Vocabulary: useful adjectives

Adjectives to describe places, things and experiences. Use a range of them to raise your marks.

Practise this lesson free (7 questions)

Describing things

Gratuit = free of charge. Libre = free (available, not busy): Tu es libre ce soir?
FrenchEnglish
ancien, ancienneold, former
célèbrefamous
classiqueclassical, classic
confortablecomfortable
dangereux, dangereusedangerous
différent(e)different
facileeasy
gratuit(e)free (of charge)
librefree (available)
justefair
faux, faussefalse, wrong
vrai(e)true
utileuseful
inutileuseless
actif, activeactive

Opposites

Propre before the noun means own: ma propre chambre. After the noun it means clean: une chambre propre.
FrenchEnglish
lourd(e)heavy
léger, légèrelight (in weight)
haut(e)high
bas, basselow
videempty
ouvert(e)open
fermé(e)closed
propreclean
saledirty
rapidefast
lent(e)slow
fort(e)strong
faibleweak
pauvrepoor
richerich

Opinions and order

Prochain and dernier: la semaine prochaine (next week), la semaine dernière (last week).
FrenchEnglish
génial(e)great, brilliant
étonnant(e)amazing, surprising
extraordinaireextraordinary
nul, nullerubbish
passionnant(e)exciting
fatigant(e)tiring
agréablepleasant
prochain(e)next
dernier, dernièrelast
suivant(e)following
seul(e)alone, only
mêmesame
nécessairenecessary
terribleterrible
Worked example

Translate: The museum is free and the guided tour was amazing.

  1. free (of charge) = gratuit
  2. the guided tour = la visite guidée
  3. was amazing = était étonnante / a été étonnante (feminine to agree with visite)

Answer: Le musée est gratuit et la visite guidée était étonnante.

Key idea

Ancien, célèbre, confortable, dangereux, facile, gratuit (free of charge), libre (free, available), faux, vrai, utile, inutile. Lourd / léger, haut / bas, vide, ouvert / fermé, propre / sale, lent / rapide, fort / faible. Génial, étonnant, nul, passionnant, prochain, dernier, seul, même.

Key words
dangereux
dangerous
facile
easy
utile
useful
propre
clean
une chambre
a room

All GCSE and International GCSE French key terms and definitions →

Quick check

Try two quick questions

See if it has sunk in. Answers are marked straight away.

Extra practice

2 more questions

Try each one, then tap to check.

  1. What does faux, fausse mean?

    1. free (of charge)
    2. false, wrong
    3. useless
    4. famous
    Show the answer

    Answer: false, wrong

    Faux = false, wrong.

  2. Which is the French for "dangerous"?

    1. célèbre
    2. gratuit(e)
    3. faux, fausse
    4. dangereux, dangereuse
    Show the answer

    Answer: dangereux, dangereuse

    Dangerous = dangereux.

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Sources and references

Last updated 2 October 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us and we will fix it.

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