A short dive into false cognates, or « faux amis », in English and French (including some you really should learn before visiting France).
By Jacqueline GaNun
Nov. 5, 2025
Read this post on Substack here.
My friend Emily wrote last year about similarities between English and French, including some « faux amis ». You should read her post here!
PARIS — As an English speaker, if you can kind of understand the sentence « L’artiste a préparé une composition élégante pour l’exposition », it’s because of loanwords.
English, though Germanic at its roots, subsumed so many French words during its development that linguists estimate between 35–45% of English words come from French. Many words ending in -tion or -able, for example, have a French origin.
Words that mean the same thing and are spelled the same (or similarly) between two languages are often called true cognates1 or « vrais amis », which literally translates to “true friends.” They can make it easier to understand or guess what a French speaker is saying, but you can’t always assume the meaning is identical because of their counterparts: « faux amis ». These “false friends” have different meanings despite similar spellings, and can occasionally result in some very embarrassing conversations.
Below are a few of my favorite « faux amis » I’ve noticed during my time in France.
“Grenade” in English: A small missile that contains an explosive or a chemical agent (such as tear gas, a flame producer, or a smoke producer) and that is thrown by hand or projected (as by a rifle or special launcher).
« Grenade » en français : A pomegranate.
The term “grenade” to describe explosives actually comes from the French word for “pomegranate.” According to the Online Etymology Dictionary, “the weapon was so called because the many-seeded fruit suggested the powder-filled, fragmenting bomb.” I’m not sure why I was surprised by this because the fruit definitely existed first, but I guess it goes to show you can name anything after anything. Also, I learned this while buying a perfume, and I love that I now own a delicate bottle stamped with the word “grenade.”
“Tampon” in English: A wad of absorbent material (as of cotton) introduced into a body cavity or canal usually to absorb secretions (as from menstruation) or to arrest hemorrhaging.
« Tampon » en français : An engraved metal stamping plate — but also, confusingly, tampon in the hygienic sense.
Imagine my surprise when I happened upon a tabac, the French corner shop, advertising tampons in bold, yellow lettering alongside tobacco and lottery tickets.
“Timbre” in English: The quality given to a sound by its overtones.
« Timbre » en français : A payment stamp — or the quality of a sound, or a sound itself, or the tool used to stamp a document, or heraldry ornaments, or a small bell, or a plate that indicates the maximum permissible pressure in a steam engine.
This was an interesting phenomenon I found while looking up French definitions. It seemed much more common to have words that could mean 10 or 12 different things, possibly because French only has 135,000 words (according to the French dictionary Larousse) to English’s more than 500,000 (according to the Oxford English Dictionary). It definitely makes French more context-dependent, which can be tricky for a non-native speaker.2 Just make sure you’re asking about the right kind of tampon.
“Pain” in English: A localized or generalized unpleasant bodily sensation or complex of sensations that causes mild to severe physical discomfort and emotional distress.
« Pain » en français : Bread.
Boulangeries advertising their baguettes are not warning you that you’ll be hurt if you step inside.
“Hate” in English: Intense hostility and aversion … extreme dislike or disgust.
« Hâte » en français : Excitement!
French’s « hâte » evolved from the Old French word « haste » (to move quickly), which evolved from the Frankish word « haist » (violence or vehemence) — the same idea as the English “hate.” I’m unsure where the shift happened from violence to speed, but it might have something to do with strong feelings, including hatred, getting your blood pumping. Interestingly, the French word for “hate,” « haine », comes from Germanic.
“Library” in English: A place in which literary, musical, artistic, or reference materials (such as books, manuscripts, recordings, or films) are kept for use but not for sale.
« Librairie » en français : A shop which sells books.
The French word for “library” is « bibliothèque », which comes from Greek.
Finally, two « faux amis » that are perhaps most crucial to know, snickered at by innumerable high schoolers over the years.
“Excited” in English: Having, showing, or characterized by a heightened state of energy, enthusiasm, eagerness, etc.: feeling or showing excitement.
« Excité » en français : Feeling excited in a rather intimate sense.
Remember: you are not « excité » to begin a new job or see a friend, unless you want a visit to HR or an awkward conversation with an acquaintance.
“Preservative” in English: An additive used to protect against decay, discoloration, or spoilage.
« Préservatif » en français : A condom.
If you learn only two « faux amis » before a trip to France, make them those.
A bonus « faux ami » with two slang words — “pookie” in English is a rather online and often ironic term of endearment, while in French « pookie » means liar or snitch, as featured on Aya Nakamura’s 2018 song “Pookie.”
°‧ 𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 ·｡
1 A short linguistic detour — technically, loanwords and cognates are not synonyms. Any two words with the same linguistic derivation are cognates, even if they aren’t spelled the same or similarly. For example, French’s « père » and Spanish’s « padre » are cognates because they’re both derived from Latin’s “pater,” even though they’re spelled differently. In contrast, English’s “impossible” is a loanword from French’s « impossible », and so is not considered a cognate linguistically. However, in colloquial use, « vrais amis » and « faux amis » are commonly called true and false cognates.
2 This is not to say English doesn’t have context-dependent words. One of my favorite fun facts is that “nonplussed” has two definitions that are complete opposites: “unsure about what to say, think, or do: perplexed” and “not bothered, surprised, or impressed by something.” Merriam-Webster notes these dual definitions are “an Americanism that has become increasingly common in recent decades and now appears frequently in published writing,” apparently arising from “confusion over the meaning of nonplussed in ambiguous contexts, and it continues to be widely regarded as an error.” The more you know.
Jacqueline GaNun 
Leave a comment