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Faux Amis

The following is a list I've made of French words that resemble English ones but in reality are different. I'm not interested in words (such as "poison" and "six" and "fiancé") that are the same in both languages. Would you care to add to this list?

assist

attend

bless

bras

but

cave

chair

chat

choir

chose

comment

figure

fin

four

irons

laid

lit

main

met

ours

pain

pays

pour

sale

sang

seize

smoking

son

sort

store

tape

tire

ton

tour

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Permalink Reply by Dwayne Roberts on May 15, 2012 at 6:08pm

ride

In French, this is a wrinkle, as on a face or fruit.

En anglais, c'est un trajet; ou, comme verbe, c'est monter (animal) ou rouler à (vélo).

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Permalink Reply by Dwayne Roberts on July 8, 2012 at 4:36am

En anglais, «put» a le sens de «mettre». Passé: "He put the ball on the table." Présent ou passé: "I put the ball on the table."

In French, "put" means "to be able" in the 3rd person singular, simple past tense. E.g., "Elle put lire" means "She could read." Contrast with "Elle a pu lire".

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Permalink Reply by Erwan on July 9, 2012 at 9:08am

for

en Anglais : pour, pendant

In French : it's used in the expression "en son for intérieur" which means "in his heart of hearts"

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Permalink Reply by Dwayne Roberts on August 1, 2012 at 4:07pm

tout

In French, this means "all" or "every".

En anglais, ça veut dire "vanter les mérites".

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Permalink Reply by Dwayne Roberts on August 1, 2012 at 10:21pm

tongs

In French this means "flip-flops", "thongs" (the shoe wear).

En anglais ça veut dire "les pincettes" - un outil pour saisir [de la viande, de la salade].

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Permalink Reply by Charles D on August 2, 2012 at 4:29am

I would add:

crayon

plume

rouge

tableau

vent

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Permalink Reply by Anand.Ram on August 14, 2012 at 2:22pm

fFrench words that resemble English -

1................................Affluence (French) vs Affluence (English)

Affluence (F) is a crowd of people:
Affluence (E) indicates a lot of something (usually wealth): There's an affluence of information here -

2...........................Affaire (F) vs Affair (E)

Affaire (F) can mean business, matter, deal, transaction, or scandal.
Affair (E) is the equivalent of affaire only in the sense of an event or concern. A love affair is une liaison, une affaire d'amour, or une aventure amoureuse.

3...............Aimer (French) vs Aim (Eng)

Aimer (F) means to like or to love.
Aim (E) can be a noun - but, visées - or a verb - braquer, pointer, viser.

4...............Ancien (F) vs Ancient (E)

Ancien (F) can mean old in the sense of not young as well as in the sense of former: mon ancien professeur - my old (former) teacher, mon professeur ancien - my old (aged) teacher.
Ancient (E) means antique or très vieux.

5..............animation (F) vs animation (E)

animation (F) is much more general in French than in English. In addition to animation, life, liveliness, it can also refer to cultural or sports activities as well as leadership.
animation (E) means animation or vivacité.

6..................ntique (F) vs Antique (E)

Antique (F) as an adjective means antique or ancient. As a noun, it refers to antiquity orclassical art/style.
Antique (E) means the same an adjective, but as a noun it refers to une antiquité, un objet d'art ancien, or un meuble ancien.

7...............Are (French) vs Are (English)

Are (F) refers to an area of one hundred square meters.
Are (E) is a conjugation of "to be" (être): we are (nous sommes), you are (vous êtes), they are (ils sont).

8................Arriver (F) vs Arrive (E)

Arriver (F) can mean to arrive or to happen, while arriver à + verb means to succeed indoing or to manage to do something.
Arrive (E) is translated by arriver.

9..................Avertissement (F) vs Advertisement (E)

Avertissement (F) is a warning or caution, from the verb avertir - to warn.
Advertisement (E) is une publicité, une réclame, or un spot publicitaire.

10.Quitter (F) vs Quit (E)

Quitter (F) is a semi-false cognate: it means both to leave and to quit (to leave something for good).
Quit (E) often means to leave something for good and is translated by quitter. When it means to quit (stop) doing something, it is translated by arrêter de: I need to quit smoking - Je dois arrêter de fumer.

11...................☺
Office (F) vs Office (E)

Office (F) is a semi-false cognate. In addition to the meanings below, it can refer to duties, church services or prayers, or a pantry.
Office (E) can mean the physical place where one works as well as the office or position that someone holds.

12.................Raide (F) vs Raid (E)

Raide (F) is the French adjective for stiff, taut, orsteep.
Raid (E) is the English noun for un raid or uneincursion.

13........................................................!
  Rang (F) vs Rang (E)

     Rang (F) is a row, line, or rank. In Canadian French, it can be a country road.
     Rang (E) is the past participle of ring - sonner.