7 Common French Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

Learning French is rewarding but comes with challenges. Even advanced learners often make common mistakes, like misusing familiar-looking words or struggling with the gender of nouns. These errors can slow your progress and lead to funny misunderstandings. In this article, we’ll cover seven common mistakes and give you tips on how to avoid them.

1) False Friends (Les Faux Amis)

False friends are words that look similar in French and English but have very different meanings. These linguistic traps can lead to confusion and even embarrassing errors.

Common Examples:

• Actuellement: This does not mean “actually” but rather “currently.” For example, Je suis actuellement occupé means “I am currently busy.”
• Attendre: It doesn’t mean “to attend,” but “to wait.” So, J’attends mon ami means “I am waiting for my friend”.
• Library / Librairie: A librairie is not a library but a bookstore. If you’re looking for a library, the correct term is bibliothèque.
• Sympathique: While it looks like “sympathetic,” it actually means “nice” or “friendly.”
• Éventuellement: It doesn’t mean “eventually,” but rather “possibly” or “potentially.” Example: Je viendrai éventuellement demain means “I might possibly come tomorrow,” not “I will eventually come tomorrow.”
• Sensible: Sensible does not mean “sensible,” but rather “sensitive.” Example: Elle est très sensible means “She is very sensitive,” not “She is very sensible.”

If you want to become an expert on French false friends, don’t miss this video:

How to Avoid This Mistake:

Build a list of common false friends along with their English translation and review them regularly. Context is key, so make sure to check how a word is used in a sentence. Using a bilingual dictionary or a reliable language app can also help clarify meanings.

2) Incorrect Gender Usage

In French, every noun has a gender. They are either masculine or feminine. This affects the articles, adjectives, and pronouns associated with it. Misusing genders is one of the most common mistakes, especially for native speakers of languages without grammatical gender.

Examples:

• Saying le table instead of la table (correct: feminine).
• Using mon voiture instead of ma voiture (correct: feminine).
• Referring to a person incorrectly: Elle est professeure/Il est professeur instead of Elle est une professeure/Il est une professeure.

How to Avoid This Mistake:

1. Memorize the Gender with the Noun: When learning new vocabulary, always learn the gender along with the word. For example, instead of just memorizing “table,” memorize “la table.”
2. Look for Patterns: For example, most nouns ending in -e are feminine, while lots of words in -ment or -eau are generally masculine.
3. Practice with Adjectives and Articles: Regularly practice using nouns with the correct articles and/or adjectives to qualify them. Over time, this will help reinforce the correct gender.

If you want to explore French gender rules in more depth, we break down the common word endings that often signal gender, such as -AGE, -MENT, and -EAU for masculine words, and -TION, -TE, and -EUR for feminine words.

3) Confusion with Verb Tenses

French verb conjugations can be intimidating, and mixing up tenses is a frequent mistake.

Common Issues:

• Using the wrong past tense: Learners often confuse and sometimes mix the passé composé (perfect tense) and the imparfait (imperfect tense). For instance, Je mangeais (I was eating/I used to eat) versus J’ai mangé (I ate/I have eaten) or wrongly Je mangé (literally I eaten).
• Forgetting irregular verbs: Mistakes like J’ai prendu instead of J’ai pris.
• Overusing present tense: Saying Je vais au magasin hier (“I go to the store yesterday”) instead of Je suis allé au magasin hier (“I went to the store yesterday”).

How to Avoid This Mistake:

1. Master Irregular Verbs: Create flashcards for the most common irregular verbs and their conjugations.
2. Understand When to Use Each Tense: Use the passé composé for completed actions and the imparfait for ongoing or habitual actions in the past.
3. Practice Regularly: Regular writing and speaking practice will help you internalize the correct usage of tenses.

4) Pronunciation Challenges

Pronunciation is a tricky area for French learners, especially when it comes to silent letters and nasal vowels.

Common Errors:

• Mispronouncing nasal vowels: For example, confusing un (nasal sound) with une (non-nasal sound).
• Ignoring silent letters: Failing to drop the final “s”.

