Basic French adjectives

French Phrases: Basic French adjectives

petit	pəti	small
grand	gʁɑ̃	large
jeune	jœn	young
âgé	aʒe	elderly
bon	bõ	good; right
mauvais	move	bad; wrong
froid	fʁwa	cold
chaud	ʃo	hot
bien chaud	bjæ̃ ʃo	warm
beau	bo	handsome; beautiful (with masculine noun)
belle	bɛl	beautiful (with feminine person or noun)
long	lõ	long
court	kuʁ	short
fort	fɔʁ	strong
faible	fɛbl	weak (person)
clair	klɛʁ	clear, bright (light); thin (soup etc)
proche	pʁɔʃ	near
bas	ba	low
haut	o	high, tall
nouveau	nuvo	new
vieux	vyø	old (masculine)
vieille	vyɛj	old (feminine)
facile	fasil	easy
difficile	difisil	difficult
dur	duʁ	hard (as in 'difficult' or 'not soft')
leger	leʒe	light (as in 'not heavy')
lourd	luʁ	heavy
propre	pʁɔpʁ	clean
sale	sal	dirty
plein	plæ̃	full
vide	vid	empty
sec	sɛk	dry
humide	ymid	damp, wet
frais	fʁɛ	fresh; chilly; wet (paint)

As a general rule, add an -e (and pronounce the final consonant) when an adjective refers to a feminine noun.

The following words can be used to 'enhance' adjectives. Unless indicated, they can be used with either a masculine or feminine adjective:

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