30 False Friends & Anglicisms Used in French
False friends “faux amis” in French are words that look identical in both English and French, but whose meanings differ. Despite having the same or similar spellings, words in English and French can sometimes be different parts of speech.
Aside from false friends, ‘anglicisms’ are English words or phrases that have been adopted into another language, French in this case. Anglicisms in French have become more and more used in the French language, and they are not just limited to the words of tech and pop culture.
Be careful not to mix anglicisms and false friends. False friends are words that appear similar in French and in English but have a different meaning, Anglicism’s have the same meaning.
In this post, I am sharing a list of 30 false friends, 30 common Anglicisms found in the general French language, as well as 30 Anglicism’s used in the tech industry and at work in general.
Table of content
1 - 30 most common false friends in French
2- 30 most common Anglicism’s in spoken French
3- List of 30 Anglicism’s used in tech & at work
4- French people and the use of anglicisms: love or hate
1- 30 most common false friends in French
1 - Attendre ( to wait) - Assister à (to attend)
J’attends le train = I wait for the train
J’assiste à une conférence = I attend a conference
2 - Un bras ( an arm) - Un soutien-gorge ( a bra)
Elle a de longs bras = she has long arms
Elle porte un soutien-gorge noir = she wears a black bra
3- Blessé ( injured) - Béni (blessed)
L’homme a été blessé dans l’accident = The man was injured in the accident
Le prêtre a béni l’enfant = The priest blessed the child
4 -La monnaie (change) - De l’argent (money)
Désolée, je n’ai pas de monnaie = I apologize, I have no change
Elle gagne beaucoup d’argent = She earns a lot of money
4-Une envie or avoir envie de ( to feel like ) - Envier ( to be jealous)
Il a envie de voyager = He feels like traveling
Tom envie beaucoup la maison de Jane = Tom really envies Jane's house ( is jealous of)
5- Une journée ( day) - Un voyage, une excursion ( journey)
Je vais passer une journée à la campagne = I will spend one day in the countryside
On a fait une excursion à la montagne hier = We went on a mountain excursion yesterday
6-Une librairie ( bookshop) - une bibliothèque ( library)
J’adore aller dans les librairies = I love going to bookstores
Il emprunte des livres des livres à la bibliothèque = He borrows books from the library
7-Un coin (corner) - une pièce de monnaie (coin)
Au coin de la rue, il y a un magasin = On the corner of the street, there is a store
Les pièces de monnaie sont rares aujourd’hui = Coins are rare today
8- Un préservatif (condom) - Un conservateur artificiel (an artificial preservative)
En France, on achète les préservatifs au supermarché = In France, condoms are bought at the supermarket
Il faut éviter les conservateurs dans les gâteaux = We should avoid preservatives in cakes.
9- Avoir du caractère ( to have a strong character) - Un personnage ( character)
Sa fille a du caractère = His daughter has a strong character
Les personnages du film sont intéressants = The characters in the movie are interesting
10- Le collège ( middle school/secondary school) - L’université ( college/university)
En France, on va au collège entre 11 et 14 ans = In France, students attend middle school between the ages of 11 and 14
En France on entre à l’université à 18 ans = In France, students start university at 18 years old
11 - Compréhensif-ve ( understanding) - complet-e ( comprehensive)
Il est très compréhensif avec le personnel de l’entreprise = He is very understanding with the company's staff
Le programme proposé est très complet = The program offered is very comprehensive
12- Embrasser (to kiss) - Adopter ( to embrace)
Il embrasse ses enfants = He kisses his children
Elle a complètement adopté la culture du pays = She has fully embraced the culture of the country
13-Eventuellement (possibly) - A la fin ,ou au bout du compte ( eventually)
Vous pouvez éventuellement choisir cette option = You can possibly choose this option.
A la fin, il l’a remboursé = In the end, he reimbursed her
14-Des injures (insults) - Une blessure ( injury )
Il a reçu des injures après la conférence = He received insults after the conference
C’est une blessure grave = It's a serious injury
15-Introduire (to insert) - Présenter ( to introduce)
Il faut insérer votre carte bançaire = You need to insert your bank card
Je me présente au début de la réunion = I introduce myself at the beginning of the meeting
16 - Courant (common) - Actuel (ordinary, usual)
C’est une expression très courante en français = It's a very common expression in French
Son niveau actuel de français est intermédiaire = His current level of French is intermediate
17 - Actuellement ( at the moment, currently) - En fait, vraiment, en réalité ( Actually)
J’étudie actuellement le français - I currently study French
En fait, c’est une blague - Actually it’s a joke
18-Une issue (exit) - Un problème, une question ( issue)
La sortie est au bout de cette salle = The exit is at the end of this room
C’est une question politique importante = It's an important political issue
19-Une location (rental) -Une localisation ( location)
L’agence propose des locations de vélo = The agency offers bike rentals
C’est une localisation idéale pour un restaurant = It's an ideal location for a restaurant
20-Du pain ( bread) - Une douleur ( pain)
Il y a du pain sur la table = There is bread on the table
La douleur est très forte = The pain is very strong
21-Rester ( to stay) - Le repos ( rest)
Je reste ici pendant une semaine = I am staying here for a week
Il faut se reposer pendant le weekend = You need to rest on the weekend
22-Un journal (a newspaper) - Un journal intime ( diary)
Tu lis le journal chaque jour = You read the newspaper every day.
