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: G

g - letter of the alphabet
j'ai (contraction of je + first person singular conjugation of avoir [to have]) - I have

le gène - gene
   C'est un gène dominant - It's a dominant gene
la gêne - trouble, bother, embarrassment
   Il éprouve une certaine gêne à avaler - He's having trouble swallowing
gêne(s) - singular conjugations of gêner (to bother, embarrass)
   Ça ne me gêne pas - It doesn't bother me

le gîte - shelter, cottage, ~ bed and breakfast
   Nous avons logé dans un gîte - We stayed in a bed and breakfast
la gîte - list, inclination of ship
   Le bateau donne de la gîte - The boat is listing

le greffe - court clerk's office
   Où se trouve le greffe ? - Where is the court clerk's office?
la greffe - transplant, graft
   Il a besoin d'une greffe du cœur - He needs a heart transplant

guère - hardly
   Il n'en reste plus guère - There's hardly any left
la guerre - war
   C'est une guerre civile - It's a civil war

un guide - guide (book or person)
   J'ai acheté un guide gastronomique - I bought a restaurant guide
une guide ~ girl scout/guide
   Ma fille veut être guide - My daughter wants to be a girl scout/guide
les guides (f) - reins
   Il faut tirer sur les guides - You have to pull on the reins


French Homophones: H

la haine - hatred
n - letter of the alphabet

hauteur - see auteur

hêtre - see être

le hockey - hockey
   Il joue au hockey. - He plays hockey.
le hoquet - hiccup
   J'ai le hoquet. - I have hiccups.

hôtel - see autel

hou, houe, houx - see août


French Homophones: I

i - letter of the alphabet
y - adverbial pronoun
   Il y est allé hier - He went there yesterday

il (subject pronoun) - he, it
   Il est médecin - He's a doctor
ils (subject pronoun) - they
   Ils ne sont pas prêts - They aren't ready
Note: In informal French, il and ils are commonly pronounced like i.


French Homophones: J

j - letter of the alphabet
j'y - contraction of je and y (adverbial pronoun)
   J'y vais ! - I'm going!

j'ai - see g

le jars - gander
   Nous avons une oie et un jars - We have one goose and one gander
la jarre - earthenware jar
   J'ai trouvé une jarre antique - I found an antique jar

jeune - young
   Il est très jeune - He is very young
un/e jeune - young person
le jeûne - fast, fasting
   C'est un jour de jeûne - It's a fast day


French Homophones: L

l - see elle

la (feminine definite article) - the
   la pomme - the apple
la (feminine direct object pronoun) - her, it
   Je la vois - I see her
là - here, there
   Il n'est est pas là - He's not there
l'a - contraction of le or la + third person singular of avoir (to have)
   Il l'a acheté - He bought it
l'as - contraction of le or la + second person singular of avoir
   Tu l'as vu ? - You saw him?

le lac - lake
la laque - lacquer, shellac, hairspray

leur (indirect object pronoun) - them
   Je leur donne les clés - I'm giving them the keys
leur(s) (possessive adjective) - their
   C'est leur maison - It's their house
le(s)/la leur(s) (possessive pronoun) - theirs
   C'est le leur - It's theirs
un leurre - delusion, illusion, deception, trap, lure, decoy
l'heur - good fortune (ironic)
   Je n'ai pas eu l'heur de le connaître - I didn't have the good fortune of knowing him
l'heure - hour, time
   À l'heure actuelle - At the present time

le livre - book
   Comment s'appelle ce livre ? - What is this book called?
la livre - pound
   Ça pèse deux livres et coûte cinq livres - That weighs two pounds and costs five pounds

l'on - euphonic contraction of le + on
   Ce que l'on a fait - What we did
l'ont - contraction of le or la + third person plural of avoir
   Ils l'ont déjà acheté - They already bought it
long - long
   Ne sois pas trop long - Don't take too long


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

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