French vocabulary · 12 words
French adjectives for beginners: masculine and feminine
The adjectives from the French course, each with its masculine and feminine form side by side. The feminine adds -e, and in most of these pairs that -e wakes a consonant you could not hear before: petit is puh-TEE, petite is puh-TEET.
Good to know
- The feminine -e wakes the silent consonant: grand / grande, petit / petite, ouvert / ouverte. Fermé / fermée sound the same.
- bon is an adjective (le café est bon) and bien is an adverb (ça va bien). Très goes before either: très bon, très bien.
- grand, petit and bon go before the noun: un grand chat, une petite maison, un bon café.
Size
| French | Meaning | Audio |
|---|---|---|
| grandSay it: grahn — the d sleeps | big / tall (m-form) | |
| grandeSay it: grahnd — the -e wakes the d, the étudiante trick | big / tall (f-form) | |
| petitSay it: puh-TEE — the t sleeps | small / little (m-form) | |
| petiteSay it: puh-TEET — the -e wakes the t | small / little (f-form) |
Good, well, very
| French | Meaning | Audio |
|---|---|---|
| bonSay it: bohn — the half that builds bonjour and bonsoir; «bonne» is its feminine | good (masculine) | |
| bonneSay it: bun — bon's other half, worn since «bonne nuit» | good / tasty (f-form) | |
| bienSay it: byan — nasal ending | well / fine | |
| trèsSay it: treh — the s sleeps; agreement never touches it | very |
Open and closed
| French | Meaning | Audio |
|---|---|---|
| ouvertSay it: oo-VEHR — the t sleeps | open (m-form) | |
| ouverteSay it: oo-VEHRT — the -e wakes the t, the grand/grande trick again | open (f-form) | |
| ferméSay it: fehr-MAY | closed (m-form) | |
| ferméeSay it: fehr-MAY — sounds IDENTICAL to fermé; the -e is silent here | closed (f-form) |
Test yourself
Five of the 12 words on this page, meaning to word. Pick an answer to check it; nothing is saved.
1.Which French word means "big / tall (m-form)"?
2.Which French word means "small / little (m-form)"?
3.Which French word means "good (masculine)"?
4.Which French word means "very"?
5.Which French word means "open (f-form)"?
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Keep going
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