Navigating False Friends: Common Pitfalls for English Speakers Learning French

False friends are words that are similar in different languages, but have different meanings. Here are some of the most commonly misused false friends for English speakers learning French:

“Attendre” - This word looks like the English word “attend”, but it actually means “to wait”. So, if you say “je vais attendre mon ami” to mean “I’m going to attend my friend”, you would actually be saying “I’m going to wait for my friend”.

”Actuellement” - This word looks like the English word “actually”, but it means “currently” or “at present”. So, if you say “actuellement, je suis content” to mean “actually, I’m happy”, you would actually be saying “currently, I’m happy”.

”Assister” - This word looks like the English word “assist”, but it means “to attend”. So, if you say “je vais assister le match” to mean “I’m going to assist the game”, you would actually be saying “I’m going to attend the game”.

”Blesser” - This word looks like the English word “bless”, but it actually means “to injure”. So, if you say “il m’a béni” to mean “he blessed me”, you would actually be saying “he injured me”.

”Éventuellement” - This word looks like the English word “eventually”, but it means “possibly” or “potentially”. So, if you say “éventuellement, je vais venir” to mean “eventually, I’ll come”, you would actually be saying “possibly, I’ll come”.

”Fourniture” - This word looks like the English word “furniture”, but it means “office supplies” or “stationery”. So, if you say “j’ai acheté de nouvelles fournitures” to mean “I bought new furniture”, you would actually be saying “I bought new office supplies”.

”Librairie” - This word looks like the English word “library”, but it actually means “bookstore”. So, if you say “je vais à la librairie” to mean “I’m going to the library”, you would actually be saying “I’m going to the bookstore”.

”Sensible” - This word looks like the English word “sensible”, but it actually means “sensitive”. So, if you say “il est très sensible” to mean “he is very sensible”, you would actually be saying “he is very sensitive”.

”Préservatif” - This word looks like the English word “preservative”, but it actually means “condom”. So, if you say “je vais acheter des préservatifs” to mean “I’m going to buy preservatives”, you would actually be saying “I’m going to buy condoms”.

”Envie” - This word looks like the English word “envy”, but it actually means “desire” or “urge”. So, if you say “j’ai envie de pizza” to mean “I envy pizza”, you would actually be saying “I have a desire for pizza”.

It’s important to be aware of false friends when learning a new language, as they can easily lead to misunderstandings.