10 Common French Nouns for Everyday Use

When trying to learn any new language, one of the most effective study methods is to learn and memorize the most common verbs, nouns and adjectives first. This helps you understand different situations much faster than if you were to learn the vocabulary haphazardly from different sources.
Furthermore, when the time comes to use these words, they’ll will be much easier to recall and you’ll have a much easier time trying to express yourself.
Below, I’ll go over some of the most common nouns in the French language. Of course, there are plenty of other nouns that you’ll need to learn if you want to fully master speaking French but the ones below should give you a good start.

Monsieur

The French equivalent of the word gentleman, monsieur, is a masculine noun and can be used as a term of respect when speaking to a male of practically any age.
Example: Avez-vous vu le beau chapeau de monsieur? – Did you see the gentleman’s nice hat?

Madame

The term madame is a feminine noun and is translated from the English word for madam or Mrs. It is typically used to refer to a married woman or just as a term of respect when speaking to a woman.
Example: Madame Lalonde était contente de nous voir. – Madam Lalonde was happy to see us.

Maman

Maman is the French word for mom or mother. This can be a very useful noun to learn if you’re ever traveling through France with your mother or if you come from a French family.
Example: Maman a cuisiné un merveilleux dîner. – Mom cooked a wonderful dinner.

Père

Père is French for dad or father. Fun fact: In French Santa Claus is actually referred to as Father Christmas or le Père Noël.
Example: Le père n’était pas content quand je suis rentré tard. – Father was not happy when I came home late.

Un Petit

While the term petit can be translated to small in English, un petit is a noun used to referred to a kid or a small child.
Example: Le petit a pleuré tout le vol. – The child cried the entire flight.

Homme

The French noun, homme, is used to refer to a man.
Example: L’homme a disparu dans la nuit. – The man disappeared into the night.

Femme

Used to refer to a woman or wife, femme, is feminine noun and can be useful when referring to other women in your surroundings.
Example: La femme avait de beaux cheveux. – The woman had lovely hair.

Ami

The French word ami translates to friend and can be used as both a noun or an adjective.
Example: Mon ami sera bientôt là. – My friend will be here soon.

Temps

The term temps can refer to both the time, as well as the weather.
Example: Excusez-moi, connaissez-vous l’heure? – Excuse me, do you know the time?

Chose

Chose is a useful French noun that can be used to refer to almost anything and translates directly to English as thing or matter.
Example: Une chose importante à retenir est de toujours être gentil. – An important thing to remember is to always be kind.

French nouns and LingQ

LingQ helps you learn languages, including French, by letting you import content you’re interested in. However, if you want to start a lesson right away, you have the option of choosing LingQ’s own content. Lessons such as LingQ’s mini-stories, Who is She, Eating Out, and much more. Not only are these lessons great for reading, but they also come with audio too, so you can work on your listening skills.

Learn French online faster by reading content you enjoy on LingQ. You can use LingQ’s dictionary resources and look up your new vocabulary without opening another tab.

LingQ keeps track of your known words and you can save new words and review them later using LingQ’s SRS feature.

Don’t forget, LingQ is also available for both Android and iOS.

Take you lessons anywhere you go and increase your study time, making you one step closer to being able to learn French. If you want to know more tips on learning French, be sure to check out Steve Kaufmann’s post, French for Beginners: What You Need to Know.

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Joel is an ex-construction worker turned online content writer. He writes mostly about topics related to finance, health, wealth and wellness. When he’s not writing, Joel is usually out exploring new hiking trails with his dog, Baxter.