The 100 most common French verbs (and 200 more)

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The most common French verbs are at the top. The top 10 (être, avoir, aller, faire, dire, pouvoir, vouloir, savoir, voir, devoir) account for a huge share of every sentence in spoken and written French. The top 100 will get you through almost any everyday conversation. Drill those first, then expand outward by frequency rank.

This is the complete French verbs list with English translations, each row links to a full conjugation table covering présent, passé composé, imparfait, futur, subjonctif and every other tense.

Already know the verb you need? Type it into the French verb conjugator. If you only have a form such as prenait or fasse, its reverse lookup identifies the infinitive, tense and person.

Common questions

What are the 10 most common French verbs?

The 10 most common French verbs are être (to be), avoir (to have), aller (to go), faire (to do/make), dire (to say), pouvoir (to be able to), vouloir (to want), savoir (to know), voir (to see) and devoir (to have to). These few verbs account for a large share of everyday spoken and written French, so they're the ones to learn first.

What is the most common French verb?

Être (to be) is the most common French verb. It's used as a main verb, as a linking verb, and as the auxiliary for movement and reflexive verbs in compound tenses like the passé composé, so it appears in a huge proportion of French sentences.

How many French verbs do you need to know?

The top 100 most common French verbs cover almost any everyday conversation. Learn them ranked by frequency, drill them across présent, passé composé, imparfait and futur, then expand outward to the next few hundred as you progress.