A Frequency Dictionary of French (2009)

4340 modéré nadj moderate, restrained, reasonable

* j'espère que vous êtes modéré dans vos habitudes -- I hope you are steady in your habits 63 | 280+n -s

4341 négligeable adj(f) negligible, trivial

* ça donne une force de frappe non négligeable -- it gives a strike force to be reckoned with 70 | 212

4342 vice nm fault, defect, vice

* ce vice mineur me reste, la familiarité -- I still have one minor vice: being too familiar 71 | 202

4343 symboliser v to symbolize

* le papillon symbolisait l'âme -- the butterfly was symbolic of the soul

78 | 147

4344 substituer v to substitute

* les insultes ne sauraient se substituer -- the insults can't be smoothed over

69 | 220

76

4345 subtil adj subtle, nice

* il faut les coincer de façon subtile -- wedge them together carefully

71 | 202

4346 commandant nadj commander

* il s'est autoproclamé commandant en chef de l'organisation -- he named himself chief of the organization

65 | 261

4347 chuter v to fall

* la tempête m'a fait chuter -- the storm made me fall

65 | 263+n

4348 fidélité nf loyalty, faithfulness, accuracy, reliability

* je tiens absolument à la fidélité -- I absolutely value loyalty

70 | 217

4349 basculer v to topple, fall over, knock off

* je crus que la terre avait basculé sous mes pieds -- I thought the earth moved under my feet 75 | 169

4350 gestionnaire adj(f),nm,nf administrator, administrative

* je serai le gestionnaire assigné au dossier -- I will be the administrator assigned to the case 65 | 258-l

4351 redoutable adj(f) fearsome, formidable

* tu as été notre plus redoutable ennemi -- you were our most formidable enemy

69 | 225

4352 immigrant nadj immigrant

* nous avons aidé de nouveaux immigrants à s'établir -- we helped new immigrants to get settled

64 | 264-l +s

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25 Verbs -- differences across registers

This table lists the verbs that occur with a much higher frequency than expected in the three registers: spoken language, literature, and non-fiction. In each case, the words listed are among those in the top 10 percent of words for that register, in terms of relative frequency to the other two registers.

Spoken:

travailler 290 to work

aider 413 to help

adopter 676 to adopt

remercier 1218 to thank

voter 1248 to vote

aborder 1535 to approach

féliciter 1749 to congratulate

mentionner 1805 to mention

préoccuper 1979 to preoccupy

excuser 1987 to excuse

dépenser 2051 to spend

désoler 2081 to be sorry

débattre 2254 to discuss

adorer 2322 to adore

siéger 2883 to sit

collaborer 2963 to collaborate

virer 3623 to turn

ficher 3905 to not give a damn

parier 4205 to bet

chier 4245 to sh*t

filmer 4393 to film

remédier 4519 to remedy

bosser 4532 to work hard

déménager 4611 to move

incomber 4617 to be incumbent upon

emmerder 4676 to bother

clarifier 4894 to clarify

réglementer 4929 to regulate

Literature:

jeter 1202 to throw

sourire 1476 to smile

apercevoir 1891 to notice

crier 1950 to shout

serrer 2449 to tighten

glisser 2544 to slide

briller 2904 to shine

promener 2928 to go for a walk

éteindre 3033 to extinguish

refermer 3759 to close again

endormir 3788 to fall asleep

trembler 4225 to tremble

mépriser 4270 to scorn

éveiller 4330 to arouse

pendre 4360 to hang down

incliner 4368 to tilt

révolter 4370 to revolt

ôter 4405 to remove

flotter 4520 to float

envelopper 4604 to wrap

brouiller 4682 to mix-up

figer 4708 to congeal

murmurer 4730 to murmur

vêtir 4734 to clothe

hâter 4754 to quicken

guetter 4852 to watch over

caresser 4861 to caress

écrier 4865 to exclaim

Nonfiction:

annoncer 521 to announce

indiquer 590 to indicate

675

affirmer 686 to affirm

préciser 745 to state

provoquer 1095 to provoke

émettre 1787 to emit

progresser 1856 to progress

détenir 2056 to detain

déclencher 2152 to trigger

remporter 2267 to win

disputer 2725 to dispute

équiper 3043 to equip

spécifier 3086 to specify

acheminer 3372 to dispatch

interpeller 3409 to question

sélectionner 3671 to select

démentir 3772 to deny

décéder 3809 to die

réaffirmer 3918 to reaffirm

industrialiser 4022 to industrialize

modérer 4034 to moderate

détecter 4062 to detect

activer 4072 to activate

consolider 4116 to consolidate

coder 4121 to encode

chuter 4347 to fall

piéger 4358 to trap

inculper 4638 to charge

4353 polémique nadj(f) controversial, controversy

* c'est vrai que j'aime la polémique, le débat d'idées -- it's true that I like controversy, debating ideas

62 | 286

4354 alourdir v to weigh down, make heavy

* je sens mes doigts s'alourdir -- I feel my fingers getting heavier

76 | 161

4355 avancée nf advanced, overhung

* reculez. vous empêchez notre avancée -- step back. you're blocking our way

63 | 272

4356 sévir v to act ruthlessly, be rife