French I Sub Plan #1

French I Sub Plan #1​

​COGNATES.... or, words with similar spelling or sound

by ​Mme Powles

​Cognates

​There are many words you can accurately guess the meaning of because they look similar to words you already know in English. These are called Cognates. I'll bet you can figure out what these French words mean:

​famille

​professeur

​docteur

​médicine

​danse

​^{There are even a few simple rules you can use to create French cognates based on your knowledge of English.}

​Words that end in -tion  in English, almost always end in -tion  in French

​éducation 

​

​

multiplication 

​ nation

​Words that end in -ty in English, almost always end in -té in French

​liberté

​université

​nationalité

Multiple Choice

Which word means "society" in French?

• sociedad

• société

• sociation

• socialization

​Words that end in -ous in English, almost always end in -eux in French

​curieux

​dangereux

​mystérieux

Multiple Choice

How would you write "famous" in French?

• famousité

• famoso

• fameux

• famosité

​​Words that end in -ly in English, almost always end in -ment in French

​correctement

​rapidement

​exactement

Multiple Choice

What does "généralement" mean in English?

• generalment

• generally

• general

​Sometimes the spelling isn't too close to English, but the sound is... what do you think these French words mean?

​chimie

​amande

​avocat

Multiple Choice

Think about how "photographie" would be pronounced in French. What does it mean in English?

• photographic

• photographer

• photography

• photographic

Multiple Choice

Think about how "désastre" would be pronounced in French. What does it mean in English?

• destroy

• distract

• detract

• disaster

​Words that BEGIN with ST- in English, often begin with ét- in French.

​study = étude

​student = étudiant

​standard = étendard

​state = état

​stunned = étonné

Multiple Choice

Which French word means "stage"?

• éstage

• stagé

• étage

• estagé

Multiple Choice

Which French word means "to establish"?

• establir

• établir

• stablir

• establisher

​​False Cognates

​I'm sure by now you're starting to get the hang of these Cognates, but there are some tricky ones! They are called False Cognates. False Cognates are words that LOOK or SOUND like English, but are tricky ... they don't mean what they seem to!

​limonade

​

​

​

​

​assister

​actuel

​attendre

​déception

​main

​embarrassé

​crâne

​assister - to attend

​attendre - to wait for

​​actuel - current

main - hand

​embarrassé - annoyed

​crâne - skull

​déception - disappointment

​limonade - lemon soda

​

​Watch out for false cognates! Using them incorrectly can be very embarrassing!

Multiple Choice

What does "déception"? mean in French?

• deceiving

• deception

• deceptive

• disappointment

Multiple Choice

What does "attendre" mean in English?

• to assist

• to wait for

• to attend

• to watch 

Multiple Choice

What does "assister" mean in English?

• to assist

• assistant

• to attend

• attendant

​There are many other French cognates that don't follow a pattern, but if you keep on the lookout for cognates, you'll find that you can understand much more of what you read or hear in French.

​L'éléphant est énorme

​Le téléphone est bleu.

Keep working on your course!