Les Professions — French jobs vocabulary | Vocabulary
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The main jobs and professions in French — with masculine and feminine forms and audio. Jobs and what people do — « Il est médecin ». This French jobs what people do il est m decin vocabulary list gives you 22 essential words — from un médecin (a doctor) to à la retraite (retired) — each with audio and its English translation. Use it to build the French words you need to talk about jobs what people do il est m decin, then test yourself with the games below.
Les Professions
Jobs and what people do — « Il est médecin »
Les métiers 👩⚕️
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🎬 The 20-second version
5 quick questions on « Les Professions » — guess before the reveal. Practise with the free games → Open this short as a page — transcript included →
📘 The no-article rule
- After être, professions take NO article: il est médecin, elle est professeur (NOT « un médecin »).
- BUT with c’est, you DO use the article: c’est un médecin. And add an adjective → article returns: c’est un bon médecin.
- Many jobs have feminine forms: vendeuse, coiffeuse, infirmière, avocate. Some stay the same: un/une architecte, journaliste, médecin (une médecin is now used).
- Ask: « Qu’est-ce que tu fais dans la vie ? » / « Tu fais quoi comme travail ? »
- States: être au chômage (unemployed), être à la retraite (retired), chercher un emploi (job-hunting).
🔊 Useful phrases
🔊 Example sentences
✍️ Practice
« He is a doctor » = il est ___ (article?) (no article!)
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médecin
salesperson (f) = une ___ (feminine form)
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vendeuse
What do you do for work? = qu’est-ce que tu fais dans la ___ ? (idiom)
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vie
🎮 Practise this with games
🎯 More practice — vocabulary recall — both directions
How do you say « a doctor »? (recall)
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un médecin
What does « un professeur » mean? (recall)
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a teacher
How do you say « a lawyer »? (recall)
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un avocat
What does « un cuisinier/-ère » mean? (recall)
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a cook
How do you say « a farmer »? (recall)
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un agriculteur/-trice
What does « un informaticien » mean? (recall)
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an IT worker
How do you say « a journalist »? (recall)
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un journaliste
What does « un architecte » mean? (recall)
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an architect
Go further: Le Travail — the workplace & job-hunting.
Jobs and professions in French — FAQ
How do you say common jobs what people do il est m decin words in French?
For example: a doctor is « un médecin », a nurse is « un(e) infirmier/-ère », a teacher is « un professeur ». The full list above has 22 French jobs what people do il est m decin words, each with audio so you can hear the pronunciation.
What are the most useful French jobs what people do il est m decin words to learn first?
Start with the basics: un médecin (a doctor), un(e) infirmier/-ère (a nurse), un professeur (a teacher), un(e) ingénieur(e) (an engineer), un(e) avocat(e) (a lawyer), un boulanger (a baker). Master these core French words before moving on to the rest of the list.
How can I memorise French jobs what people do il est m decin vocabulary?
Learn the words in small themed groups, say each one out loud with the audio, and use it in a short sentence about your own life. Spaced repetition is what makes new vocabulary stick — see our guide to learning French vocabulary that sticks.
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