
la salle des bains	the bathroom
le savon	the soap
(ma) soeur	(my) sister
du sucre	some sugar
la télé	the TV
un timbre (pour l'Angleterre)	a stamp (for England)
(mal à) la tête	head(ache)
(où sont) les toilettes	(where are) the toilets, (where is) the toilet
(en) vacances	(on) holiday, vacation
la valise	the suitcase
de la viande	some meat
la ville	the town
une voiture	a car
les voisins	the neighbours
le vol	the flight
les yeux	the eyes, my eyes, his/her eyes etc

These French greetings, except for the bottom box;

French numbers up to about 60 (at the very least, make sure you know 1-20, plus the "teens" 30, 40, 50, 60).

Days of the week and time words

Learn the days of the week and months of the year. Learn the basic words from these pages (tomorrow, yesterday), plus a few expressions to do with frequency:

Adjectives / adverbs

Here are some common adjectives in French,

Masculine	Feminine	Meaning
grand	grande	big, large; tall
petit	petite	small, little
lent	lente	slow
rapide	rapide	fast
beau	belle	good-looking, beautiful
joli	jolie	pretty
vieux	vieille	old
âgé	âgée	elderly
nouveau	nouvelle	new
dangereux	dangereuse	dangerous
simple	simple	simple
compliqué	compliquée	complicated
anglais	anglaise	English
français	française	French
ennuyeux	ennuyeuse	boring
préféré	préférée	favo(u)rite
heureux	heureuse	happy
triste	triste	sad
cassé	cassée	broken
malade	malade	ill, poorly
mort	morte	dead

The following work in a similar to adjectives, although some people would class them as adverbs (for example, they never change their form in the plural etc).

Essential GCSE vocab

Days of the week and time words

Adjectives / adverbs

Basic verbs