French False Friends: 24 Faux Amis That Confuse and Embarrass Learners

Ever mistaken 'librairie' for 'library'? You're definitely not alone. French false friends are probably the most embarrassing part of learning French, and they'll trip you up even when you think you've got a solid handle on the language. These sneaky words look like English words you already know, but they mean something completely different. The result? You end up asking where the bookstore is when you wanted a library, or worse, telling someone their wife is pregnant when you meant to say embarrassed.🫠 Let's dig into the most common French false friends so you can avoid these awkward situations.

What are false cognates in French

They exist because both languages share Latin roots and have influenced each other over centuries. The problem is that this shared history creates a trap for learners.

Here's the thing: your brain sees a French word that looks familiar and automatically assumes it means the same thing as the English version. This mental shortcut works great for actual cognates (Words that really do mean the same thing), but it totally backfires with false friends. The confusion happens because these words evolved differently in each language over time, even though they started from the same origin.

The tricky part is distinguishing false friends from real cognates. Words like "table" (Table), "music" (Musique), and "restaurant" (Restaurant) work perfectly fine in both languages. But then you've got words like "actuellement" which looks like "actually" but means "currently." Your brain wants to take that shortcut, and that's where the mistakes happen.

Common French false friends that will mess you up

Let me walk you through the most notorious offenders. I've organized these by how likely they are to cause real communication problems.

1. Actuellement

This is probably the most common false friend out there. "Actuellement" means "currently" or "at the present time" in French. So when someone says "actuellement, je travaille à Paris," they're saying "currently, I work in Paris," not "actually, I work in Paris."

If you want to say "actually" in French, you'd use "en fait" or "vraiment" depending on context.

2. Librairie

We touched on this one already. A "librairie" is a bookstore where you buy books. A library (where you borrow books) is a "bibliothèque" in French. Pretty different situation when you're looking for free books versus buying them.

3. Assister

This word means "to attend" in French, and doesn’t mean "to help." So "j'ai assisté à la conférence" means "I attended the conference." If you want to say you helped someone, you'd use "aider."

4. Attendre

"Attendre" means "to wait," not "to attend", in French vocabulary. Yeah, I know it's confusing since we just talked about "assister." The French language really likes to keep you on your toes. "J'attends le bus" means "I'm waiting for the bus."

5. Blesser

This one can cause some serious confusion. "Blesser" means "to injure" or "to hurt," not "to bless", different from the English word you know. A blessed person in French would be "béni." So if you say someone is "blessé," you're saying they're injured, which is pretty different from blessed.

6. Coin

In French, "coin" translates to "corner" or "area." The word for a metal coin is "pièce." So "au coin de la rue" means "at the corner of the street."

7. Déception

This is a brutal one. "Déception" means "disappointment" in French, not "deception." If you want to talk about deception or trickery, you'd use "tromperie." So "quelle déception" means "what a disappointment."

8. Demander

"Demander" actually means "to ask," not "to demand." The phrase "je demande" simply means "I ask." For "to demand" in French, you'd use "exiger."

9. Éventuellement

Another time-related false friend. "Éventuellement" means "possibly" or "perhaps," not "eventually." For "eventually," French uses "finalement" or "à la fin."

10. Exciter

Be careful with this one in certain contexts. "Exciter" generally means "to excite" in the sense of making someone enthusiastic or worked up, but it can have sexual connotations, which can lead to misunderstanding. More importantly, if you're excited about something, you'd say "enthousiaste" or use the phrase "avoir hâte de" (To look forward to).

11. Formidable

In French, "formidable" is a positive word meaning "great" or "wonderful." It doesn't carry the intimidating or fear-inducing meaning that "formidable" has in English which can cause confusion if used wrongly. "C'est formidable" means "that's great."

12. Génial

This means "great" or "brilliant" in French, not "genial" (which means friendly in English). "C'est génial" is how you'd say "that's awesome."

13. Grappe

A "grappe" is a bunch or cluster (like a bunch of grapes), not a grape. A single grape is "un grain de raisin" in French.

14. Habits

"Habits" in French means "clothes," not habits. Your daily habits would be "habitudes" in French. So "mes habits" means "my clothes."

15. Injure

"Injure" means "insult" in French, not "injury." An injury is "blessure" (related to "blesser" we covered earlier). Pretty different meaning when someone talks about "une injure."

16. Large

In French, "large" means "wide," not "large" in the sense of big. For "large" or "big," you'd use "grand" or "gros" depending on context.

17. Lecture

"Lecture" means "reading" in French. A lecture (as in an academic talk) is "une conférence" or "un cours magistral." So "ma lecture préférée" means "my favorite reading."

18. Location

This means "rental" in French. "Location de voiture" is "car rental." The word for location or place is "endroit" or "lieu."

19. Passer un examen

This phrase means "to take an exam," not "to pass an exam." To say you passed an exam, you'd say "réussir un examen." This one causes confusion for students all the time.

20. Préservatif

Heads up: this means "condom" in French, not "preservative." Food preservatives are "conservateurs." You really don't want to mix these up in conversation.

21. Prétendre

"Prétendre" means "to claim" in French, not "to pretend." For "to pretend," you'd use "faire semblant." So "il prétend être médecin" means "he claims to be a doctor."

22. Rester

This means "to stay" or "to remain," not "to rest." For "to rest," French uses "se reposer." "Je reste ici" means "I'm staying here."

23. Sensible

In French, "sensible" means "sensitive," not "sensible" (which would be "sensé" or "raisonnable" in French). "Elle est très sensible" means "she's very sensitive."

24. Supplier

This means "to beg" or "to implore," not "to supply." For "to supply," you'd use "fournir." Pretty dramatic difference in meaning.

How to prevent false friend mistakes when learning French language

When you see words used in actual sentences, stories, and conversations, your brain starts to build the correct associations instead of relying on English lookalikes.

Reading French content helps a ton. You'll see these words pop up in natural situations where the meaning becomes clear from context. I'd recommend starting with content that has some support, like parallel texts or materials designed for learners, then gradually moving to native content. Or start with simple content that you can check the dictionary for new words.

Another solid strategy is to create your own list of false friends you personally struggle with. Everyone has different words that trip them up based on their learning journey. When you catch yourself making a mistake, write it down with the correct meaning and an example phrase. Review these regularly.

Pay attention to word families too. Once you learn that "actuellement" means "currently," you can figure out that "actuel" means "current" (not "actual"). This helps you expand your understanding beyond just memorizing individual words.

Anyway, if you want to actually practice spotting these false friends in real French content, Migaku's browser extension and app let you look up words instantly while watching shows or reading articles. You can save the tricky ones for review and build your vocabulary from stuff you actually want to read or watch. There's a 10-day free trial if you want to check it out.

Beyond English false friends in French, you'd love to learn more?

Once you've got a handle on common false friends, the real work of vocabulary building begins. Learning french involves way more than just avoiding traps. You need to build a solid foundation of words and phrases you can actually use. The key is consistent exposure to the language in multiple contexts. Watch French shows, read French articles, listen to French podcasts. Each time you encounter a word in a different situation, you strengthen your understanding of its meaning and usage.

Do what the clock does. Keep going!🚀