French/English Cognates

Cognates and Faux amis!

Do you know what these words mean? If not, you'll find out today!

Open Ended

What is this word en anglais:

dictionnaire

Open Ended

What is this word en anglais:

artiste

Open Ended

What is this word en anglais:

célébration

Open Ended

What is this word en anglais:

nerveux

What are these words in English?

- dictionnaire = dictionary

- artiste = artist

- célébration = celebration

- nerveux = nervous

These words are all called COGNATES

- dictionnaire = dictionary

- artiste = artist

- célébration = celebration

- nerveux = nervous

Open Ended

What do you think a cognate is?

Remember, here are your examples:

- dictionnaire = dictionary

- artiste = artist

- célébration = celebration

- nerveux = nervous

Cognates

Words that are the same, or very similar, in two languages!

More examples:

- nation = nation

- ordinaire = ordinary

- romantique = romantic

Open Ended

How do you think cognates can be helpful to you when learning French?

Lets try some more examples!

Open Ended

What is this word en anglais:

pain

Open Ended

What is this word en anglais:

journée

Open Ended

What is this word en anglais:

blessé

Open Ended

What is this word en anglais:

passer un examen

What are these words in English?

- pain = bread

- journée = day

- blessé = hurt/injured

- passer un examen = take a test/exam

These words are called false cognates

- pain = bread

- journée = day

- blessé = hurt/injured

- passer un examen = take a test/exam

Open Ended

What do you think a false cognate is?

Remember, here are your examples:

- pain = bread

- journée = day

- blessé = hurt/injured

- passer un examen = take a test/exam

False Cognates

Words that look the same in two languages, but are different!

More examples:

librarie = the bookstore 

grappe = bunch

attendre = to wait

False Cognates are also called "False friends" or "faux amis"

Watch out for faux amis when learning french!

Multiple Choice

I am unsure if a word is a cognate or a "faux ami" (false cognate). What should I do?

• Guess!

• Look up the word on Google Translate to see if the English word means the same thing as the French word

• Look up the word in a French/English dictionary to see if the English word means the same thing as the French word

Let's try it out!!

Use the French/English dictionary to figure out if these words are cognates or faux amis.

(Remember, you need to translate FROM French TO English)

Multiple Choice

Is this word a cognate or a faux ami?

vent

• cognate

• faux ami

What does vent mean?

Cognate or faux ami?

vent = wind

faux ami!

Multiple Choice

Is this word a cognate or a faux ami?

univers

• cognate

• faux ami

What does univers mean?

Cognate or faux ami?

univers = universe

Cognate!

Multiple Choice

Is this word a cognate or a faux ami?

personne

• cognate

• faux ami

What does personne mean?

Cognate or faux ami?

personne = person

Cognate!

Multiple Choice

Is this word a cognate or a faux ami?

coin

• cognate

• faux ami

What does coin mean?

Cognate or faux ami?

coin = corner

faux ami!

Multiple Select

Now that I have learned about cognates, I feel:

• more confident about learning French

• like French is a little bit easier

• I am going to do better in French this year

• more overwhelmed about French