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If you’re learning French, you’re already aware that many French words are easy to recognize and understand at first glance, because they look very similar to English words—and have the same meaning. These friendly words are called mots apparentés (French cognate words), and they’re sure to make it easier to learn French quickly, right?
Not necessarily. Some words are much trickier because they don’t have the same meaning (though they look the same). They’re known as faux amis (false friends) or “false cognates.”. Once you know the most common false cognate in French, you’ll avoid potential confusion or embarrassment.
What is a cognate?
A cognate is a word in one language that is very similar to a word in another language with the same meaning. It could be that the word has a similar linguistic root or that it was borrowed along the way as the languages evolved.
True cognates mean the exact same thing like these French and English words:
- un accident = an accident
- un éléphant = an elephant
- important = important
- la rose = the rose
There are also semi-cognates, which aren’t spelled the same way, but are so closely related that their meaning is obvious.
- dangereux = dangerous
- la bicyclette = the bicycle
- la lampe = the lamp
The important thing is that these similar-looking words must mean the same thing. If not, they’re known as false cognates because they don’t relate to each other.
Most common false cognates in French
Keep your eyes wide open for these faux amis. This group of false cognates in French consists of words that have completely different meanings that could cause confusion. The good news is, any sympathetic speaker who is accustomed to beginners will have heard many of these French false cognates before and will be able to figure out what you’re trying to say from the context. Together, you can have a good laugh when those inevitable mistakes occur.
Les affaires (business/things)
Confusing these two words could lead to some detrimental false accusations.
- J’ai des affaires à Paris. = I have business in Paris.
- Il a eu une aventure à Paris. = He had an affair in Paris. (romantic)
You may also hear “affaires” used to refer to “stuff/belongings.”
- S’il te plaît, range tes affaires. = Please pick up your things
Un avertissement (a warning)
This word is often put on safety products and in instruction manuals to ensure proper use.
- J’ai vu l’avertissement, donc j’ai évité le centre cet après-midi. = I saw the warning, so I avoided the city center this afternoon.
- J’ai vu la publicité au centre ce matin. = I saw the ad in the city center this morning.
Blesser (to hurt/injure)
Instead of saying “bless you” when someone sneezes, the French use the phrase à tes souhaits (to your wishes).
- Je me suis blessé au bras. = I hurt my arm.
- Le prêtre a béni l’assemblée. = The priest blessed the congregation.
Un bras (an arm)
This word can easily trip you up if you see it without knowing it’s a false friend in French.
- Je me suis blessée au bras. = I hurt my arm.
- Je vais acheter un nouveau soutien-gorge. = I’m going to buy a new bra.
If something is expensive, we say it costs an “arm and a leg” in English. The French expression is similar, ça coûte un bras (it costs an arm), but another French idiom is ça coûte les yeux de la tête (it costs the eyes from your head).
Le collège (middle school)
In English, “university” and “college” are somewhat interchangeable, though there are some differences in accreditation and prestige. What looks like “college” in French is quite different though.
- Je vais aller chercher mon fils au collège. = I’m going to pick up my son at (middle) school.
- On a déposé notre fils à l’université. = We dropped our son off at college/university.
Typically a child first goes to la maternelle (preschool), followed by l’école primaire (elementary school) before attending le collège and then le lycée (high school).
L’entrée (the starter/first course)
In the United States, people use the borrowed word “entrée” to refer to the main course of a meal. While ordering in a restaurant in France, this is the “entrance” of the meal, so it’s often a small first course or an appetizer or starter, eaten and finished before the main course is served.
- L’entrée se compose d’une salade verte. = The first course is a green salad.
- Il y avait deux plats principaux.= There were two main dishes.
The word entrée also refers to an entranceway or doorway in French.
La journée (day/daytime)
“Journey” and “voyage” have slightly different meanings in French.
- Bonne journée ! = Have a great day!
- Bon voyage ! = Have a great trip!
These are wonderful well-wishes to learn alongside ways to say hello in French.
Le pain (the bread)
To express having physical pain, the French expression avoir mal à precedes a body part. For example, j’ai mal à la tête means “I have a headache.”
- J’ai mangé beaucoup de pain. = I ate a lot of bread.
- J’ai une douleur à la jambe. = I have a pain in my leg.
