10 Confusing French Word Pairs that Cause Trouble For French Learners
Feeling fed up with French pair words ? Read our guide to get your head around these tricky little blighters, once and for all!
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1. À Vs De2. Amener, Apporter and Emporter/ Emmener3. An/Année, Jour/Journée, Matin/Matinée, Soir/Soirée4. Bise Vs Bisous5. Bon Vs Bien6. En Vs Dans7. Depuis Vs Il y a8. Meilleur Vs Mieux9. Savoir Vs Connaître10. Encore Vs ToujoursConclusionThe French Language: sophisticated, elegant…difficult! Confusing French word pairs are something you’ll have to conquer if you want to speak like a true Frenchie.
We’re here to help!
Whether it be homophones or synonyms, we’ve broken everything down to make your learning easy peasy. Now let’s conquer confusing French words!
1. À Vs De
They may be among the smallest words in the French dictionary, but they cause plenty of problems nevertheless! In theory, the preposition À means to, at or in, whilst De translates as, of or from. Here are some of the most common uses:
- À:De:
- Location Or Destination:
Je vais aller à Paris cet été – I’m going to Paris this summer.
Je suis au supermarché – I’m at the supermarket.Starting Point Or Origin:
Je viens de Paris – I come from Paris.
Je pars de Londres – I’m leaving from London. - Object Name:
Une cuillère à café – A teaspoon.Object Contents/Description:
Une cuillère de café – A spoonful of coffee. - Manner, Style or Characteristic:
Un thé à l’anglaise – English Tea
La soupe à la tomate – Tomato SoupDefining Feature:
Une salle de bain – Bathroom
Un magazine de mode – Fashion Magazine
Distance/Time
With Distance and Time, both prepositions are used in combination:
Distance (à is used before the distance, de follows):
Les Galeries Lafayette sont à 15 minutes à pied d’ici – The Galeries Lafayette are a 15-minute walk from here.
Time (De is used before to mean ‘from’ and à follows, meaning ‘to’):
Tu dois travailler de 8h à 16h30 chaque jour – You have to work from 8am to 4:30pm every day.
2. Amener, Apporter and Emporter/ Emmener
What a mouthful indeed! These four verbs mean to bring and to take respectively, each serving a different specific purpose:
Apporter/Amener – To bring
Apporter – used for objects you carry towards someone or a destination, and also figuratively, as in apporter une preuve:
Je vais apporter mes propres sandwiches au pique-nique – I’m going to bring my own sandwiches to the picnic.
Amener – used with people, animals and vehicles:
Je vais amener mon frère au pique-nique – I’m going to bring my brother to the picnic.
Emporter/Emmener – To take
Emporter – used for objects you take away or with you, and also in figurative expressions:
J’ai emporté mes CD à la fête. – I took my CDs to the party.
Emmener – used with people, animals and vehicles:
J’ai emmené ma petite sœur à la fête – I took my little sister to the party.
3. An/Année, Jour/Journée, Matin/Matinée, Soir/Soirée
The words for year, day, morning and evening each have two equivalents in the puzzle that is the French language!
Here’s how to know when to use what:
An, Jour, Matin, Soir – usually used to count time units or locate a morning/evening:
J’habite à Paris depuis un an – I’ve lived in Paris for a year.
Elle est de bonne humeur ce matin! – She’s in a good mood this morning!
Année, Journée, Matinée, Soirée – emphasize a period of (usually lasting) time:
Il pleuvait toute l’année – It rained for the whole year.
Qu’est-ce que j’adore les soirées d’été – How I love summer evenings!
To conclude, use An, Jour, Matin and Soir with
Numbers (when not followed by an adjective):
Une femme de 45 ans – A 45-year-old woman.
Dans trois jours, je partirai pour l’Angleterre – I’ll leave for England in three days.
Temporal Expressions:
Demain matin – Tomorrow morning
Hier soir – Last night
Use Année, Journée, Matinée and Soirée with
Many adjectives and determiners (not a blanket rule: l’an prochain and le jour suivant also exist):
L’année prochaine – Next year
Quelle matinée ? – Which morning ?
Ma journée – My day
De + descriptive noun:
Une journée d’été – A summer’s day
Une soirée de repos – A night off
4. Bise Vs Bisous
It’s no surprise that the language of love has numerous ways of kissing your friends, loved ones or anyone you fancy, really! Here’s the difference between the two most popular expressions:
La Bise
The classic air-kiss put into words, La bise is generally a social greeting rather than a romantic kiss. Appropriate for use between close friends of any gender, the phrase ‘Faire la bise’ is common when greeting/leaving company.
Un Bisou
Slightly more personal, un bisou can refer to a kiss on the cheek, or lips, giving it a more romantic meaning; perfect to use between family on leaving, good friends, or your amoureux.
