French Homophones

Homophones are words that are pronounced the same way but have different meanings and, sometimes, spellings. Therefore, French homophones can cause difficulties in aural comprehension and spelling. These pages should help you to understand the difference between the most common French homophones.

French Homophones: C

c - letter of the French alphabet
ces (demonstrative adjective) - these
   J'aime ces fleurs - I like these flowers
c'est - it/this is
   C'est difficile de trouver un bon emploi - It's hard to find a good job
sais - first and second person singular present indicative of savoir (to know)
   Je ne sais pas - I don't know
sait - third person singular present indicative of savoir
ses (possessive adjective) - his, her, its
   Voici ses livres - Here are his/her books
s'est - reflexive pronoun se + third person singular of être (to be)
   Il s'est déjà habillé - He already got dressed

ça indefinite demonstrative pronoun - it, that
   Je n'aime pas ça - I don't like that
sa (possessive adjective) - his, her, its
   C'est sa sœur - That's his/her sister

car (conjunction) - since, for
   La réunion fut annulée car le président est malade - The meeting was canceled since the president is sick
un quart - quarter
   un kilo et quart - one and a quarter kilos

ce (indefinite demonstrative pronoun) - this, it
   Ce doit être un bon restaurant - This must be a good restaurant
se - reflexive pronoun
   Il se lève à huit heures - He gets up at 8 o'clock

celle - see sel

c'en - contraction of ce + en (adverbial pronoun)
   C'en est trop - This is too much
cent - one hundred
   J'ai cent dollars - I have a hundred dollars
le sang - blood
   Il y a du sang sur ta chemise - There's blood on your shirt
sans (preposition) - without
   Je suis sorti sans manger - I went out without eating
s'en - se + en
   Il s'en venait tranquillement - He was approaching unhurriedly
sens - first and second person singular of sentir (to feel, smell)
sent - third person singular of sentir
   Ça sent bon ! - That smells good!

censé - supposed to
   Je suis censé partir à midi - I'm supposed to leave at noon
sensé - sensible
   C'est un homme sensé - He's a sensible man

c'est + vowel or mute h (due to liaison)
   C'est une bonne idée - That's a good idea
cet - masculine demonstrative adjective in front of a vowel/mute h (learn more)
   Cet homme est beau - That man is handsome
cette - feminine demonstrative adjective
   Cette femme est belle - That woman is beautiful
sept - seven
   J'ai sept chats - I have seven cats
s'est + vowel or mute h
   Il s'est habillé tout seul - He got dressed all by himself
Sète - a village in southern France

c'était - it was
   C'était formidable - It was great
s'était - se + third person singular imperfect of être
   Il s'était déjà levé - He had already gotten up
s'étaient - se + third person plural imperfect of être
   Elles s'étaient habillées - They had gotten dressed

la chair - flesh
la chaire - pulpit, post, (university) chair
   Ils vont créer une chaire d'arabe - They're going to create a chair of Arabic
cher - dear, expensive
   un cher ami - a dear friend

chœur - choir, chorus
   J'aimerais bien écouter le chœur - I'd really like to listen to the choir
cœur - heart
   Il a le cœur malade - He has a weak heart

chouette - great, nice
   Je l'aime bien, elle est chouette - I really like her, she's great
chouette - owl
   As-tu vu la chouette hier soir ? - Did you see the owl last night?

-ci - this (suffix)
   Cet arbre-ci est plus joli que celui-là - This tree is prettier than that one
scie - saw
   Il doit acheter une nouvelle scie - He needs to buy a new saw
si - if
   Si tu es prêt... - If you're ready...
si - yes (in response to a negative question)
   Tu ne viens pas ? Si ! - Aren't you coming? Yes!
six - six
s'y - se + y (adverbial pronoun)
   Il est temps de s'y mettre - It's time to get on with it

un compte - account, count, calculation
un comte - count
   Le Comte de Monte Cristo - The Count of Monte Cristo
un conte - story

cool - cool
   Ça c'est cool - That's cool
coule(s) - singular indicative conjugations of couler (to run, flow)
   Le Rhône coule du nord au sud - The Rhone flows from north to south

le cou - neck
   Pourquoi les girafes ont-ils de longs cous ? - Why do giraffes have long necks?
le coup - blow
   Il a pris un coup sur la tête - He took a blow to the head
le coût - cost
   le coût de la vie - the cost of living

la cour - yard, courtyard
   Je vais planter des fleurs dans la cour - I'm going to plant some flowers in the yard
le cours - course
   J'ai bien aimé ce cours - I really liked this course
court - short
   Ce chemin est plus court - This way is shorter
le court - tennis court

le cygne - swan
   J'ai vu un cygne sur l'étang - I saw a swan on the pond
le signe - sign, gesture
   Je ne comprends pas le signe que tu as fait - I don't understand the sign you made


French Homophones: AB  C  DEF  G-L  MN  OP  QR  ST  U-Z

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