Every French learner hits this trap eventually: you see a word that looks exactly like an English one, you use it with full confidence, and a native speaker gives you a confused look. Welcome to faux amis ("false friends"): words that look like cognates but carry a completely different meaning.
French and English share thousands of real cognates, which is a huge advantage for English speakers learning French. But that same similarity creates dozens of traps. Below is the list I actually give my students, grouped by how much trouble they cause.
What exactly is a "faux ami"?
A faux ami is a word in French that resembles an English word in spelling or sound, but whose meaning has drifted apart over centuries of language evolution. Most come from the fact that English borrowed heavily from French after 1066, but the meanings of many words then evolved differently on each side of the Channel.
Some faux amis are just mildly confusing. Others can genuinely embarrass you in conversation. Let's start with the dangerous ones.
The faux amis that can actually embarrass you
| French word | Looks like it means | Actually means |
|---|---|---|
| préservatif | preservative (food) | condom |
| baiser | to kiss (as a verb) | vulgar slang for sex as a verb; "un baiser" as a noun is fine, it means "a kiss" |
| demander | to demand | to ask (simply, politely) |
| être excité(e) | to be excited (about a trip) | to be sexually aroused: use avoir hâte instead ("j'ai hâte d'y aller") |
| blesser | to bless | to hurt / wound someone |
These five are worth memorising first: the gap between the English meaning and the French one is wide enough to cause a genuinely awkward moment.
Everyday faux amis you'll hit constantly
These come up in normal conversation all the time, and mixing them up won't embarrass you, just confuse your listener for a second.
| French word | Looks like it means | Actually means |
|---|---|---|
| attendre | to attend | to wait for |
| rester | to rest | to stay |
| assister à | to assist | to attend (an event) |
| librairie | library | bookshop (library = bibliothèque) |
| coin | coin (money) | corner |
| chair | chair (furniture) | flesh (chair = chaise) |
| monnaie | money | loose change / currency |
| journée | journey | day (the whole day, as a duration) |
| char | char (burnt) | tank (military) / car (Quebec French) |
| large | large (big) | wide (big = grand) |
Faux amis around work, school and money
These trip up learners in professional or academic contexts specifically: job interviews, emails, university applications.
- éventuellement → looks like "eventually", actually means "possibly" (eventually = finalement)
- actuellement → looks like "actually", actually means "currently" (actually = en fait)
- formation → looks like "formation", actually means "training" (a course, not the act of forming)
- collège → looks like "college", actually means "middle school" (ages 11–15; university = université)
- notation → looks like "notation", actually often means "grading / marking" in a school context
- appointement(s) → looks like "appointment", actually means "salary" (rarely used; appointment = rendez-vous)
- facteur → looks like "factor", also means "postman" depending on context
- stage → looks like "stage" (theatre), actually means "internship"
Faux amis around food and the body
- entrée → looks like "entrée" (main course, American English), actually means "starter" in France
- pain → looks like "pain" (hurt), actually means "bread"
- raisin → looks like "raisin" (dried grape), actually means "grape" (fresh); raisin (dried) = raisin sec
- déception → looks like "deception", actually means "disappointment" (deception = tromperie)
- sensible → looks like "sensible" (reasonable), actually means "sensitive" (sensible = raisonnable)
- injure → looks like "injury", actually means "insult" (an injury = blessure)
Faux amis that flip the meaning entirely
The most dangerous type is words that mean close to the opposite of what you'd expect:
- hasard → not "hazard" (danger), it means "chance" or "coincidence": par hasard = by chance
- ignorer → doesn't just mean "to ignore" on purpose, it usually means "to not know / be unaware of"
- passer un examen → doesn't mean "to pass an exam", it means "to sit/take an exam" (to pass = réussir un examen)
- rater → not related to "rate", it means "to fail" or "to miss" (a train, an exam)
- introduire → doesn't mean "to introduce" a person, it means "to insert" something. To introduce someone = présenter
Quick reference: the top 10 to memorise first
If you only remember ten, focus on these, the ones I hear mixed up most often in lessons:
- demander = to ask (not to demand)
- attendre = to wait (not to attend)
- actuellement = currently (not actually)
- éventuellement = possibly (not eventually)
- rester = to stay (not to rest)
- librairie = bookshop (not library)
- passer un examen = to sit an exam (not to pass one)
- collège = middle school (not college)
- rater = to fail / miss (not related to "rate")
- être excité(e) = careful with this one: use avoir hâte for excitement about plans
Why faux amis exist in the first place
Most faux amis exist because of the Norman Conquest of 1066, when Old French flooded into English vocabulary. But languages keep evolving after they borrow from each other, and French and English each kept developing separately for the next thousand years, and plenty of these shared words drifted in different directions. Librairie and "library" both come from the Latin liber ("book"), but French kept the "place that sells books" meaning while English kept the "place that lends books" meaning.
How to actually stop mixing them up
Reading a list once won't make these stick. That's true of any vocabulary, but especially faux amis, because your brain wants to default to the English meaning. Three things that genuinely help:
- Learn them in pairs, not isolation. Always pair the French word with the English word it's not, plus the correct English translation. The contrast is what makes it stick.
- Use them in a sentence the same day. "J'ai raté mon train" sticks far better than just reading "rater = to miss/fail."
- Flag them the moment you notice one. The first time a faux ami surprises you in conversation, write it down immediately. That moment of confusion is exactly when the memory forms strongest.
Practice: spot the faux ami
Try translating these sentences. The tricky word is underlined.
- Je dois demander la permission à mon père.
- Elle a raté son examen de conduite.
- On se retrouve dans cette petite librairie du centre-ville.
- Actuellement, je travaille à Lyon.
- Il a ignoré qu'elle était déjà partie.
Answers: 1. I have to ask my father's permission (not "demand"). 2. She failed her driving test (not "rated"). 3. Let's meet at that little bookshop downtown (not "library"). 4. Currently, I work in Lyon (not "actually"). 5. He didn't know she had already left (not "ignored").