Here are some common examples of silent letters or letter combinations and nasal sounds in French that non-native speakers often mispronounce:

1. Silent Letters

• Trop ([tro]) (a lot). The “p” is silent.
• Dos ([do] (back). The “s” is silent.
• Temps ([tɑ̃]) (weather/time). Both “p” and “s” are silent.

2. Letter Combinations That Form a Single Sound

• Eau ([o]) (water). “eau” is pronounced like a simple o. Example: l’eau ([lo]) (the water) and au, the contracted article à+le: je vais au cinéma.
• Oi ([wa]) Pronounced “wa”. Example: moi ([mwa]).
• An / En ([ɑ̃]) (year/in). These combinations create a nasal sound. Example: enfant ([ɑ̃-fɑ̃]) (children). Gens ([ʒɑ̃]) (people). The “s” is silent, and the nasal vowel is challenging.

How to Avoid This Mistake:

1. Listen and Repeat: Use audio resources to mimic native speakers.
2. Practice Phonetics: Focus on mastering tricky sounds, like nasal vowels and the “r.”
3. Record Yourself: Compare your pronunciation to that of native speakers and make adjustments.

The following video is on “common mistakes to avoid” when you pronounce certain words in French, so you can avoid asking for “poison” in a restaurant when what you really want is “fish”… click onward, and you’ll see what we mean!

5) Overusing Literal Translations

Directly translating phrases from English to French often leads to awkward or incorrect expressions.

Examples:

• Saying Je suis chaud to mean “I am warm.” This actually means I’m in! or I’m motivated, or I’m on fire! in an informal, almost slang tone, situation. Je suis chaud pour aller au ciné aujourd’hui, pas vous ? or Je suis trop chaud aujourd’hui, je trouve toutes les bonnes réponses ! Instead, say J’ai chaud.
• Translating “I miss you” as Je te manque. This actually means “You miss me.” The correct expression is Tu me manques.

How to Avoid This Mistake:

Learn idiomatic expressions and how they’re used in context. Practice thinking in French rather than translating word-for-word from English.

6) Mixing Up Prepositions

French prepositions often don’t correspond directly to their English counterparts, leading to frequent mistakes.

Examples:

• Using dans instead of en: Je vais à la/à/au/dans France (incorrect) instead of Je vais en France (correct).
• Saying Je suis bon à football instead of Je suis bon au football.

How to Avoid This Mistake:

1. Learn Prepositions with Verbs: For example, penser à (to think about), rêver de (to dream of).
2. Practice with Contextual Sentences: Write and speak sentences using common prepositions.

7) Using French Numbers Incorrectly

French numbers can be notoriously tricky for learners, primarily due to their unique structure, especially above 69.

A common challenge is understanding numbers like soixante-dix (70) or quatre-vingt-dix (90), which literally translate to “sixty-ten” and “four-twenty-ten.” This system confuses learners accustomed to straightforward numerical patterns. Mistakes often occur when learners assume that French numbers follow the same logic as their native language.

For example, soixante-douze (72) may feel unintuitive to learners because it combines “sixty” and “twelve” (60 + 12) rather than following a straightforward “seventy-two” structure like in English.

Another pitfall is misplacing plural forms; while quatre-vingts (80) has an “s,” it disappears in compounds like quatre-vingt-deux (82). To avoid these errors, practice breaking numbers into components, like understanding that quatre-vingt-seize (96) is “four-twenty-sixteen.”

Listening to native speakers and using repetition drills can also help internalize these patterns. With patience and practice, French numbers become less daunting and more intuitive.

In the following video, we break down French numbers from 70 to 100, highlighting the tricky yet fascinating structure of French numbering. We’ll also go over important rules for pronunciation, like when to use the final “s” in quatre-vingts and how the numbers flow. Learn the common patterns and important exceptions that will help you sound like a pro when speaking French!

Conclusion

Making mistakes is a natural part of learning French. You can improve faster and communicate more confidently by understanding common errors like false friends, gendered nouns, and tricky verb tenses. Keep practicing and don’t worry about mistakes—they’re a great way to learn!