How many words are in this list?

This page gives 100 French words on “Function words”. The full topic holds 120 in the KoKo app: 48 at the easy level, 42 at the medium level and 30 at the hard level.

Which words should I start with?

With level 1: these are the easiest words of the topic. Move on to level 2 once they come to you without thinking, then to level 3.

How can I remember this French vocabulary?

By seeing each word again at longer and longer intervals, just before you forget it: that is spaced repetition. The KoKo app does it for you and tells you each day which words to review.

Can I print this list or save it as a PDF?

Yes. The “Print the list” button at the top of the page opens your device’s print dialog: choose to save as PDF to keep the 100 words and their translation, with nothing else around them.

French vocabulary: function words

Pronouns, articles, demonstratives, possessives: the small words of French grammar you cannot build a sentence without.

Here are 100 French words on “Function words”, translated into English and sorted from easiest to hardest.

Level 1: easy 40 words

French	English
un	aIndefinite article, masculine singular
une	aIndefinite article, feminine singular
un peu de	a little
tous	allDeterminer or pronoun, masculine plural
est-ce que	doQuestion marker, no literal equivalent
elle-même	herselfReflexive pronoun, feminine singular
lui	himObject pronoun, to him or to her
son	hisSingular possessor, belonging to him or her
je	ISubject pronoun, first person singular
moi	meStressed form, after a preposition or on its own
plus de	more than
mon	myPossessive determiner, before the noun
non	noNegative answer
ne plus	no longer
rien	nothingPronoun used on its own
en	of it
on	one
ne que	only
autre	other
même	same
elle	sheSubject pronoun, feminine singular
de la	somePartitive article, feminine singular
du	somePartitive article, masculine singular
la	theDefinite article, feminine singular
le	theDefinite article, masculine singular
leur	theirPlural possessor, belonging to them
il y a	there isExistence
ces	theseDemonstrative determiner, plural
ils	theySubject pronoun
ce	thisDemonstrative determiner, masculine before a consonant
cette	thisDemonstrative determiner, feminine singular
nous	weSubject pronoun, first person plural
qu’est-ce que	whatQuestion word, object
qu’est-ce qui	whatQuestion word, subject
que	whatBefore a verb
quand	when
si	yesYes, contradicting a negative statement
te	youObject pronoun, informal address
tu	youSubject, informal address
vous	youSubject, formal or plural address

Level 2: medium 35 words

French	English
beaucoup de	a lot of
toute	allDeterminer, feminine singular
toutes	allDeterminer, feminine plural
n’importe qui	anyone
autant de	as much as
chaque	eachDeterminer, before the noun
l’un l’autre	each otherMutual action between two people
assez de	enough of
tout le monde	everybodyPeople in general, everyone together
lui-même	himselfReflexive pronoun, masculine singular
comment	how
moi-même	myself
ne jamais	never
personne	nobodyEveryday use
aucun	nonePronoun, used on its own
ne aucun	not anyDeterminer, in a negative sentence
ne rien	nothingNegation used with the verb
notre	ourPossessive determiner, belonging to us
plusieurs	several
quelques	someIndefinite determiner, a small number
quelque chose	somethingIndefinite pronoun, an unspecified thing
cela	thatDemonstrative pronoun, refers to something far away or already mentioned
celui	that oneDemonstrative pronoun, masculine singular
eux	themStressed pronoun after a preposition
voilà	there isPointing out, presenting
cet	thisDemonstrative determiner, masculine before a vowel
ceux	thoseDemonstrative pronoun, masculine plural
trop de	too much
quoi	whatOn its own or after a preposition
quel	whichInterrogative determiner, before the noun
dont	whose
pourquoi	why
pourquoi pas	why not
toi	youStressed form, after a preposition
toi-même	yourself

Level 3: hard 25 words

French	English
n’importe comment	any which way
n’importe quoi	anything
n’importe quand	anytime
n’importe où	anywhere
tel quel	as it is
certain	certain
chacun	each onePronoun, masculine singular
chacune	each onePronoun, feminine singular
sien	his ownPossessive pronoun, used on its own
jusqu’où	how far
combien de	how manyFollowed by a noun, to ask about a number
mien	minePossessive pronoun, used on its own
la plupart	most
ni ni	neither nor
nul	no oneFormal or legal register
soi-même	oneselfEmphatic form, stresses the subject
nous-mêmes	ourselves
tel	such
un tel	such a
eux-mêmes	themselvesReflexive pronoun, masculine plural
ceci	this oneDemonstrative pronoun, refers to something close
celles	thoseDemonstrative pronoun, feminine plural
lequel	which oneInterrogative pronoun, used on its own
quiconque	whoever
tien	yoursPossessive pronoun, used on its own

Mini quiz

5 words from this page, picked at random. Find their translation.

Frequently asked questions

How many words are in this list?: This page gives 100 French words on “Function words”. The full topic holds 120 in the KoKo app: 48 at the easy level, 42 at the medium level and 30 at the hard level.
Which words should I start with?: With level 1: these are the easiest words of the topic. Move on to level 2 once they come to you without thinking, then to level 3.
How can I remember this French vocabulary?: By seeing each word again at longer and longer intervals, just before you forget it: that is spaced repetition. The KoKo app does it for you and tells you each day which words to review.
Can I print this list or save it as a PDF?: Yes. The “Print the list” button at the top of the page opens your device’s print dialog: choose to save as PDF to keep the 100 words and their translation, with nothing else around them.