Faux Amis

[Dwayne Roberts]

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?

 

as

assist

attend

bless

bras

but

cave

chair

chat

choir

chose

comment

figure

fin

four

irons

laid

lit

main

met

on

or

ours

pain

pays

pour

sale

sang

seize

smoking

son

sort

store

tape

tire

ton

tour

[Neil Coffey]

Not sure about "ennuyeux". I think it has two main meanings:

 

(1) "boiteux" : "To be lame" = "boiter"; "he's lame in his left leg" = "Il boite de la jambe gauche"

(2) "piètre", "très mauvais", "peu convaincant" : "A lame excuse" = "Une piètre excuse"

 

[Dwayne Roberts]

On peut traduire "lame" comme "faible de la jambe ou un argument". Il est possible que cela pourrait signifier "ennuyeux" dans l'argot, mais je ne le sait pas.

[Dwayne Roberts]

caution

 

En anglais, c'est la prudence ou à avertir.

 

In French, this is bail.

[Neil Coffey]

For it-'s worth, the meaning is a bit wider than that-- it's basically any time that you put up money as security for something (e.g. when renting a holiday flat, when acting as a financial guarantor for somebody borrowing money etc).

[alan gould]

i saw "cautionner" used as "endorse" -- i can't "cautionner" the sale of armaments

[Dwayne Roberts]

lice

 

En anglais, ce sont les poux.

In French, I believe these are lists. Is this correct?

[Neil Coffey]

"lice" has various meanings in French, all of them fairly rare. You might want to have a look at the Wikipedia entry for more information, but for example, in the plural it refers to what I think is called the "stockade" in English-- the outer barrier around a castle/fortress.

 

It can also refer (among other things) to part of a weaving loom.

 

Suffice it to say it's a fairly rare word that you don't need to worry about overduly.

[Dwayne Roberts]

Where I saw it was a headline in Paris Match:

Martine et Jean-Louis entrent en lice

[Neil Coffey]

Aaah OK, yes that's a good point I should have mentioned. The expression "entrer en lice" has a figurative meaning-- something like "to enter the arena", "enter the battle", "get involved in the issue being fought over" (it obviously comes from the idea of entering a castle during a battle). Possibly that's actually the most common use of the word.

[Charles D]

In Medieval jousting, the participants would have "entered the lists"--the field for the joust being called the lists.  C'est evidement que l'expression est venu  a l'anglais par la francais (entrer en lice).

[Dwayne Roberts]

ferret

 

En anglais, c'est le furet.

 

In French, un ferret de lacet is a metal tag on a shoelace, I believe. Is this correct ?

[Dwayne Roberts]

colon

 

En anglais, c'est un deux points (des deux points?) (":").

 

In French, this is a colonist.