Speak English and starting French? Half the words look familiar — and that’s exactly where the traps are. The French call them faux amis, “false friends”: spelled almost like English words, but meaning something else.
15 French words pretending to be English
- la journée ≠ journeythe day (morning to evening): Bonne journée ! — Have a nice day! A journey is le voyage
- rester ≠ restto stay: Je reste à la maison. — I’m staying at home. To rest is se reposer
- la librairie ≠ librarya bookshop, where you buy books. A library is la bibliothèque
- actuellement ≠ actuallycurrently, at the moment. Actually is en fait
- éventuellement ≠ eventuallypossibly, if need be. Eventually is finalement
- assister à ≠ assistto attend: assister à un cours — to attend a class. To assist is aider
- attendre ≠ attendto wait: J’attends le bus. — I’m waiting for the bus
- sensible ≠ sensiblesensitive. Sensible is raisonnable
- la location ≠ locationrental: une location de voiture — a car rental. A location is l’endroit
- le coin ≠ coina corner: au coin de la rue — on the street corner. A coin is la pièce
- la monnaie ≠ moneysmall change; currency. Money is l’argent
- blesser ≠ blessto injure, to hurt. To bless is bénir
- large ≠ largewide. Large is grand
- demander ≠ demandto ask — perfectly polite. To demand is exiger
- la lecture ≠ lecturereading. A lecture is le cours or la conférence
Learn them in pairs: librairie — bookshop, bibliothèque — library. And when a word looks suspiciously English, check it in a dictionary before you use it.
Why it happens
After 1066 English borrowed thousands of French words, and over the centuries many meanings drifted apart. Most look-alikes are true friends (la table, le restaurant), but the ones above are worth learning by heart. The most frequent French words with audio are on “50 most common French words”, and we take apart another famous phrase in “Je pense, donc je suis”.
Test yourself
How do you say it in French? Think, then reveal the answer:
1.Have a nice day!
Answer
Bonne journée !
2.I’m staying at home.
Answer
Je reste à la maison.
3.I’m going to the bookshop.
Answer
Je vais à la librairie.
4.I’m currently working in Paris.
Answer
Actuellement, je travaille à Paris.
Want to learn French without falling for faux amis? Book a free trial lesson — we’ll go through many more of these with real-life examples.
