100 French words ending in -ence or -ance you already know.
Same spelling in English, and with the same meaning. Here are all 100, the most common first.
Same word in English
- silencesay it see-LAH(N)Sin the 1000-word book, number 382
- présencepresencesay it pray-ZAH(N)Sin the 1000-word book, number 798
- importancesay it a(n)-pawr-TAH(N)S
- distancesay it dees-TAH(N)S
- patiencesay it pah-SYAH(N)S
All 100, the most common first.
Ordered by how often each word turns up in French films and books. A chip like in the 1000-word book, number 382 marks the words in The 1000 Most Common French Words, with their rank in the book.
All 100 words, most common first.
- Number 1silencesilencein the 1000-word book, number 382
- Number 2presenceprésencein the 1000-word book, number 798
- Number 3importanceimportance
- Number 4experienceexpérience
- Number 5existenceexistence
- Number 6differencedifférence
- Number 7absenceabsence
- Number 8distancedistance
- Number 9resistancerésistance
- Number 10patiencepatience
- Number 11sciencescience
- Number 12intelligenceintelligence
- Number 13consequenceconséquence
- Number 14vengeancevengeance
- Number 15alliancealliance
- Number 16indifferenceindifférence
- Number 17conferenceconférence
- Number 18impatienceimpatience
- Number 19excellenceexcellence
- Number 20ambulanceambulance
- Number 21influenceinfluence
- Number 22surveillancesurveillance
- Number 23innocenceinnocence
- Number 24assistanceassistance
- Number 25eleganceélégance
- Number 26lancelance
- Number 27coincidencecoïncidence
- Number 28prudenceprudence
- Number 29ambianceambiance
- Number 30ignoranceignorance
- Number 31substancesubstance
- Number 32nuancenuance
- Number 33preferencepréférence
- Number 34residencerésidence
- Number 35indulgenceindulgence
- Number 36balancebalance
- Number 37permanencepermanence
- Number 38referenceréférence
- Number 39financefinance
- Number 40adolescenceadolescence
- Number 41cadencecadence
- Number 42licencelicence
- Number 43renaissancerenaissance
- Number 44insolenceinsolence
- Number 45sequenceséquence
- Number 46competencecompétence
- Number 47reverencerévérence
- Number 48vigilancevigilance
- Number 49occurrenceoccurrence
- Number 50provenanceprovenance
- Number 51performanceperformance
- Number 52reticenceréticence
- Number 53negligencenégligence
- Number 54arrogancearrogance
- Number 55tolerancetolérance
- Number 56romanceromance
- Number 57diligencediligence
- Number 58decadencedécadence
- Number 59resonancerésonance
- Number 60eloquenceéloquence
- Number 61convalescenceconvalescence
- Number 62extravaganceextravagance
- Number 63interferenceinterférence
- Number 64providenceprovidence
- Number 65exuberanceexubérance
- Number 66deferencedéférence
- Number 67enduranceendurance
- Number 68reminiscenceréminiscence
- Number 69maintenancemaintenance
- Number 70divergencedivergence
- Number 71coherencecohérence
- Number 72opulenceopulence
- Number 73turbulenceturbulence
- Number 74incoherenceincohérence
- Number 75incompetenceincompétence
- Number 76perseverancepersévérance
- Number 77impudenceimpudence
- Number 78inexperienceinexpérience
- Number 79intoleranceintolérance
- Number 80magnificencemagnificence
- Number 81incidenceincidence
- Number 82quintessencequintessence
- Number 83resurgencerésurgence
- Number 84fragrancefragrance
- Number 85jurisprudencejurisprudence
- Number 86virulencevirulence
- Number 87emergenceémergence
- Number 88equivalenceéquivalence
- Number 89concordanceconcordance
- Number 90incontinenceincontinence
- Number 91dissonancedissonance
- Number 92nuisancenuisance
- Number 93convergenceconvergence
- Number 94omnipotenceomnipotence
- Number 95coexistencecoexistence
- Number 96flatulenceflatulence
- Number 97ambivalenceambivalence
- Number 98preponderanceprépondérance
- Number 99adherenceadhérence
- Number 100confluenceconfluence
How we counted
- Everyday words only: each one turns up at least once in every two million words of French films and books (Lexique 3.83).
- Each has a real English twin that people still use, and the twin means the same thing. We checked every word against a dictionary, then by hand.
- We left out 19 words that look like English ones but mean something else, like affluence, which means crowds. We also skip a few words to do with sex, violence, religion or politics.
Learn the top 1000 first
1000 Most Common French Words
The 1,000 words that make up about 70% of everyday written French, grouped by theme and by the patterns that link French to English, each with IPA, an easy English respelling and three example sentences glossed word by word.