French Phrases: Basic French adjectives
This page lists various basic French adjectives that should be among the first that
you learn. To listen to the pronunciation of the French adjectives in each list, click the
speaker icon at the bottom of the list. See also:
Basic French adjectives
The following adjectives are useful for describing physical qualities of
people in French, plus some other basic qualities:
| petit | pəti | small, short | | grand | gʁɑ̃ | large, tall | | jeune | jœn | young | | vieux | vjø | old (masculine) | | vieille | vjɛj | old (feminine) | | âgé | aʒe | elderly | | beau | bo | handsome; beautiful (with masculine noun) | | belle | bɛl | beautiful (with feminine person or noun) | | fort | fɔʁ | strong | | faible | fɛbl | weak (person, object) |
 Pronounce these words Suggest a change / proposez une modificationThe following also relate to physical qualities, but relating more to
physical qualities of objects. Adjectives to do with temperature are
generally used to describe weather too:
| froid | fʁwa | cold | | chaud | ʃo | hot | | bien chaud | bjæ̃ ʃo | warm | | long | lõ | long | | court | kuʁ | short | | clair | klɛʁ | clear, bright (light); thin (soup etc) | | bas | ba | low | | haut | o | high, tall | | léger | 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) |
Pronounce these words
Suggest a change / proposez une modificationThe following are less physical qualities:
| bon | bõ | good; right | | mauvais | move | bad; wrong | | nouveau | nuvo | new | | proche | pʁɔʃ | near | | facile | fasil | easy | | difficile | difisil | difficult | | dur | dyʁ | hard (as in 'difficult' or 'not soft') | | pauvre | povʁ | poor | | riche | ʁiʃ | rich |
Pronounce these words
Suggest a change / proposez une modificationBasic adjectives to do with feelings, health, emotions
| heureux | hœʁø, høʁø | happy | | content | kõtɑ̃ | happy, satisfied | | fatigué | fatige | tired | | triste | tʁist | sad, unhappy | | sain | sæ̃ | healthy | | malade | malad | ill | | gentil | ʒɑ̃ti | kind, nice | | sympathique | sæ̃patik | nice, friendly |
Pronounce these words
Suggest a change / proposez une modificationAs a general rule, add an -e (and pronounce the final
consonant) when an adjective refers to a feminine noun.
Words that can be used with adjectives
The following words can be used to 'enhance' adjectives. Unless indicated,
they can be used with either a masculine or feminine adjective:
| il est... | ilɛ | he's..., it's... | | elle est... | ɛlɛ | she's..., it's... | | c'est... | sɛ | it's... | | il fait... | il fɛ | it's... (talking about weather) | | plus... | ply | more..., ...er | | moins... | mwæ̃ | less... | | très... | tʁe, tʁɛ | very... | | tout... | tu | all..., completely... (masculine) | | toute... | tut | all..., completely... (feminine) | | complètement... | cõplɛtmɑ̃ | completely... | | bien... | bjæ̃ | quite..., rather..., pretty... | | assez... | ase | quite..., rather...; sufficiently... | | peu... | pø | hardly..., not... | | pas... | pa | not... | | si... | si | so... | | tellement... | tɛlmɑ̃ | so... | | nettement... | nɛtmɑ̃ | noticeably... | | gravement... | gʁavmɑ̃ | seriously... |
Pronounce these words
Suggest a change / proposez une modification
Page written by Neil Coffey. Copyright (c) Javamex UK 2014. All rights reserved. |