A list of other French false cognates
This list of English to French false cognates include some of the most commonly confused words from multiple parts of speech. The French words with the intended meaning are often very different from the similar looking English word.
| French | English | Often Confused With |
| actuel/actuellement | current/currently | réel/vraiment (actual/actually) |
| attendre | to wait | assister (to attend) |
| la chair | the flesh | la chaise (the chair) |
| charger | to load | le chargeur (the charger) |
| le coin | the corner | la pièce de monnaie (the coin) |
| la déception | la disappointment | la tromperie (the deception) |
| la douche | the shower | la douche vaginale (cleansing douche) |
| la figure | the face | le chiffre (numerical figure) la ligne (curve of one’s body) |
| graduer/la graduation | to calibrate/measurement in increments | obtenir une license/obtenir son diplôme (to graduate from university/high school) |
| introduire | to insert | présenter (to introduce someone) faire les présentations (to introduce two people) |
| joli | pretty/cute/lovely | joyeux/jovial (jolly) |
| la lecture | the reading | la conférence (the educational speech) |
| la librairie | the bookstore | la bibliothèque (the library) |
| la location | the rental | l’emplacement/la position (the location/position) |
| la pièce | the room/the coin | le morceau/la tranche (the piece/the slice) |
| pleine | pregnant (animals)/full (filled up) | simple (unadorned) évident (plain to see) |
| le préservatif | the condom | le conservateur (food additive) |
| prétendre | to claim/to purport/to assert | faire semblant (to pretend) imaginaire (not real) |
| rater | to fail | l’évaluateur/l’evaluatrice (the rater) |
| rester | to stay | se reposer (to rest) |
| sale | dirty | la vente (the sale) |
| sensible | sensitive/delicate | raisonnable/sensé (sensible) |
| stage | training period/internship | la scène (the stage) |
| sympathique | nice/pleasant/friendly | compatissant (sympathetic) |
>>Learning Spanish? Avoid being tricked by these Spanish false cognates.
Sometimes a French word looks similar to an English word and shares part of the meaning with some slight differences. These false cognates in French can help with communication and comprehension because of the strong connection between the two concepts.
La chance (luck) can connect to expressions like “by chance” or “a game of chance” in English. To translate “chance” to French, it depends on the context.
- par hasard = by chance
- les chances = the probability
- laisser entre les mains de la chance = leave it to chance
| French | English | Often Confused With |
| la balance | the scale | l’équilibre (balance) |
| chanter | to sing | le/la choriste (one who chants) |
| commander | to order | le commandant (the commander) |
| confus | embarrassed/distressed | désorienté/perdu (confused) |
| crier | to shout | pleurer (to cry) |
| un crayon | a pencil | un crayon gras (a wax crayon) |
| demander | to ask for | exiger (to demand) |
| embrasser | to kiss | prendre dans ses bras (to embrace) |
| engagé/engagée | committed | fiancé (engaged to be married) occupé (engaged/busy) |
| excité/excitée | aroused/wound up | surexcité/enthousiaste (excited) |
| le football | soccer/European football | le football américain (American gridiron football) |
| médecin | doctor | le médicament (medicine) |
| la monnaie | change/currency | l’argent (money) |
| passer un examen | to take a test | réussir un examen (to pass a test) |
| une photographe | a photographer | une photo (a photo) |
| une phrase | a sentence | une expression (a phrase) |
| les parents | relatives/parents | les parents also means parents |
| une prune | a plum | un pruneau (a prune/dried plum) |
| un raisin/une grappe de raisin | a grape/a bunch of grapes | un raisin sec (a raisin/dried grape) |
| une robe | a dress | un peignoir (a bathrobe) |
| une veste | a jacket | un gilet (a waistcoat) |
French cognates with a second meaning:
Some French words are cognates to an English word, but they have separate, additional meanings as well. To comprehend these words, you need to read the entire phrase, sentence, or surrounding paragraph. See how the French word un parti can be used in a variety of ways.
- Un parti means a political party, but not a party as in a social gathering, which would be une fête or une soirée.
- Une partie is an individual or group in a legal dispute.
- The past participle of the verb partir (to leave) is parti/partie.
Il est parti à cinq heures et elle est partie dix minutes plus tard. = He left at five o’clock, and she left ten minutes later.
Notice the extra “e” at the end when the subject is feminine, which follows French gender rules.
| French | English | Additional French Meaning |
| assister | to assist | to attend |
| gentil/gentille | gentle | kind |
| ignorer | to ignore | to not know/to be unaware of |
| occasion | the occasion, as in chance or opportunity | second-hand |
| quitter | to quit | to leave/to give up |
| le tissu | muscle tissue | cloth/fabric |
An important part of how Rosetta Stone works is that you learn vocabulary within engaging contexts to make sure the variety of vocabulary and cognate meanings are clear. You can practice a variety of French conversations in context with tutors and extra features in the Rosetta Stone App.