Elle écrit son journal intime depuis qu’elle a 10 ans = She has been writing her diary since she was 10 years old
23-Résumer ( to summarize) - Reprendre ( to resume)
Tu dois résumer ce texte = You must summarize this text
Elle va reprendre les cours après les vacances d’été = She will resume classes after the summer vacation
24-Retirer ( to extract, to remove) - Un(e) retraité(e) retired person
Il faut retirer la clé de la porte = The key must be removed from the door.
Les retraités sont libres du matin au soir = Tetirees are free from morning till night
25-Sensible (sensitive) - sensé, judicieux ( sensible)
Elle est très sensible et il faut éviter de la critiquer = She is very sensitive, and it is necessary to avoid criticizing her.
C’est une idée très judicieuse = It’s a very sensible idea
26-Une cave ( cellar) - a cave ( une grotte, une caverne)
Il y a des bouteilles de vin dans la cave = There are bottles of wine in the cellar
La grotte se visite seulement l’après-midi = The cave is only visited in the afternoon
27-La chair (flesh) - Une chaise ( chair)
La couleur de la chair est très pâle = The color of the flesh is very pale
La chaise est violette = The chair is purple
28- Un coach (trainer) - Un wagon ( coach/carriage)
Son coach vient chaque jour chez lui pour la musculation = His coach comes to his house every day for weight training
Je suis dans le dernier wagon au bout du quai = I am in the last coach at the end of the platform
29-Un conducteur ( driver) - Un chef d’orchestre ( conductor)
Le conducteur du bus a eu une crise cardiaque = The bus driver had a heart attack
Le chef d’orchestre est allemand = The conductor of the orchestra is German
30-Dramatique ( terrible, tragic)- Spectaculaire, théâtrale ( dramatic)
Le terrorisme a des conséquences dramatiques sur le tourisme =Terrorism has terrible consequences on tourism
La vue sur les rochers est vraiment spectaculaire = The view of the rocks is truly dramatic
2 - 30 most common Anglicism’s in spoken French
Anglicisms are more and more used mainly among French young people, even if they are supposed to have a French translation.
1. Le week-end - weekend
2. Le parking - parking lot
3. Le shopping - shopping
4. Le sandwich - sandwich
5. Le marketing - marketing
6. Le smartphone - smartphone
7. Le brainstorming - brainstorming
8. Le coaching - coaching
9. Le selfie - selfie
10. Le camping - camping
11. Le casting - casting
12. Le stress - stress
13. Le replay - replay
14. Le match - match
15. Le blog - blog
16. Le buzz - buzz
17. Le streaming - streaming
18. Le design - design
19. Le pitch - pitch
20. Le podcast - podcast
24. Un scoop - scoop
25. Un dealer - dealer
26. Un burn-out - burn out
27. Un dress-code - dress code
28. Un best-seller - best-seller
29. Un booster - booster
30. Un pitch – pitch
3- List of 30 Anglicism’s used in tech & at work
The tech sector may be where the most extreme forms of professional ‘franglais’ have taken place but many expressions have now reached everyday offices in France. Examples of this include ‘je te forward la slide dans Drive’ (I’m forwarding you the slide in Google Drive) or ‘je te fais ça asap’ (I’m doing it asap.) Here is a list of 30 Anglicisms.
1. La deadline (la date butoire) - deadline
2. Le feedback (le retour) – feedback
3. Le briefing (la réunion d'information) - briefing
4. Le sponsor ( le/la mécène) - sponsor
5. Le coach (l’entraîneur) - coach
6. Le challenge (le défi) - challenge
7. Le focus (l’attention, la concentration) - focus
8. Le workshop (l’atelier) - workshop
9. Le meeting (la réunion) - meeting
10. Le chat (la discussion instantanée) - chat
11. Le manager (le responsable, le gérant) - manager
12. Le networking (le réseautage) - networking
13. Un business (une affaire) - business
15. Le leader (le meneur) - leader
16. Une team (une équipe) - team
17. Overbooké (débordé) - overbooked, overwhelmed
18. Un listing (une liste) – listing
19. Le startup - startup
20. Le brainstorming – brainstorming
21. Un appel – call
22. Le branding ( marque) – branding
23. Le benchmark ( une étude comparative de l’environnement) - benchmark
24. Le storytelling ( l’art de raconter des histoires) – storytelling
25. Le reporting ( le compte-rendu) – reporting
26. SEO ( les techniques de référencement) : SEO ( search engine optimization)
27. Disruptif/ve (c'est trouver de nouvelles idées) : Disruptive
28. Sourcing ( a recherche et l'évaluation entre différents fournisseurs) – sourcing
29. Data analyst ( analyste de données) : data analyst
30. Un/une boss ( Un(e) directeur/directrice) : boss
4 - French people and the use of anglicisms: love or hate
The French have a complicated relationship with Anglicisms. On one hand, they are increasingly used, their meaning is clear, and they also become ‘cool’ to use. According to Julie Neveux, a French linguist, using Anglicisms makes the language lively, it totally reflects that a language will never be fixed in stone.
On the other hand, they are condemned by institutions or administrations that prefer their French equivalent.
The French campaign “Stop aux anglicismes” launched by the CSA (Superior Audiovisual Council), shows that not all French speakers consider the introduction of English words into French sentences as positive.
To conclude, if you want to speak modern French by introducing anglicisms into your French sentences, do not forget to pronounce them with a very French accent !
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