Unlocking French language: simple advice for avoiding faux amis
Welcome to part six of our Faux Amis series. Which ones do you know, and which have left you trying to explain before?
We hope this will be useful to any French speakers looking to master the French language – beginner or more advanced. Bon courage!
Patron vs Patron
The English word patron is client in French, whereas patron means the boss.
Store vs Store
The English-American word store is simply a magasin in French, but the French word store translates in to a window blind.
Médecin vs Medicine
The English word medicine become médicament in French. A médecin is a doctor in English.
Photographe vs Photograph
The English word photograph is a photo in French, or perhaps a photographie. But le photographe becomes the photographer in English.
Misérable vs Miserable
The English word miserable translated in to French is malheureux or dépressif. The French word misérable means poor.
Do you know any other faux amis? Share in the comments box below to help others master the French language!
Illustration by Kala Barba-CourtAbout the Contributor
Catherine Broughton
Great series of article about faux amis. I really like the drawing. Catherine, do you draw it?
Hello Frederic. Actually, although I am an artitst and a novelist, I have not been asked to do the drawings for this series. However, a separate series of my drawings of the French countryside will be appearing on this site shortly.
Bonjour Frederic The artist of this work is noted and linked at the base of the article – ‘Illustration by Kala Barba-Court’ [http://mybelishabeacon.com/]