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: M

ma (possessive adjective) - my
   ma mère - my mother
m'a - contraction of me (object pronoun) + third person singular avoir (to have)
   Il m'a vu - He saw me
m'as - contraction of me + second person singular avoir
   Tu m'as regardé - You looked at me

le maire - mayor
la mer - sea
la mère - mother

mai - May
   On est le premier mai - It's the first of May
la maie - bread box
mais - but
   Mais je ne suis pas prêt ! - But I'm not ready!
mes (possessive adjective) - my
   Où sont mes clés ? - Where are my keys?
m'es - contraction of me + second person singular être (to be)
   Tu m'es très cher - You are very dear to me
m'est - contraction of me + third person singular être
met - third person singular conjugation of mettre (to put)
   Il met le pain sur la table - He's putting the bread on the table
mets - first and second person singular mettre
un mets - dish
   Tout le monde doit amener un mets à partager - Everyone needs to bring a dish to share

maître (adjective) - main, major, chief
le maître - master, teacher
mettre - to put

mal - bad, badly, wrong
   J'ai mal dormi - I slept badly
le mal - evil, pain
   J'ai mal à la tête - I have a headache
mâle* - male, manly
   C'est une voix mâle - It's a manly voice
la malle - trunk (suitcase or car)
   J'ai déjà fait ma malle - I've already packed my trunk
*This isn't a homophone for everyone; some French speakers make a distinction between a and â - learn more

marocain - Moroccan
   Il est marocain - He is Moroccan
le maroquin - morocco leather

une mine - expression, look
   Il a la bonne mine - He looks good
une mine - mine
   C'est une mine d'or - It's a gold mine

mon (possessive adjective) - my
   Voici mon père - This is my father
le mont - mountain
   J'ai grimpé le mont Blanc - I climbed Mont Blanc
m'ont - contraction me + third person plural conjugation of avoir
   Ils m'ont vu - They saw me

un mur - wall
mûr - ripe
une mûre - blackberry


French Homophones: N

n - see haine

neuf - new (nouveau vs neuf)
neuf - nine

ni - neither
   Ni l'un ni l'autre n'est prêt - Neither one is ready
le nid - nest
nie(s) - singular conjugations of nier (to deny)
   Il nie l'évidence - He is denying the obvious
nient - third person plural of nier
n'y - contraction of ne + y (adverbial pronoun)
   Il n'y a pas de pain - There isn't any bread

le nom - last name, noun
non - no
n'ont - contraction of ne + third person plural conjugation of avoir
   Ils n'ont pas d'enfants - They don't have any kids


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

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