Purpose

By the end of this lesson, you will be able to recognize and correctly use several common French-English “false friends.”

Lesson Explanation

A “faux ami” (false friend) is a French word that looks or sounds like an English word but has a genuinely different meaning — a trap that catches even advanced learners, since the resemblance actively misleads rather than simply being unhelpful.

Actuellement looks like “actually” but genuinely means “currently/at present”: Je suis actuellement à Paris. (I am currently in Paris — NOT “I am actually in Paris.”)

Assister à looks like “to assist” but genuinely means “to attend”: J’ai assisté à la réunion. (I attended the meeting — NOT “I assisted the meeting.”)

Librairie looks like “library” but genuinely means “bookstore” — the actual French word for “library” is bibliothèque, a genuinely important distinction with real consequences if confused.

Sensible looks like “sensible” but genuinely means “sensitive”: Elle est très sensible. (She is very sensitive — NOT “She is very sensible/reasonable.”) The French word for “sensible” in the English sense is raisonnable.

Demander looks like “to demand” but genuinely means simply “to ask”: Je vais demander la permission. (I’m going to ask for permission — NOT “demand” it, which would sound genuinely more forceful than the French verb implies.)

Practice Questions