129 Common French Adjectives [with PDF and MP3]

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Last Updated: June 6, 2023

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Looking for a list of the most common French adjectives or specific ones like French adjectives that start with n or e?

You've reached the right place!

In this article, we'll go through 129 of the most common French adjectives which you can use in everyday conversations. You will also be able to download the list in PDF format with sample sentences, get some audio to listen to the adjectives, and take a mini quiz towards the end of this article!

Most common French adjectives french to english

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 word it is describing. But that's a different lesson which you can access here: 

A Complete and Easy Guide to French Adjectives.

Free PDF copy + audio

Don't have time to go through the complete list now? No worries, you can also download a PDF version of this list. Get the PDF together with recorded audio guides and example sentences for each adjective.

Aside from the free PDF and MP3, you'll also be able to access hundreds of other free PDFs as part of the French Learning Package.

Click on the button below to download!

Now let's go straight to your list!

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List of Common French Adjectives


âgéold/elderly
amicalfriendly
ancienold, ancient, time-honored, antique; former, ex; senior
argenté/esilver
assuréconfident
autredistinct, different; supplementary; other, remaining
beau beautiful (with masculine word), good-looking, handsome, lovely, fine; noble; nice, tidy, good
bellebeautiful (with feminine person or noun)/ pretty
bizarreodd, peculiar, strange
blancwhite; Caucasian; blank; innocent, pure
bleublue
bongood, sound; valid; nice; right, correct; proper
bronzétan
brun/e (or) marronbrown
certaindefinite, positive, clear, certain
chaudwarm, hot; ardent, keen; horny
cherdear, beloved; expensive
clairlight, bright; clear; thin, sparse; obvious
confusembarrassed, confused, ashamed
contenthappy, glad, pleased
courageuxbrave
dernierlast, final; previous; bottom; highest, top
désoléapologetic, contrite, sorry; disconsolate, sorrowful; desolate, bleak
désorientéconfused
différentdifferent
difficiledifficult, hard, tough
doré/egold
douxsoft, smooth, sweet, milk
droitstraight; upright, plumb; honest, sound, sane
drôlecomical, funny, amusing; strange, funny, peculiar
du brouillard (il y a)foggy
du soleil (il y a)sunny
du vent (il y a)windy
effrayéscared
ennuyéannoyed
ennuyeuxboring
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
fraiscool
françaisFrench
froidcold, chilly; insensitive, unfeeling; unfriendly; bleak
gèlefreezing
gentilkind, nice, sweet
grandtall, big, large, long, great, full-grown; major, top, leading, important
gravegrave, solemn; serious; major / totally (slang)
gris/egray
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
naïfnaive
navrésorry
neigesnowing
nerveuxnervous
noirblack; dirty, grimy; dark; gloomy, somber
nouveaunew, young; latest; further; novel, original
nuageuxcloudy
orageuxstormy
orangeorange
ouvertoutgoing
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)
pleutraining
pleut à versepouring
possiblepossible, feasible
premierearly; nearest; next, first; main; chief, leading; original, initial
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
solitairelonely
sportifathletic
stupidestupid
supergreat, terrific
sympanice
timideshy
toutall (the), the whole (of the); all; completely; only
tranquillequiet, peaceful, tranquil, calm. still
travailleurhard-working
tristesad, unhappy, sorrowful
vertgreen; inexperienced
videempty; bare
vieilleold (feminine)
vieuxold (masculine), long-standing, ancient
violetpurple
vivantliving, alive; lively, spirited, bustling; vivid
vraitrue; genuine, real; complete, utter; straightforward

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Your turn!

Try one or two sentences using the French adjectives listed above. Don't forget to share it with all of us in the comments!

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 are the French adjective that are placed before the nouns: 

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.

About the author 

Frederic Bibard is the founder of Talk in French, a company that helps french learners to practice and improve their french. Macaron addict. Jacques Audiard fan. You can contact him on Instagram

  • C’est une belle liste! je ne suis toutefois pas certaine de la traduction de stupide, qui, ici au Canada ( je ne pourrais pas parler pour les autres pays anglophone, semble avoir une traduction plus proche du “con” que du stupide, sutout lorsque l’on parle de quelqu’un de stupide…c’est ici un mot interdit dans la bouche des enfants, c’est pour dire!
    Merci.

    • Hum, je ne savais pas. J’ai cherché un peu sur internet pour être sûr. En fait un con = une personne stupide, ce n’est jamais gentil de dire que quelqu’un est stupide. Mais on peut aussi utiliser le mot stupide pour une idée. Je ne sais pas trop. J’aimerais bien entendre l’avis d’anglophones.

  • vous pouvez constuire une liste d’adjectifs suivants pars les prépositions Pr exemple, je suis prêt à, ou, c’est susceptible vers/de

    Merci!

  • i love this website <3 with the help of this website i was able to do all my french holiday homework of writing 3 adjectives daily. thankyou so much 🙂

  • I once saw a list of words frequently used like désormais,
    Tellement etc which make French such a beautiful language
    to listen to. I saw it on You-tube but cannot find it now.

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