160+ French Cognates

Patrick Berryer Date Published: 28 Jul 2023 Date Modified: 30 Aug 2024

There are plenty of essential vocabulary words that you can easily pick up, thanks to cognates. Cognates are words that have the same linguistic origin between two languages. Generally speaking, they look similar and have the same or similar meanings.

It’s no secret that languages often exchange words, but French and English take this to a new level with the sheer number of words they share. Here are 160+ French cognates, tips for recognizing more and some common false cognates to watch out for.

French Cognates: Nouns
French Cognates: Adjectives
French Cognates: Verbs
How to Recognize More French Cognates
Common False Cognates in French
Why Do French and English Share So Many Cognates?
And one more thing...

Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere. Click here to get a copy. (Download)

French Cognates: Nouns

Many cognates are nouns, because names don’t depend on grammar, meaning languages can exchange these words easily. Take a look:

French	English	French	English
Absence	Absence	Liberté	Liberty
Accident	Accident	Matériel	Material
Banane	Banana	Musique	Music
Ballet	Ballet	Nation	Nation
Calculatrice	Calculator	Objectif	Objective
Capital	Capital	Opéra	Opera
Débat	Debate	Opération	Operation
Décision	Decision	Pardon	Pardon
Différence	Difference	Passion	Passion
Édition	Edition	Peintre	Painter
Émotion	Emotion	Qualification	Qualification
Énergie	Energy	Qualité	Quality
Famille	Family	Question	Question
Festival	Festival	Raisin	Raisin
Génération	Generation	Révolution	Revolution
Grâce	Grace	Satisfaction	Satisfaction
Guitare	Guitar	Service	Service
Histoire	History	Transaction	Transaction
Horreur	Horror	Télévision	Television
Hôpital	Hospital	Uniforme	Uniform
Impression	Impression	Univers	Universe
Information	Information	Vacances	Vacation
Invitation	Invitation	Visiteur	Visitor
Journal	Journal	Vocabulaire	Vocabulary
Juin	June	Wagon	Wagon
Kilogramme	Kilogram	Xylophone	Xylophone
Kilomètre	Kilometer	Yaourt	Yogurt
Langue	Language	Zéro	Zero

French Cognates: Adjectives

French and English also share many adjective cognates. Below is a list of some examples in their masculine forms:

French	English	French	English
Absolu	Absolute	Légal	Legal
Acceptable	Acceptable	Logique	Logical
Basique	Basic	Magnifique	Magnificent
Britannique	British	Mental	Mental
Catholique	Catholic	Nerveux	Nervous
Clair	Clear	Naturel	Natural
Dangereux	Dangerous	Ordinaire	Ordinary
Dramatique	Dramatic	Original	Original
Électrique	Electric	Parlementaire	Parliamentary
Entier	Entire	Particulier	Particular
Fabuleux	Fabulous	Romantique	Romantic
Fréquent	Frequent	Régulier	Regular
Graduel	Gradual	Sensible	Sensible
Généreux	Generous	Sincère	Sincere
Horrible	Horrible	Traditionnel	Traditional
Illégal	Illegal	Transparent	Transparent
Immense	Immense	Urgent	Urgent
Important	Important	Vulnérable	Vulnerable
Kaki	Khaki	Xénophobe	Xenophobic

French Cognates: Verbs

And here are some French verbs shared with English:

French	English	French	English
Abandonner	To abandon	Limiter	To limit
Accepter	To accept	Mentionner	To mention
Bloquer	To block	Modifier	To modify
Capturer	To capture	Naviguer	To navigate
Célébrer	To celebrate	Noter	To note
Changer	To change	Observer	To observe
Communiquer	To communicate	Obtenir	To obtain
Détruire	To destroy	Posséder	To possess
Décider	To decide	Présenter	To present
Éditer	To edit	Qualifier	To qualify
Encourager	To encourage	Répondre	To respond
Établir	To establish	Réserver	To reserve
Étudier	To study	Résister	To resist
Fasciner	To fascinate	Toucher	To touch
Finir	To finish	Transformer	To transform
Gouverner	To govern	Unir	To unite
Harceler	To harass	Utiliser	To use
Identifier	To identify	Valider	To validate
Ignorer	To ignore	Varier	To vary
Justifier	To justify	Zoomer	To zoom in

How to Recognize More French Cognates

Words in English that have certain endings are likely to have similar forms in French.

