By theme
Eighteen faux amis in four groups
Each word shows what it means in French, the English word it looks like (crossed out), and the French word you need for that English meaning. Tap to hear both.
École et lectureSchool and reading
Argent et voyageMoney and travel
VerbesVerbs
Pour décrireDescribing
At the bus stop
Tu attends le car ? Six false friends in one chat
Léa and Hugo meet at a bus stop. Every line holds at least one false friend, shown in blue. Read the word-by-word line under each French word, then the English.
Léatü a-TAN luh KAR · “Are you waiting for the coach?”Why: attendre means to wait for: no extra word for “for”. le car is a coach; a car is une voiture.
Tuyouattendswait-forle car ?the coach
Hugowee, zhuh VAY a la lee-brair-EE an VEEL · “Yes, I’m going to the bookshop in town.”Why: une librairie sells books. A library, where you borrow them, is une bibliothèque.
Oui,yesjeIvaisgoà lato thelibrairiebookshopen ville.in town
Léatü SHAIRSH an ro-MAN · “Are you looking for a novel?”Why: un roman is any novel. A love story is un roman d’amour.
Tuyouchercheslook-forunaroman ?novel
Hugowee, poor mon KOOR duh lek-TÜR oh ko-LEZH · “Yes, for my reading class at school.”Why: la lecture is reading; a lecture is une conférence. le collège is secondary school for ages 11 to 15. au = à + le (to the, at the).
Oui,yespourformonmycoursclassde lectureof readingau collège.at-the school
Léatü A duh la mo-NAY · “Have you got any change?”Why: la monnaie means coins or change. Money in general is l’argent.
Tuyouashavede lasomemonnaie ?change
Hugoday-zo-LAY, ak-tü-el-MAN zhuh NAY kuh day bee-YAY · “Sorry, at the moment I’ve only got notes.”Why: actuellement means currently. Actually is en fait. ne … que means only: it wraps around the verb (n’ai que).
Désolé,sorryactuellementcurrentlyjeIn’ai quehave onlydes billets.some notes
How strong is the verb?
Demander asks, exiger demands
demander · to askzhuh duh-MAND la-dee-SYON · “I’ll ask for the bill.”Why: demander covers asking for things and asking questions: Je demande l’heure (I ask the time).
JeIdemandeask-forl’addition.the bill
insister · to insistzhan-SEEST, say poor MWA · “I insist, it’s on me.”Why: insister works like English insist. Here it is the polite fight over who pays.
J’Iinsiste,insistc’estit-ispour moi.for me
exiger · to demandzhayg-ZEEZH an ran-boors-MAN · “I demand a refund.”Why: exiger is the forceful verb. Use it for complaints, rules and requirements.
J’Iexigedemandunaremboursement.refund
Half friends: one shared meaning, one surprise
Le temps, la place, la figure, sympathique
| French | Shared with English | The French surprise | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| le tempsluh TAN | time | the weather | Quel temps fait-il ?what weather makes-itWhat’s the weather like? |
| la placela PLAS | a square in a town | a seat, or room (space) | Il reste une place ?it remains a seatIs there a seat left? |
| la figurela fee-GÜR | a figure (number, shape) | the face | Il a la figure rouge.he has the face redHis face is red. |
| sympathiquesan-pa-TEEK | (none in daily speech) | nice, friendly | Ton frère est sympa.your brother is niceYour brother’s nice. |
True friends you can work out
-ty → -té, -ous → -eux, and the hidden s
After 1066, Norman French gave English thousands of words, so French and English share a huge vocabulary. Learn these swaps and you can read many words on sight.
-ty → -té
Feminine: la.
-ous → -eux
Feminine: -euse (délicieuse).
-ly → -ment
Added to the feminine form.
-ic → -ique
Same spelling for both genders, except public.
-tion → -tion
Spelled the same, said “-SYON”; always feminine.
The circumflex trick: ^ often marks a lost s The circumflex is the little hat accent (ê, â, ô, î, û). Old French spelled these words with an s, which English kept. Put the s back and the English word often appears.
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