This is the vocabulary list I use with my own students preparing the DELF A1. It is organised the way the exam is: by theme, because that is how the examiner picks a subject, and not alphabetically, because nobody revises in alphabetical order.
At A1 the article matters as much as the word. Learning maison instead of la maison means relearning the whole list later, so every noun below carries le, la or l’.
Start with the map of themes below to see the shape of the level, then work through the words theme by theme. At A1 you are expected to introduce yourself, order a meal, ask the way and fill in a form, and the themes follow from that.
The 23 DELF A1 vocabulary themes
Every theme the A1 exam draws on, with how many words each one carries in my complete A1 deck. Use it as a revision map: tick off the themes you can already talk about for two minutes, and you have your list of what is left.
| Theme | In English | Words |
|---|---|---|
| Les loisirs | Hobbies and free time | 15 |
| Les pays et nationalités | Countries and nationalities | 25 |
| L'identité et les coordonnées | Identity and contact details | 8 |
| Les nombres | Numbers | 11 |
| La ville et les lieux | The town and its places | 30 |
| La famille | Family | 21 |
| Les professions | Jobs | 11 |
| Les commerces et les aliments | Shops and food | 34 |
| Le restaurant et les repas | Restaurants and meals | 35 |
| Les transports | Transport | 11 |
| Les vĂŞtements et les accessoires | Clothes and accessories | 23 |
| Les couleurs et les matières | Colours and materials | 13 |
| La météo | The weather | 7 |
| Les objets du quotidien | Everyday objects | 19 |
| L'heure et les activités | Telling the time, daily activities | 32 |
| La description physique et le caractère | Describing looks and personality | 30 |
| Le logement | Housing and the home | 51 |
| Le corps et la santé | The body and health | 31 |
| Le sport | Sport | 17 |
| Les vacances et les voyages | Holidays and travel | 16 |
| La nature | Nature | 12 |
| L'université et les études | University and studying | 22 |
| L'entreprise et le travail | Companies and work | 17 |
What A1 vocabulary actually looks like
A couple of words from ten of the themes above, so you can see the register the level works at. Each noun carries its article, because the gender is part of the word and the examiner hears it.
| Theme | French | English |
|---|---|---|
| L'identité et les coordonnées | le nom | surname |
| L'identité et les coordonnées | le prénom | first name |
| La famille | la grand-mère | grandmother |
| La famille | le grand-père | grandfather |
| Les nombres | trente-deux | thirty-two (32) |
| Les nombres | quarante | forty (40) |
| Le restaurant et les repas | l'addition (f.) | bill |
| Le restaurant et les repas | la carte | menu (Ă la carte) |
| Les commerces et les aliments | la boucherie | butcher's shop |
| Les commerces et les aliments | le boucher | butcher |
| La ville et les lieux | l'avenue (f.) | avenue |
| La ville et les lieux | le boulevard | boulevard |
| Le logement | déménager | to move house |
| Le logement | l'Ă©tage (m.) | floor / storey |
| Le corps et la santé | le bras | arm |
| Le corps et la santé | le genou | knee |
| Les transports | Ă pied | on foot |
| Les transports | à vélo | by bike |
| L'heure et les activités | midi | midday / noon |
| L'heure et les activités | minuit | midnight |
How to actually learn a A1 vocabulary list
Reading a list does nothing. What works is recall: cover the French column, read the English, say the word out loud with its article, then check. The words you get wrong come back sooner than the words you get right, which is the whole principle behind the flashcard decks.
Do not try to learn a theme in one sitting. Ten words a day, said out loud, beats a hundred words read in silence on a Sunday. And write them in sentences: a word you have never produced is a word you will not find under exam pressure.
If you want the exam format itself rather than the words, the DELF A1 checklist covers the grammar, the tenses and the four papers.