The false friends of the French language can be harmless, inconvenient, or downright embarrassing.
You’ve surely heard, for example, that condom doesn’t mean “preservative” at all – and actually means condom.
But there are numerous similar examples in the French language – here are 18 of the ones we find most irritating, feel free to share your pet hates in the comment box below.
1. Excited/Excited
You want to tell your French friend you’re very excited about something? “Excité” sounds like the word you should use, right? Unfortunately not. You just told your friend you were “aroused”, probably not what you were going for.
Enthusiaste is better or you could also say “I’m eager to” (I am looking forward to).
2. Jolly/Jolie
Beware with this one. If you want to refer to a jolly old woman as jolie then you’re calling her pretty. Which, of course, she might be, but just make sure you’re getting it right.
3. Cat/Pussy
If you want to say that you had a chat with someone, and do this by saying chat in a French accent (shatte) then congratulations, you’ve just used the slang word for a woman’s private parts (cat in French).
The French word for “to chat” is “bavarder”. A cat is of course a cat, but it’s pronounced without the ‘t’ sound – un-sha.
READ MORE: A language expert’s top three tips for learning French
4. Apology/Apologie
So you’ve accidentally let out a loud burp at a French dinner party. Cringing of embarrassment, you quickly let out an “apology”.
The only trouble is that in French, you’ve just told them that you “condone” or “justify” such table manners. “Pardon” and “excuse me” are both polite alternatives, or you can use all my excuses (many apologies).
When public figures issue an apology after being caught doing or saying something offensive, they’re usually described as having apologized – which is another fake friend because in English ‘excuses’ suggests they are trying to justify their behaviour, rather than say sorry for it.
5. More/More
What a deceptive little word. Depending on how you pronounce it, it can mean two opposite things – either “more” or “none”.
There is more (pronouncing the ‘s’) means there is more. There is none left (‘s’ silent) means there isn’t any left.
6. Bless/Blesser
The French verb hurt translates as injure while a wound is an injury.
While a well-meaning English-speaker might feel the temptation to throw out a “hurt yourselfs” when someone sneezes, try not to, you’ve just told the person to go and injure themselves.
The expression to use here is bless you or bless you – literally translating as ‘to your wishes’ but in fact the traditional response when someone sneezes, the equivalent to the English ‘bless you’.
7. Chair/Chair
Looking for a chair at a party? Use the term “chaise“.
“Chair” in French means flesh and you might get some weird looks if you tell the party hosts that you’re looking for some.
Meanwhile if you’re on public transport and want to know if this seat is occupied, you would use the term seat (seat) or place.
8. Person/Person
This also has two opposite meanings: no-one and someone.
There is a person in the cafe – There is one person in the coffee shop.
There is no one in the cafe – There is no one in the coffee shop.
READ MORE: Revealed: The simple trick to get the gender of French nouns (mostly) right
9. Slip/Slip
This one could easily get your knickers in a knot since “slip” in French translates into underwear, usually men’s briefs.
If you’ve had a slip and you want to tell your French friends about it, better to use the verb slide if you’re describing a physical fall, while a ‘slip-up’ in the metaphorical sense would usually be a misstep or simply a mistake.
10. Pill/piles
You have a brutal headache and you head to the local pharmacy in search for pills to cure you, but asking for ‘pills’ will sound as if you’re asking for piles or batteries.
To avoid confusion (and to make sure you get rid of your headache), better to ask for brands like Aspirine or Doliprane but in fact a pill/tablet in French is a pill or a tablet. Just as in English to pills – the pill – refers to the contraceptive pill.
11. Library/Librarie
Ask for the library in France and you’ll be directed to a bookshop (where you have to pay) rather than a library (which is free). The word for library is library.
12. Sensible/Sensible
Identical, right? Not so. Sensible means sensitive in French and it’s probably not the best word to use when describing yourself in a job interview. Try reasonable or convenient instead.
In fact ‘sensible’ in the sense of being sensitive does exist in English too, it’s just a very archaic usage. It was common in Jane Austen’s time though, as referenced by the title of one of her best-selling books Sense and Sensibility.
13. Blanket
Don’t be surprised if, after asking your neighbour to lend you a stewhe or she turns up on your doorstep with a ready-cooked meal. stew is a much-loved veal stew (Blanquette de veau) which has little to do with keeping you warm at night.
Coverage will help you cover up if you need extra blankets on your bed.
14. Terrible/Terrible
This is a tough one, because although the word can have the same meaning in French as it has in English, it is often used to express just the opposite, ie that something is “great”. And it all depends on your tone of voice.
Your safest bet to convey that something is terrible in the anglophone sense of the word is to use the word “horrible”.
15. Money
Cash does refer to money, but specifically to loose change.
So saying I do not have money doesn’t mean that you have no money, it means that you don’t have loose change or the correct change – you might say it with an apology if you’re paying for a baguette but only have a €20 note.
Money in the more general sense is moneywhile an alternative for loose change is coins or simply pieces.
16. Tongue/Tong(s)
This false friend will hardly get you into any trouble, but it sure could cause some confusion with almost any French listener who might wonder where exactly this conversation is going.
Tongue will most likely sound like “tongs” (pronounced with a silent s) which means thongs, or flip-flops. If you want to stick to discussing your tongue, say “language”.
17. Introduce/Introduce:
As if an introduction in France wasn’t a fraught experience already, one of the most two-faced of ‘false friends’ in French is the verb break in.
Naturally, you would think it means ‘to introduce’. It actually means to penetrate, insert or enter. So next time you meet a group of French people and you want to suggest you should all introduce each other”, the verb you’re looking for is to present oneself.
18. Luxurious/luxurieux
And lastly, this one is particularly nasty because even though de luxe means luxury, as you would imagine, if you want to say “luxurious” don’t try to say it with a French accent, because it will probably come out as luxurieux which means lustful.
If you want to say “you went to a luxurious hotel at the weekend” your French guests might start thinking you spent the last few days at a swingers club.