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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