Confusing French Pairs

Quiz on a variety of confusing French pairs.

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

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.

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.

Learn how to say "to take" and "to bring" in French.

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.

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, 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.

They both mean "before," so how do you know which one to use when?

The French words bon and bien are often confused, because they have somewhat similar meanings and they can both be adjectives, adverbs, or nouns.

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

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.

When writing, it's easy to mix up ces and ses. Learn the equally easy way to avoid this French mistake.

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

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.

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.

The French prepositions depuis, pendant, and—far less commonly—pour each express the duration of an event in French a little differently, with the result that many English speakers mix up depuis and pendant and overuse pour. This lesson explains the different meanings and uses for each preposition.

The French verbs devoir and falloir can be confusing because they both express obligation and necessity, but in different ways. In addition, each verb has a different meaning when followed by a noun.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

English speakers sometimes find it difficult to translate "new" into French, due to confusion over the French words nouveau and neuf. Read over this lesson, learn the difference between nouveau and neuf, and you won't have any more trouble saying new in French.

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....

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.

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.

Learn how to choose between these 5 verbs meaning to leave.

During the first year of French study, every student becomes aware of the troublesome relationship between the two main past tenses: imperfect and passé composé. This lesson compares and contrasts the usage of these two French verb tenses.

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.

What's 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.

Learn how to use qui and que to ask questions.

French has two verbs which can be translated by the English verb "to know": savoir and connaître. This can be confusing to English speakers, but in fact there are distinct differences in meaning and usage for the two verbs.

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.

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

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.

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.

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

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

Learn the difference between these words for towards.

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.

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.