5. Bon Vs Bien
Even the most advanced of linguists still trip up over distinguishing these devils! Like most things, practice makes perfect! Here are the principal theories behind their uses:
Bon
Usually an adjective and modifies a noun to mean good, suitable, efficient, correct, useful etc:
Un bon étudiant – A good student.
Bien
Normally an adverb and modifies a verb to mean well and can be used to emphasize something:
Il dessine bien – He draws well.
6. En Vs Dans
Whilst en and dans both translate as ‘in’, they are not interchangeable. Here are some (more) rules to get you using the two like a pro!
Use En With:
A Length of Time (verb usually in present/past):
J’ai préparé le dîner en une demi-heure – It took me half an hour to make dinner.
Month/Season/Year (but au printemps for spring):
Il fait beau en juillet – It’s nice weather in July.
- Location (Followed by noun that doesn’t need an article):
Il est en vacances – He is on holiday.
Some States/Provinces/Countries
On passera les vacances en Italie – We’ll spend our holidays in Italy.
Use Dans With:
Time before an action will occur (verb usually in present/future):
On va déjeuner dans 10 minutes – We’re going to have lunch in 10 minutes.
Something that occurs during a decade:
Dans les années soixante, les femmes étaient très libérées – In the 60s, women were very liberated.
A Location (When followed by an article + noun):
Il y a quoi dans le placard ? – What’s in the cupboard ?
Some States/Provinces:
Je vais dans le Nevada – I’m going to Nevada.
7. Depuis Vs Il y a
How long have we been looking at French Pair Words ? Depuis too long! Do you know the difference between the two? Here’s how to distinguish them, once and for all!
Depuis
Translates as ‘since’ or ‘for’ and refers to a time in which the action described was not yet completed, in the past or present. Here’s how to use it:
Have been + -ing + for/since:
Il construit sa maison depuis un an/l’année dernière – He’s been building his house for a year/since last year.
Il y a
Translates as ‘ago’ and locates an event or situation in the past. It normally appears in a past-tense context and is followed by a length of time; it does not itself say whether an action was completed:
J’ai emménagé en France il y a trois ans – I moved to France three years ago.
8. Meilleur Vs Mieux
From ‘bon’ and ‘bien’ come ‘meilleur’ and ‘mieux’. Get your head around both pairs and you’ll be speaking like the meilleur linguist in the world!
Meilleur
Replaces ‘bon’ to form a comparative/superlative, usually modifying a noun:
Comparative:
Cette soupe est très bonne —> Ma soupe est meilleure que la tienne – My soup is better than yours.
Superlative:
Ce restaurant est très bon —> Le meilleur resto du monde – The best restaurant in the world.
Mieux
Replaces ‘bien’ to form a comparative/superlative, usually modifying a verb:
Comparative:
Il court très bien —> Il court mieux que les autres – He runs better than the others.
Superlative:
Elle chante super bien! —> Elle chante le mieux – She sings the best.
9. Savoir Vs Connaître
Do you know your stuff ? Whilst both Savoir and Connaître mean ‘to know’, knowing the difference isn’t always as easy! Here’s a handy breakdown:
Use Savoir for
‘Knowing how’ to do something:
Je sais tricoter – I know how to knit.
To know (plus a subordinate clause):
Je sais où il est caché – I know where he’s hiding.
NB: In the passé composé, Savoir often takes on the meaning of ‘to find out’ or ‘to learn’:
J’ai su ce qu’il m’a acheté pour mon anniversaire – I found out what he bought me for my birthday.
Use Connaître
To know a person:
Oui, je connais Paul – Yes, I know Paul.
To be familiar with a person/thing:
Je connais cette chanson! – I know this song!
10. Encore Vs Toujours
It seems like we’ve been doing these word pairs for ‘toujours’, doesn’t it? Let’s look at the differences between encore and toujours, then you’re all done, promise!
Encore
An adverb which translates as yet, again, still, even only/just. As it has many uses, it’s advisable to look at it in more detail, but here are a few helpful examples:
J’ai encore vu ta sœur hier – I saw your sister again yesterday.
J’ai encore trop de vêtements! – I’ve still got too many clothes!
Toujours
Marginally easier, toujours can mean still, always or anyhow:
J’adore toujours ton style – I always like your style.
Vous me devez toujours une bière! – You still owe me a beer!
Conclusion
You did it! That wasn’t too hard, was it?! Remember to consult this list often to refresh your memory and keep your French progressing nicely.
For more related articles, check out the following:
22 Embarrassingly Awkward French-English Translation and Pronunciation Mistakes
30 French Words that French Learners Have Trouble Pronouncing
You can also take this quiz on confusing French word pairs:
Can You Pick the Correct Words in this Confusing French Word Pairs Quiz?
