🙂 Japanese People & Character Vocabulary Personnes et caractère

44 essential French words for the People & Character scene, each with IPA, English meaning, CEFR level and native speaker audio, plus example sentences. Tap 🔊 to listen.

fou /fu/ A2
crazy, insane; (informal) wild, amazing
Ce prix est complètement fou pour un simple café.This price is completely crazy for a simple coffee.
dingue /dɛ̃g/ B1
(informal) crazy, unbelievable, awesome
C'est dingue, il a neigé au mois de juin !That's crazy, it snowed in June!
stupide /stypid/ A2
stupid, senseless (of an idea, thing or situation)
Ce règlement est vraiment stupide et personne ne le comprend.This rule is really stupid and nobody understands it.
bête /bɛt/ A2
silly, daft; trivial (often of a mistake or thing)
Ce film est un peu bête, mais il m'a fait rire.This film is a bit silly, but it made me laugh.
idiot /idjo/ A2
absurd, senseless (of a thing); (of oneself) foolish
Ce malentendu est totalement idiot : nous parlions du même livre.This misunderstanding is totally absurd: we were talking about the same book.
intelligent /ɛ̃teliʒɑ̃/ A2
intelligent, smart, clever
Mon frère est très intelligent en mathématiques.My brother is very intelligent at mathematics.
malin /malɛ̃/ B1
shrewd, crafty, resourceful
Mon chien est vraiment malin : il sait ouvrir les portes.My dog is really clever: he knows how to open doors.
sage /saʒ/ A2
wise; (of a child) well-behaved
Mon grand-père est un homme sage et patient.My grandfather is a wise and patient man.
brave /bʁav/ B1
brave (after the noun); good-hearted, decent (before the noun)
C'est un soldat brave qui n'a peur de rien.He is a brave soldier who is afraid of nothing.
lâche /laʃ/ B1
cowardly; (of a knot or garment) loose, slack
Partir sans rien dire était un geste lâche.Leaving without saying anything was a cowardly act.
aimable /ɛmabl/ B1
kind, friendly, obliging
Le serveur a été très aimable avec nous.The waiter was very kind to us.
tendre /tɑ̃dʁ/ B1
tender, affectionate; (of food) soft, tender
Il m'a lancé un regard tendre avant de partir.He gave me a tender look before leaving.
fidèle /fidɛl/ B1
faithful, loyal; accurate (of a copy or account)
Mon chien est un compagnon fidèle depuis douze ans.My dog has been a faithful companion for twelve years.
sensible /sɑ̃sibl/ B1
sensitive, easily moved (⚠ not "sensible" in English)
Mon fils est très sensible à la critique.My son is very sensitive to criticism.
capable /kapabl/ B1
capable, able (capable de + infinitive)
Mon père est capable de courir un marathon entier.My father is capable of running a whole marathon.
incapable /ɛ̃kapabl/ B1
unable, incapable (incapable de + infinitive)
Je suis incapable de me lever avant huit heures.I am unable to get up before eight o'clock.
responsable /ʁɛspɔ̃sabl/ B1
responsible, in charge (responsable de)
Le directeur est responsable de cette décision.The director is responsible for this decision.
amoureux /amuʁø/ B1
in love (amoureux de); loving, romantic
Mon frère est tombé amoureux de sa voisine.My brother fell in love with his neighbour.
pauvre /povʁ/ A2
poor (after the noun); poor thing, pitiable (before the noun)
Ce quartier est encore très pauvre, mais il change vite.This neighbourhood is still very poor, but it is changing fast.
riche /ʁiʃ/ A2
rich, wealthy; rich in (riche en)
Son oncle est devenu riche grâce à son entreprise.His uncle became rich thanks to his company.
jeune /ʒœn/ A1
young
Mon voisin est encore très jeune, il a vingt ans.My neighbour is still very young, he is twenty.
humain /ymɛ̃/ B1
human; humane, compassionate
Le corps humain est une machine fascinante.The human body is a fascinating machine.
innocent /inosɑ̃/ B1
innocent, not guilty; harmless, naive
Le tribunal a jugé que l'accusé était innocent.The court ruled that the defendant was innocent.
vierge /vjɛʁʒ/ B1
blank, unused; untouched, virgin (of land or nature)
Prends un cahier vierge pour tes notes de cours.Take a blank notebook for your class notes.
enceinte /ɑ̃sɛ̃t/ A2
pregnant
Ma sœur est enceinte de six mois.My sister is six months pregnant.
aveugle /avœgl/ B1
blind
Mon voisin est aveugle et lit en braille.My neighbour is blind and reads in braille.
sauvage /sovaʒ/ B1
wild; untamed
Ce chat est sauvage et n'approche personne.This cat is wild and doesn't come near anyone.
malheureux /maløʁø/ B1
unhappy; miserable
Mon frère est malheureux depuis son déménagement.My brother has been unhappy since he moved.
chéri /ʃeʁi/ B1
beloved, dear
Bonne nuit, mon fils chéri.Good night, my beloved son.
raisonnable /ʁɛzonabl/ B1
reasonable, sensible
Ton frère est très raisonnable pour son âge.Your brother is very sensible for his age.
personnel /pɛʁsonɛl/ B1
personal, private
C'est un choix personnel et je le respecte.It's a personal choice and I respect it.
intime /ɛ̃tim/ B2
intimate, close (private)
Paul est un ami intime de la famille.Paul is a close friend of the family.
nu /ny/ B1
naked, bare
Le bébé dort le ventre nu dans son berceau.The baby is sleeping with a bare tummy in his cradle.
maigre /mɛgʁ/ B1
thin, skinny; lean
Ce chien est trop maigre, il faut le nourrir.This dog is too thin; he needs to be fed.
gras /gʁa/ B1
fatty, greasy
Ce fromage est trop gras pour mon régime.This cheese is too fatty for my diet.
fort /fɔʁ/ A2
strong
Mon grand-père est encore très fort à quatre-vingts ans.My grandfather is still very strong at eighty.
faible /fɛbl/ A2
weak
Le malade est encore faible après l'opération.The patient is still weak after the operation.
vivant /vivɑ̃/ B1
alive; lively
Le blessé était encore vivant à l'arrivée des secours.The injured man was still alive when help arrived.
français /fʁɑ̃sɛ/ A1
French
Mon voisin est français et vient de Lyon.My neighbour is French and comes from Lyon.
britannique /bʁitanik/ A2
British
Mon professeur est britannique mais parle très bien français.My teacher is British but speaks French very well.
anglais /ɑ̃glɛ/ A1
English
Ce chanteur est anglais et vit à Londres.This singer is English and lives in London.
allemand /aləmɑ̃/ A1
German
Mon collègue est allemand et vient de Munich.My colleague is German and comes from Munich.
américain /ameʁikɛ̃/ A1
American
Ce film est américain mais tourné au Canada.This film is American but was shot in Canada.
russe /ʁys/ A2
Russian
Cet écrivain est russe et vit à Saint-Pétersbourg.This writer is Russian and lives in Saint Petersburg.

FAQ

How many French people & character words are in this list?

44 words, including A1: 5, A2: 13, B1: 25, B2: 1. Every word has playable native audio and example sentences.

Are these words CEFR-graded?

Yes — every word carries its CEFR level (A1–C2), so you can start with the level you need.

What is the best way to memorise them?

Scene groups plus spaced repetition: listen, repeat, learn the word inside its example sentence, then review the next day. LingoVoya has SRS and four quiz types built in.

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