Confusing Pairs in French

Lessons to help you distinguish between oft-confused groups of French verbs, expressions, and grammatical structures.

À vs De
These little words cause big problems! Learn all about these common prepositions.

Accent Homographs
Think accents don't matter when writing or typing in French? Think again! There are dozens of French word pairs which are spelled (though not always pronounced) the same other than accents. To avoid confusion, you should always distinguish between these "accent homographs" by using the correct accents.

Ainsi, Alors, Donc - "Then" in French
The French words ainsi, alors, and donc are commonly used to explain the consequences or effect of an action. This lesson should help you to understand the difference between these terms and thus use them correctly.

Amener, Emmener, Apporter, Emporter
Learn how to say "to take" and "to bring" in French.

An vs Année, Jour vs Journée...
The French words an and année both mean year, but they indicate different ways of looking at the year. There are three other French pairs that work the same way: jour/journée (day), matin/matinée (morning), and soir/soirée (evening). Learn the difference between these confusing pairs.

Apprendre, Enseigner, Instruire, Éduquer
These four verbs mean "to teach," but there are subtle differences in meaning and usage. Learn to recognize and use these four verbs correctly.

Après vs Derrière
Learn the difference between after and behind.

Après, Ensuite, Puis - "Then" in French
Après, ensuite and puis are used to indicate the order of events. This lesson should help you to understand the difference between these terms and thus use them correctly.

Avant vs Devant
Learn all about before and in front of.

Bon vs Bien, Mauvais vs Mal
The French words bon and bien, mauvais and mal are often mixed up - study this lesson to straighten them out.

C'est vs Il est
The French expressions c'est and il est are very similar in meaning. They are both used in impersonal expressions as well as for general comments, but they are not interchangeable. Learn the difference between c'est and il est and then take the test.

Dans vs En
The prepositions en and dans can both be used to express time and location in French, but their uses are completely different.

De vs Du, De la, Des
The preposition de tends to be very difficult for French students, even at advanced levels. Trying to figure out whether to use de, du, de la, or des can be a real challenge! This lesson is a summary of when to use de and when to use the indefinite article, partitive article, or de + definite article (which looks like the partitive - but isn't. Ugh!)

Depuis vs Il y a
The French temporal expressions depuis and il y a have distinctly different meanings and uses, yet they commonly present difficulties for French students. Here is a detailed explanation and comparison of depuis and il y a to help you clearly understand the difference once and for all.

Depuis vs Pendant, En vs Dans
Je vais dans or en une heure? Je vais pendant or pour deux semaines? Many French students are confused by the French prepositions for time. The problem is that there are so many different French temporal prepositions with different uses. Study this lesson to learn the difference between pendant, depuis, à, en, dans, and pour.

Dessus vs Dessous
Despite their similar spelling and subtle (to untrained ears) difference in pronunciation, dessus and dessous are exact opposites. They are used alone as well as in a number of adverbial phrases, such as au-dessus/dessous, là-dessus/dessous, par-dessus/dessous, and more.

Devoir vs Falloir
The French verbs devoir and falloir are used to express obligation and necessity in different ways. Each verb has another meaning when followed by a noun.

Encore vs Toujours
The French adverbs encore and toujours can be confusing, because they each have several meanings that partially overlap. After studying this lesson, you'll remember the differences toujours.

Faire vs Rendre
When talking about making someone feel/be a certain way, "to make" may be translated by faire or rendre. Take a look at this lesson to learn how to decide between these two verbs.

Habiter vs Vivre
The French verbs habiter and vivre both mean to live, but are used in different circumstances. You won't be able to live with yourself if you don't learn how to use them both.

To Meet
The English verb to meet, when referring to meeting people, is very vague. Its five literal French equivalents are much more specific, so you need to know in which circumstances to use each of them. This lesson will meet your expectations.

Meilleur vs Mieux
Meilleur and mieux can be confusing to French students. Meilleur is the comparative and superlative form of bon (good), while mieux is the comparative and superlative form of bien (well). When translating into English, there is no difference between meilleur and mieux, hence the confusion.

Merci pour or Merci de?
There's a common dilemma about whether to use de or pour when thanking someone for something. Take a look at this lesson to learn the formulas.

Noms avec deux genres - Nouns with Two Genders
The gender of nouns tends to be a sticky grammar point for French students, and there are a number of French nouns which are identical in pronunciation (and often spelling as well) but which have different meanings depending on whether they are masculine or feminine.

Nouveau vs Neuf
English speakers sometimes find it difficult to translate "new" into French, due to confusion over the French words nouveau and neuf. In fact, the French adjectives have distinctly different meanings; the problem is actually caused by the fact that the English "new" has more than one meaning. Fortunately, this is an easy problem to remedy. Read over this lesson, learn the difference between nouveau and neuf, and you won't have any more trouble saying new in French.

Number Expressions
There are quite a few confusing pairs and difficult expressions related to numbers in French: second/deuxième, en premier/au premier/de premier, tiers/troisième....

Only / Not Only - Ne... que, Seulement, and their negatives
There are two common French equivalents for the restrictive only in English: ne... que and seulement. These two terms mean essentially the same thing, but their negative forms are a bit more complicated.

Parce que, Car, Puisque, Comme
The French conjunctions parce que, car, puisque, and comme are commonly used to draw conclusions or otherwise relate a cause or explanation with a result or conclusion. These conjunctions have similar but not identical meanings and uses - this lesson explains the difference.

Partir, S'en aller, Sortir, Quitter, Laisser
Learn how to choose between these 5 verbs meaning to leave.

Passé composé vs Imparfait
Lesson and quiz on distinguising between the French imparfait and passé composé.

Penser à vs Penser de
They both translate as "to think about," but if you think about it, that English phrase has two different meanings. Find out which is which with this lesson.

Quand, Lorsque, Lors de, Pendant
What's the the difference between the conjunctions quand and lorsque, the similar-looking expressions lorsque and lors de, and the temporal terms lors de and pendant? That's what this lesson is all about.

Qui vs Que
Learn how to use these pronouns.

To Return
The English verb to return has seven (7!) French equivalents: retourner, revenir, rentrer, rendre, rembourser, rapporter, and renvoyer. This is because the English verb to return is very general and can mean different things. The French verbs are much more precise, so in order to use the correct one, you need to figure out exactly what you want to say. Study this lesson to learn the difference.

Savoir vs Connaître - French Verbs "To Know"
French has two verbs which can be translated by the English verb to know: savoir and connaître. This might seem confusing to English speakers, but in fact there are distinct differences in meaning and usage for the two verbs.

To Take
Learn the difference between prendre, amener, and the other French equivalents of "to take."

Tant vs Autant
The French words tant and autant are both adverbs of quantity, but their meanings and uses are different. Autant means as much/many and is usually used in comparisons. Tant means so much/many and tends to be used to intensify. Take a look at this summary table for more details.

Temporal prepositions
Learn the difference between pendant, depuis, dans, en, and à.

Tu vs Vous
It is essential to understand the difference between the two words for "you."

Vers vs Envers
Learn the difference between these words for towards.

Visit, To Visit, Visitor
All of this visiting vocabulary has several French equivalents. Une visite vs un séjour; rendre visite vs visiter vs aller voir - these and more are thoroughly explained and dissected in this lesson.

"What" in French
French learners often have trouble deciding how to translate "what" into French. Should it be que or quoi, or maybe that pesky quel? Understanding the difference between these terms is critical to knowing how to use them correctly.
 

Confusing French Pairs Quiz
Quiz on 20 of the above French lessons combined.
 

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