Culture Class: Essential French Vocabulary
Let French culture be your guide as you build up essential vocabulary and phrases.
Beginner

Curriculum

Culture Class: Essential French Vocabulary

What are the 5 most popular sweets in France? What vocabulary do I need to know to have a conversation with French-speaking locals? You'll learn all this and more in this Culture Class Series! Vocabulary is essential to mastering French. In this 25-lesson series, you'll learn the *most* essential French vocabulary words related to culture and daily life. These words have been hand picked by our French native speakers and cover topics like popular French dishes, national holidays and cities.

Lesson # Title
(English)
Topic
(English)
Target sentences
(Target Language)
1 National Holidays Daily Life La fête nationale (le 14 juillet)
La fête du travail (le premier mai)
Le jour de l'an (le premier janvier)
Le lundi de Pâques
La Toussaint (le premier novembre)
2 Food Food & Drink Pot au feu
Blanquette de veau
Cassoulet
Sole meunière
Croque-monsieur
3 Drinks Food & Drink Limonade
Pastis or Ricard
Champagne
Perrier
Vin
4 Home-cooked Meals Food & Drink Ratatouille
L'aligot
Bouillabaisse
Moules-frites
Tarte tatin
5 Sweets and Desserts Food & Drink Profiteroles
Fraisier
Mille-feuille
Eclair
Mont-blanc
6 Fruits Food & Drink Pomme
Poire
Fraise
Melon
Cerise
7 Vegetables Food & Drink Pommes de terre
Poireau
Navet
Carotte
Haricots verts
8 Pop and Traditional Culture Society & Culture Les yéyés
Mai 68
Les Bretons
Les Ch'tis
Les parisiens
9 Animals Geography & Nature Cheval
Chat
Chien
Cochon
Coq
10 Plants Geography & Nature Rose
Sapin
Pâquerette
Olivier
Platane
11 Geographical Features Geography & Nature Le Mont-Blanc
Le Mistral
La Méditerranée
Les volcans d'Auvergne
La Seine
12 Cities Geography & Nature Paris
Marseille
Lyon
Toulouse
Strasbourg
13 Sports Recreation & Leisure Tennis
Natation
Rugby
Football
Cyclisme
14 Recreational Activities Recreation & Leisure Randonnée
Pétanque
Cuisine
Camping
Shopping
15 Tourist Attractions and Places Recreation & Leisure La Tour Eiffel
Le château de Versailles
Le Mont Saint-Michel
Le pont d'Avignon
Notre-Dame de Paris
16 5 Common Things in the Home People & Homes Télévision
Cheminée
Baignoire
Bibliothèque
Cafetière
17 Medicines and drugs Health & Emergencies Doliprane
Aspirine
Mercurochrome
Spasfon
Biafine
18 Modes of transportation Transportation & around town Voiture
Métro
Bus
Vélo
Tramway
19 Shops or services in town Transportation & around town Boulangerie
Bar-tabac
La Poste
Banque
Supermarché
20 Chain Stores Transportation & around town Carrefour
Decathlon
Nicolas
L'Occitane
Picard
21 Food Souvenirs Food & Drink Calissons
Macarons
Camembert
Crème de marrons
Cognac
22 Places to Live People & Homes Appartement
Pavillon
Villa
Colocation
Auberge espagnole
23 Historical Figures Society & Culture Napoléon I
Général de Gaulle
Jeanne d'Arc
Louis XIV
Marie-Antoinette
24 Artists Fine Arts Claude Monet
Paul Cézanne
Henri Matisse
Serge Gainsbourg
Philippe Stark
25 Writers Fine Arts Victor Hugo
Emile Zola
Molière
Voltaire
Françoise Sagan