129 Common French Adjectives
Here’s a list of the most common French adjectives in alphabetical order with English translation.
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List of Common French AdjectivesMini QuizWant more?Here are some FAQs about French AdjectivesLooking for a list of the most common French adjectives or specific ones like French adjectives that start with n or e?
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In this article, we’ll go through 129 useful French adjective entries which you can use in everyday conversations. You can also take a mini quiz towards the end of this article!
Adjectives are what you need if you want to describe a person, place, or thing. But remember, in French, you also need to make your adjectives agree with the noun they describe. But that’s a different lesson which you can access here:
A Complete and Easy Guide to French Adjectives.
Now let’s go straight to your list!
List of Common French Adjectives
Most entries give the masculine singular form; selected feminine forms are also shown. Be careful with weather expressions: il gèle means “it is freezing,” il neige means “it is snowing,” and il pleut means “it is raining.” These contain verbs, not adjectives. Compare them with glacial (icy), neigeux (snowy), and pluvieux (rainy). Il pleut à verse means “it is pouring.”
- âgéold/elderly
- amicalfriendly
- ancienold, ancient; former (often before the noun)
- argenté / argentéesilver-colored
- assuréconfident
- autredistinct, different; supplementary; other, remaining
- beaubeautiful, handsome, fine (masculine; bel before a vowel sound or silent h)
- bellebeautiful, pretty (feminine)
- bizarreodd, peculiar, strange
- blancwhite; blank
- bleublue
- bongood, sound; valid; nice; right, correct; proper
- bronzétanned
- brumeuxfoggy, misty
- brun / brune; marronbrown (marron is invariable as a color adjective)
- certaindefinite, positive, clear, certain
- chaudwarm, hot; eager (informal); sexually aroused (slang, depending on context)
- cherdear, beloved; expensive
- clairlight, bright; clear; thin, sparse; obvious
- confusembarrassed, confused, ashamed
- contenthappy, glad, pleased
- courageuxbrave
- dernierlast, final; previous (as in la semaine dernière)
- désoléapologetic, contrite, sorry; disconsolate, sorrowful; desolate, bleak
- désorientéconfused
- différentdifferent
- difficiledifficult, hard, tough
- doré / doréegolden, gold-colored
- douxsoft, gentle, sweet; mild
- droitstraight; right (opposite of left); upright, honest
- drôlecomical, funny, amusing; strange, funny, peculiar
- effrayéscared
- ennuyébored; bothered, troubled (depending on context)
- ennuyeuxboring
- ensoleillésunny
- entierwhole, entire; absolute, complete; intact
- épuiséexhausted
- étrangestrange, odd
- fâchéangry
- facileeasy
- faibleweak (person, object)
- fatiguétired
- fauxwrong, untrue, false, mistaken; fake, forged, imitation, counterfeit
- fortstrong, sturdy, powerful, hard, weighty; big, thick, stout, large; intense
- fraisfresh; cool
- françaisFrench
- froidcold, chilly; insensitive, unfeeling; unfriendly; bleak
- gentilkind, nice, sweet
- glacialicy, freezing cold
- grandtall, big, large, long, great, full-grown; major, top, leading, important
- graveserious, grave, solemn
- gris / grisegray
- groslarge, big, thick; fat, heavy
- hauthigh, tall; top; lofty, high-minded
- heureuxhappy, glad, lucky, fortunate
- humainhuman; humane
- humidehumid
- impatientimpatient
- importantimportant, significant, serious; substantial, large, sizeable, considerable
- impossibleimpossible; unbearable; intolerable
- inquietworried
- intelligentsmart
- intéressantinteresting
- jauneyellow
- jeuneyoung, green
- jolipretty, lovely, nice, attractive
- justefair; just, legitimate; right
- légerlight, subtle, superficial
- librefree; available; vacant
- long, longuelong
- lourdheavy
- maladeill, sick, unwell; bad, diseased; mentally ill
- mauvaisbad, poor; wrong, faulty; unpleasant, nasty
- méchantmean
- meilleurbetter, superior
- mêmesame
- mincethin
- moche, laidugly
- mortdead; buried, long-gone; lifeless, dull, stagnant
- mouilléwet
- naïfnaive
- navrésorry
- neigeuxsnowy
- nerveuxnervous
- noirblack; dirty, grimy; dark; gloomy, somber
- nouveaunew; another (depending on context)
- nuageuxcloudy
- orageuxstormy
- orangeorange
- ouvertopen; open-minded
- pareilthe same, alike, similar; such (a)
- paresseuxlazy
- patientpatient
- patriotiquepatriotic
- pauvrepoor; humble, wretched
- petitsmall, little, short; younger; brief; slight, minor
- pleinfull; solid; busy (as in day or life)
- pluvieuxrainy
- possiblepossible, feasible
- premierfirst; foremost, leading
- presséin a hurry
- prêtready
- prochainnext; imminent, near; immediate
- propreclean, neat, tidy; own, private
- ravidelighted
- rosepink
- rougered
- saledirty, filthy, murky, grimy; nasty
- sérieuxserious, solemn, responsible; conscientious
- seulalone, on one’s own; lonely, lonesome; only, single, sole; mere
- simplestraightforward, simple, easy; mere; uncomplicated
- solitairesolitary; enjoying or living in solitude
- sportifathletic
- stupidestupid
- supergreat, terrific
- sympanice
- timideshy
- toutall, whole (before a noun, as in toute la journée)
- tranquillequiet, peaceful, tranquil, calm, still
- travailleurhard-working
- tristesad, unhappy, sorrowful
- venteuxwindy
- vertgreen; inexperienced
- videempty; bare
- vieilleold (feminine)
- vieuxold (masculine), long-standing, ancient
- violetpurple
- vivantliving, alive; lively, spirited, bustling; vivid
- vraitrue; genuine, real; complete, utter; straightforward
Mini Quiz
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Try one or two sentences using the French adjectives listed above.
Here are some FAQs about French Adjectives
Where do adjectives go in French?
In French, you put most adjectives after the noun they modify.
Which adjectives go before the nouns in French?
These French adjectives commonly appear before the noun. Position can vary with meaning, emphasis, and context:
– beau (beautiful)
– joli (pretty)
– jeune (young)
– vieux (old)
– nouveau (new)
– bon (good)
– meilleur (better)
– mauvais (bad)
– gentil (kind)
– petit (small)
– haut (high)
– gros (fat)
What are irregular adjectives in French?
The irregular adjectives are adjectives that don’t follow the same patterns that most French adjectives do.
– Bon (m), Bonne (f) – good
– Doux (m), Douce (f) – gentle, soft, sweet
– Faux (m), Fausse (f) – false
– Neuf (m), Neuve (f) – new
– Vieux (m), Vieille (f) – old
What are adjectives in French?
In French, adjectives describe a noun (person, place, or thing) and have to “agree” with the word they are describing according to its gender and number.