French vocabulary

French vocabulary: little words & expressions

Common French words for little words & expressions, the most frequent first. Each word has its English meaning and a real line from the Lexayo story, so you see it in use.

• pardon interjection sorry; excuse me

  Ah, pardon. Il n'y a pas de soupe.

  Oh, sorry. There's no soup.

• durant preposition during

  Durant l'été, Nuria rentre en Galice.

  During the summer, Nuria goes back to Galicia.

• malgré preposition despite, in spite of

  Tout est très joli, malgré tous les problèmes.

  Everything looks lovely, despite all the problems.

• hé interjection hey

  Hé ! Ça, ce n'était pas un compliment.

  Hey! That wasn't a compliment.

• dedans adverb inside, in it

  Quelle belle gare! Il y a un jardin dedans.

  What a beautiful station! It has a garden inside.

• le dommage noun pity, shame; damage

  c'est dommage = it's a pity

  Ah, c'est dommage... Eh bien, dis-leur de venir chez moi.

  What a pity... Well, tell them to come to my place.

• bienvenue interjection welcome

  adj: bienvenu(e)

  Bienvenue dans ton appartement.

  Welcome to your flat.

• mien · mienne pronoun mine

  le mien, la mienne, les miens

  Vingt-deux chacun. Je paie le mien.

  Twenty-two each. I'll pay for mine.

• cependant adverb however

  Le studio est petit. Cependant, il est très joli.

  The studio is small. However, it's very pretty.

• remercier verb to thank

  Nuria remercie Madame Elena pour les churros.

  Nuria thanks Madame Elena for the churros.

• envers preposition towards (in attitude)

  à l'envers = upside down, inside out

  Monsieur Ramón est gentil envers Madame Elena.

  Monsieur Ramón is kind towards Madame Elena.

• comme ci, comme ça phrase so-so

  -ci = this: celui-ci = this one

  Comme ci, comme ça.

  So-so.

• bref adverb in short, anyway; (adj) brief

  adj: bref, brève

  Bref, on rentre à la maison.

  Anyway, we're going home.

• prier verb to pray; to beg, ask

  je vous en prie = please; you're welcome

  Merci, Madame Elena. Asseyez-vous, je vous en prie.

  Thank you, Madame Elena. Please, sit down.

• certainement adverb certainly; most probably

  Il va certainement pleuvoir demain.

  It will most probably rain tomorrow.

• auprès de preposition with, next to; to (ask, apply)

  Madame Elena reste auprès de Nuria.

  Madame Elena stays with Nuria.

• évidemment adverb obviously, of course

  Évidemment. Je suis la voisine qui sait tout.

  Of course. I'm the neighbour who knows everything.

• le secours noun help, rescue; first aid

  au secours ! = help!

  Au secours ! J'ai besoin d'aide !

  Help! I need help!

• nulle part adverb nowhere; (with ne) anywhere

  Les gants... je ne les vois nulle part.

  The gloves... I don't see them anywhere.

• apparemment adverb apparently

  Apparemment, tout le quartier le sait déjà.

  Apparently, the whole neighbourhood already knows.

• sérieusement adverb seriously

  Sérieusement?

  Seriously?

• concernant preposition concerning, regarding

  J'ai une question concernant le loyer.

  I've got a question about the rent.

• malheureusement adverb unfortunately

  Malheureusement, l'immeuble n'a pas d'ascenseur.

  Unfortunately, the building has no lift.

• bravo interjection well done!, bravo!

  Bravo, Nuria ! C'est un très beau dessin.

  Well done, Nuria! It's a lovely drawing.

• quant à preposition as for

  Quant à Monsieur Ramón, il ne dit rien.

  As for Monsieur Ramón, he says nothing.

• justement adverb exactly, precisely; as it happens

  Quel dommage qu'il pleuve justement demain !

  What a shame it's raining tomorrow of all days!

• bonsoir interjection good evening

  Bonsoir, Monsieur Ramón !

  Good evening, Monsieur Ramón!

• franchement adverb frankly, honestly

  Bonne réponse, franchement.

  Good answer, really.

• soi pronoun oneself

  chez soi = at home

  Heureusement. Avec la tempête, mieux vaut rester chez soi.

  Thank goodness. With the storm, it's best to stay at home.

• dessous adverb underneath, below

  en dessous de = below

  Regarde sous la boîte. Les clés sont dessous !

  Look under the box. The keys are underneath!

• excuser verb to excuse

  s'excuser = to apologise

  Excusez-moi, où est la gare ?

  Excuse me, where is the station?

• heureusement adverb fortunately, luckily

  Enfin ! Heureusement que le technicien est venu vite.

  Finally! Thank goodness the technician came quickly.

• uniquement adverb only, solely

  Tomás accepte uniquement les espèces.

  Tomás only accepts cash.

• tandis que conjunction while, whereas

  Nuria travaille tandis que Javi dort.

  Nuria works while Javi sleeps.

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