40 French False Friends That Trick English Speakers (And How to Remember the Real Meaning)

What Are Faux Amis?

Faux amis (literally "false friends") are French words that look similar to English words but carry a completely different meaning. They are one of the most common sources of comprehension errors in TCF and DELF reading and listening sections — and they cause writing mistakes too, when a candidate uses a French word assuming it means the same as its English lookalike.

The key to handling faux amis is simple awareness: once you know a word is a false friend, you stop assuming it means what it looks like. The list below covers the 40 most frequently encountered faux amis in French exams, grouped by how they most often appear.

False Friends That Appear in Reading Texts

• actuellement — means currently / at the moment, NOT "actually". (Actuellement = right now; "actually" = en fait / à vrai dire)
• avertissement — means warning, NOT "advertisement". (An ad = une publicité / une annonce)
• blesser — means to injure / to wound, NOT "to bless". (To bless = bénir)
• car — means because / for (conjunction), NOT "car". (A car = une voiture)
• chance — means luck, NOT "chance/opportunity". (Opportunity = une occasion)
• collège — means middle school, NOT "college/university". (University = une université / une grande école)
• commander — means to order (food, goods), NOT "to command". (To command in military sense = ordonner / diriger)
• confident — means confidant (a trusted person), NOT "confident". (Confident = sûr de soi / confiant)
• décevoir — means to disappoint, NOT "to deceive". (To deceive = tromper)
• éventuel — means possible / potential, NOT "eventual". (Eventually = finalement / à terme)

False Friends That Cause Writing Errors

• fabrique — means factory, NOT "fabric". (Fabric = tissu)
• formidable — means wonderful / fantastic, NOT "formidable/frightening". It's entirely positive in French.
• gentil — means kind / nice, NOT "gentle". (Gentle = doux / délicat)
• ignorer — means to be unaware of, NOT always "to ignore". It most commonly means not knowing something: J'ignore la réponse = I don't know the answer.
• journée — means the (whole) day, NOT "journey". (Journey = un voyage / un trajet)
• large — means wide / broad, NOT "large". (Large = grand / gros)
• lecture — means reading, NOT "lecture". (A university lecture = un cours magistral / une conférence)
• librairie — means bookshop, NOT "library". (Library = une bibliothèque)
• location — means rental, NOT "location". (Location = un endroit / un lieu)
• monnaie — means change / small currency, NOT "money" in general. (Money = l'argent)

False Friends in Professional and Academic Contexts

• passer un examen — means to take an exam, NOT "to pass an exam". (To pass = réussir un examen)
• phrase — means sentence, NOT "phrase". (Phrase = une expression)
• prétendre — means to claim / to maintain, NOT "to pretend". (To pretend = faire semblant)
• raisin — means grape, NOT "raisin". (Dried raisin = un raisin sec)
• rester — means to stay / to remain, NOT "to rest". (To rest = se reposer)
• sensible — means sensitive, NOT "sensible". (Sensible = raisonnable / sensé)
• supporter — means to tolerate / to bear, NOT "to support". (To support = soutenir)
• sympathique — means nice / friendly, NOT "sympathetic". (Sympathetic = compatissant / compréhensif)
• travailler — means to work. Travail means work, NOT "travel". (To travel = voyager)
• versatile — means fickle / inconsistent in French, NOT "versatile". (Versatile = polyvalent)

The Memory Trick That Actually Works

For each false friend, create a one-sentence story that embeds the correct French meaning. The more absurd the sentence, the better it sticks: "I was so déçu (disappointed) when I found out that 'décevoir' doesn't mean 'deceive'." That single sentence encodes both the word and its correct meaning, and the meta-joke makes it impossible to forget.

Reviewing 5 faux amis per day with this method, you can clear the most dangerous ones in a week. Add them to your flashcard system and space out the reviews — they will stick permanently.