Here’s a list of common English word endings and a small sample of cognates for each. You can play the audio for the French and see the English word in parentheses.

English Word Ending	Cognate Examples
-able	adorable (adorable), recyclable (recyclable)
-al	animal (animal), international (international)
-ance	ambulance (ambulance), importance (importance)
-ant	éléphant (elephant), restaurant (restaurant)
-ary	dictionnaire (dictionary), salaire (salary)
-ct	insecte (insect), respect (respect)
-ence	indépendance (independence), science (science)
-ent	adolescent (adolescent), paiement (payment)
-ible	visible (visible), possible (possible)
-ical	critique (critical), éthique (ethical)
-ion	prononciation (pronunciation), région (region)
-ist	artiste (artist), sexiste (sexist)
-ly	immédiatement (immediately), normalement (normally)

Common False Cognates in French

Be careful—not all familiar words are cognates!

Faux amis (false cognates or literally “false friends”) look the same as words in another language, but aren’t.

While I’ve given you some good tips for recognizing other French-English cognates above, you’ll want to be aware of faux amis and get into the habit of checking a dictionary when you see a familiar-looking word that you don’t know.

Not doing this and accidentally using a false friend will lead to a slight chuckle in most cases, but sometimes it can lead to very embarrassing situations!

I recommend memorizing the most common false cognates to get started:

French	English
Actuellement	Presently (not actually)
Aimer	To like (not to aim)
Attendre	To wait (not to attend)
Blesser	To hurt (not to bless)
Bras	Arm (not bra)
Chair	Flesh (not chair)
Coin	Corner (not coin)
Déception	Disappointment (not deception)
Douche	Shower (not the medical device or an obnoxious person)
Éventuellement	Possibly (not eventually)
Habit	Article of clothing (not habit)
Journée	Day (not journey)
Librairie	Bookstore (not library)
Location	Rent (not location)
Pain	Bread (not pain)
Préservatif	Condom (not preserves or preservatives)

The best way to get comfortable with these “unfriendly” words is to incorporate authentic French materials into your language studies.

FluentU takes authentic videos—like music videos, movie trailers, news and inspiring talks—and turns them into personalized language learning lessons.

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Why Do French and English Share So Many Cognates?

French and English share an amazing number of words. But why is this?

Here are the main reasons:

Both are Indo-European languages. To get even more technical, French and English both trace their origins to an extinct proto-language spoken from roughly 4,500 to 2,500 BCE. And that’s exactly what cognates are—words in different languages with the same linguistic origin.

French speakers invaded and dominated England for centuries. After the Norman invasion of 1066, French invaders replaced the English nobility and a plethora of words. For centuries, English-speaking servants served French-speaking masters. This is why many English words that predate 1066 have a French-derived synonym.

England and France are neighbors. France is the closest mainland European country to England, separated only by a narrow channel. It’s no surprise that, even after the English nobility stopped speaking French, the two languages have continued influencing each other to the present day.

Today, English is the world’s lingua franca, and so many English words have been added to the French lexicon, including week-end, shopping, jogging, marketing and fast-food.

Although these words are considered franglais (a combination of French and English), they also meet the definition of cognates!

Cognates are tools that can help you learn French. But like any tool, you have to know how to use it properly.

Fortunately, thanks to cognates, the similarity of English and French vocabulary is one of the reasons why French is very accessible to English speakers.

So be wary of those faux amis and learn on!

Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere. Click here to get a copy. (Download)

And one more thing...

If you like learning French on your own time and from the comfort of your smart device, then I'd be remiss to not tell you about FluentU.

FluentU has a wide variety of great content, like interviews, documentary excerpts and web series, as you can see here:

FluentU brings native French videos with reach. With interactive captions, you can tap on any word to see an image, definition and useful examples.

For example, if you tap on the word "crois," you'll see this:

Practice and reinforce all the vocabulary you've learned in a given video with learn mode. Swipe left or right to see more examples for the word you’re learning, and play the mini-games found in our dynamic flashcards, like "fill in the blank."

All throughout, FluentU tracks the vocabulary that you’re learning and uses this information to give you a totally personalized experience. It gives you extra practice with difficult words—and reminds you when it’s time to review what you’ve learned.

Start using the FluentU website on your computer or tablet or, better yet, download the FluentU app from the iTunes or Google Play store. Click here to take advantage of our current sale! (Expires at the end of this month.)