False Cognates

Intermediate students usually figure out that if you take a French word and say it with an English accent, most of the time, it really is a word. However, that is not always true and it can often cause confusion.

False Cognates are pairs of words, one from English and the other from French, which look similar but have different meanings. Here are what they really mean:

False Cognates:			Really mean:
to achieve			réussir, accomplir
achever			to finish
actually			réellement
actuellement			presently, currently
to advertise			annoncer
avertir			to warn
to advise			conseiller, recommander
aviser			to inform, notify
to agree			tomber d'accord
agréer			to accept
averted			évité
averti			informed
to aim			viser
aimer			to love
to arrest			mettre en prison
arrêter			to stop
to assist			aider
assister			to attend
to attend to			s'occuper de
attendre			to wait
bail			une caution
un bail			a lease
a chariot			un char (romain)
un chariot			a cart, buggy
a clairvoyant			un(e) voyant(e)
clairvoyant			clear-sighted, perceptive
comprehensive			complet, détaillé
comprehensif			understanding
a convention congrès,			assemblée a convention
convention de travail			a collective agreement
currently			actuellement
courramment			fluently
to deceive			tromper
décevoir			to disappoint
a delay			un retard
un délai a deadline,			waiting period, time frame
to demand			exiger
demander			to ask
a deputy			un assistant
un député			M.P. (Member of Parliament in Ottawa),
			M.N.A. (Member of National Assembly in Quebec City)
to derange			aliéner, dérégler
déranger			to bother
to deserve			mériter
desservir
	(la table)		to clean (the table)
	(la population)		to serve (the public)
a device			un machin
une devise			a currency / motto
to devise			imaginer
diviser			to divide
to embrace			étreindre
embrasser			to kiss
to be engaged			être fiancé
être engagé			to be committed
to entertain			divertir
entretenir			to maintain
to exhaust			épuiser
exaucer			to answer (prayer)
fine			très bien
fin			(gentil) nice
fixations			des obsessions
des fixations			bindings
to forfeit			renoncer
un forfait			a package deal
gentle			doux
gentil			nice
grief			le chagrin
un grief			a grievance
a hazard			un danger
le hasard			chance
humour			de l'humour
humeur			mood
to hurt			faire mal
heurter			to strike, to hit
a journal			un journal intime
un journal			a newspaper
a journey			un voyage
une journée			a day
large			gros
large			wide
a library			une bibliothèque
une librairie			a book store
to license			autoriser
licencier			lay off, dismiss
a location			une place, un lieu
location			rental
lunatic			fou
lunatique			moody
parole liberté			conditionelle
une parole			a word
a pile			un tas
une pile			a battery
the police			la police
police			d'assurance a policy
politics			la politique
une politique			a policy
a post			un poteau
un poste			a position
faire semblant			to pretend
prétendre			to claim
empêcher			to prevent
prévenir			to forewarn
to quit			lâcher (son travail, l'école)
quitter			to leave
to rape			violer
râper			to grate
to rely			se fier
relier			to connect, relay
rentable			à louer
rentable			profitable
to report			signaler
reporter			to put off, postpone
to rest			se reposer
rester			to stay
to reply			répondre
replier			to fold up again
retribution			châtiment
rétribution			reward, payment
a reunion			une réunion de famille, de classe
une réunion			a meeting
to revise			changer
reviser			to review
sensible			sensé
sensible			sensitive
a souvenir			objet acheté en voyage
un souvenir			a memory
a stage			une estrade
un stage			a training period
stores			d es magasins
des stores			blinds
to supply			fournir
supplier			to implore
a surname			un nom de famille
un surnom			a nickname
sympathetic			compatissant
sympathique			likeable
a tablet			un comprimé
une tablette			a shelf
to transpire			se passer
transpirer			to sweat
to try			essayer
trier			to sort
to use			user de, utiliser
user			to wear out
a vacancy			une chambre disponible
des vacances			a vacation (singular)
vicious			violent, méchant
vicieux			depraved