{"id":26628,"date":"2017-04-10T18:12:45","date_gmt":"2017-04-10T16:12:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/french\/?p=26628"},"modified":"2017-10-27T12:49:00","modified_gmt":"2017-10-27T10:49:00","slug":"more-faux-amis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/french\/more-faux-amis\/","title":{"rendered":"More Faux Amis"},"content":{"rendered":"

We’ve gone over\u00a0faux amis, <\/em>or false cognates,\u00a0<\/em>on the Transparent Language blog before (here<\/a> and here<\/a>). But faux amis are one of the most likely vocabulary issues to trip up new French learners…so it is always worth going over again!<\/p>\n

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For a quick recap,\u00a0les faux amis<\/em> are words that seem to be the same in both English and French, but are not. A common example is the English word “actually” and the French word\u00a0actuellement.\u00a0<\/em>Actuellement\u00a0<\/em>does not have the same meaning as “actually” in English, although it looks like it should. Rather,\u00a0actuellement\u00a0<\/em>means “currently.” For French learners who have heard or read this word and guessed the meaning, they might use this in conversation or writing in an improper way. (Sometimes, false friends can lead to very humorous misunderstandings!)<\/p>\n

There are many such\u00a0faux amis<\/em>. Why? Because English has adopted many loan words from French, particularly during the Rennaissance period. Over hundreds of years, these words have diverged in their original meaning in one language or another (or both).\u00a0Faux amis\u00a0<\/em>are living proof that language is a living and constantly changing system. Pretty cool, right?<\/p>\n

I’ve already gone over some of the most common<\/a>\u00a0faux amis\u00a0<\/em>on this blog that often trip up language learners. So, today, I’d like to go over some French words that are probably very well known to native English speakers\u2014but that don’t have the same meaning in French as in English. Here are five more\u00a0faux amis\u00a0<\/em>that are used in English, but that don’t have the same meaning in French:<\/p>\n

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\u00c0 la mode \u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Do you like your pies \u00e0 la mode<\/em>? I do. In English, this expression can mean both that something is fashionable or that it is accompanied by ice cream (how did\u00a0that<\/em> meaning of the expression come about? You can read more about the fascinating history of this French expression in English here<\/a>.) You would never use this expression in terms of adding ice cream to pie or another dessert in France, though. Rather,\u00a0\u00e0 la mode\u00a0<\/em>still means fashionable in French, although it can occasionally be used in the culinary sense in terms of adding vegetables to a dish, such as in\u00a0boeuf \u00e0 la mode.<\/em><\/p>\n

Chef<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Chef\u00a0<\/em>is actually a French word that actually means “boss.” In English, of course,\u00a0a chef is the boss of a kitchen, or the principal cook. Not so in French. Rather, a cook in French is called\u00a0un cuisinier\u00a0<\/em>(une cuisini\u00e8re<\/em>) or\u00a0un restaurateur.\u00a0<\/em>A\u00a0chef\u00a0<\/em>in French would perhaps be your company’s boss, then, and not the person who cooks you up delicious food!<\/p>\n

Entr\u00e9e<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

This is a big one. In American English, an entree is the main course of a meal. In French, however, l’entr\u00e9e<\/em> (which literally means “the entrance”) is the appetizer, or the dish that starts the meal! The main dish in French is called\u00a0le plat principal.\u00a0<\/em>Although, more formally, you might hear it referred to as\u00a0le plat de r\u00e9sistance\u00a0<\/em>because it is the dish that helps partakers resist their hunger until the next meal. (Kind readers have let me know that in Australian and British English, the entree is, in fact, the starter and not the main dish. Thank you!)<\/p>\n

Pass\u00e9<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Have you ever heard the expression, “Oh, that’s so pass\u00e9?” In English, this means something that is outdated. In French,\u00a0pass\u00e9\u00a0<\/em>literally means “passed” or “past.” But French speakers would never just say\u00a0pass\u00e9 <\/em>in this sense. Rather, they would say\u00a0pass\u00e9 de mode,\u00a0<\/em>which is a truer translation of “outdated.”<\/p>\n

r\u00e9sum\u00e9<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

In English, a resume can be a job document that lists a candidate’s previous employment and educational experience. Not so in French. The French refer to this employment document as un CV<\/em> (SAY-VAY), or a un curriculum vitae<\/em>, as is used in certain employment domains in the United States, such as in academia. Un r\u00e9sum\u00e9 i<\/em>n French just means “a summary,” so you can understand how it came to be used in this new sense in American English!<\/p>\n

Can you think of any other important\u00a0faux amis<\/em>? List them in the comments below!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"\"

We’ve gone over\u00a0faux amis, or false cognates,\u00a0on the Transparent Language blog before (here and here). But faux amis are one of the most likely vocabulary issues to trip up new French learners…so it is always worth going over again!   For a quick recap,\u00a0les faux amis are words that seem to be the same in…<\/p>\n

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