300 French Cognates — Words You Already Know in French
More than 1,500 English words from French are true cognates–exactly the same in both languages.
Words that end in -ion are often
French cognates
1. acceleration – l’accélération 2. central – central
2. action – action
3. addiction – addiction
4. ambition – ambition
5. attention – attention
6. celebration – celebration
7. champion – champion
8. communication–communication Many words that end in -able
9. condition – condition
10. conversation – conversation 2. admirable – admirable
11. donation – donation
12. diction – diction
13. edition – édition
14. election – election
15. equation – equation
16. emotion – emotion
17. erosion – érosion
18. fiction – fiction
19. function – function
20. generation – génération
21. infection – infection
22. information – l’information
23. injection – injection
24. invasion – invasion
25. legion – legion
26. motion – motion
27. notion – notion
28. nation – nation
29. omission – omission
30. option – option
31. passion – passion
32. population – population
33. presentation – présentation
34. pronunciation- prononciation
35. question – question
36. ration – ration
37. reflection – reflection
38. religion – religion
39. reservation – réservation
40. region – région
41. rotation – rotation
42. session – session
43. station – station
44. solution – solution
45. transaction – transaction
Words that end in -al
1. animal – animal
3. national – national
4. final – final
5. international – international
6. mental – mental
7. vertical – vertical
1. adorable – adorable
3. applicable – applicable
4. cable – cable
5. capable – capable
6. double – double
7. durable – durable
8. favorable – favorable
9. habitable – habitable
10. incurable – incurable
11. identifiable – identifiable
12. improbable – improbable
13. inseparable – inséparable
14. justifiable – justifiable
15. notable – notable
16. recyclable – recyclable
17. respectable – respectable
18. sociable – sociable
19. table – table
20. vulnerable – vulnerable
Many words that end in -ible
1. horrible – horrible
2. flexible – flexible
3. impossible – impossible
4. inaccessible – inaccessible
5. incredible – incrédible
6. perceptible – perceptible
7. visible – visible
Many words that end in -ance
1. ambiance – ambiance
2. ambulance – ambulance
3. appearance – appearance
4. alliance – alliance
5. arrogance – arrogance
6. assistance – assistance
7. assurance – assurance
8. brilliance – brilliance
9. circumstance – circumstance
10. deliverance – deliverance
11. distance – distance
12. dominance – dominance
13. endurance – endurance
14. elegance – elegance
15. fiance – fiancé
16. finance – finance
17. fragrance – fragrance
18. intolerance – intolerance
19. importance – importance
20. nuance – nuance
21. nuisance – nuisance
22. perseverance – perseverance
23. renaissance – renaissance
24. resemblance – resemblance
25. resonance – resonance
26. substance – substance
27. tolerance – tolerance
28. vibrance – vibrance
Some words that end in -ant.
1. brilliant – brilliant(e)
2. elephant – éléphant
3. extravagant- extravagant
4. ignorant – ignorant(e)
5. immigrant – immigrant
6. important – important(e
7. nonchalant nonchalant
8. restaurant – restaurant
9. triumphant – triumphant(e)
10. vacant – vacant
11. vibrant – vibrant
Many words that end in -ct
1. contract – contracter
2. correct – correct
3. direct – direct
4. distinct – distinct
5. exact – exact
6. impact – impact
7. insect – insecte
8. instinct – instinct
9. object – objet
10. perfect – parfait
11. respect – respect
12. suspect – suspect
Often words that end in -ence
1. absence – absence
2. conscience – conscience
3. convergence – convergence
4. indulgence – indulgence
5. impatience – impatience
6. Independence
– indépendance
7. innocence – innocence
8. intelligence – intelligence
9. obedience – obédience
10. patience – patience
11. science – science
12. silence – silence
13. violence – violence
Many words that end in -ent
1. absent – absent
2. accent – accent
3. accident – accident
4. adjacent – adjacent
5. adolescent – adolescent
6. affluent – affluent
7. amendment – amendement
8. apartment – appartement
9. agent – agent
10. ardent – ardent
11. client – client
12. compliment – compliment
13. continent – continent
14. decent – décent
15. deficient – déficient
16. different – différent(e)
17. diligent – diligent
18. document – document
19. encouragement
– encouragement
20. element – élément
21. evident – évident
22. excellent – excellent
23. increment – incrément
24. incident – incident
25. innocent – innocent
26. intelligent – intelligent
27. latent – latent
28. monument – monument
29. negligent – négligent
30. payment – paiement
31. parent – parent
32. permanent – permanent(e)
33. pertinent – pertinent
34. president – président Many words that end in -ist have
35. prudent – prudent(e) the equivalent -iste in French:
36. recent – récent • cyclist – cycliste
37. segment – segment • artist – artiste
38. talent – talent • dentist – dentist
39. transparent – transparent
40. urgent – urgent Many adverbs that end in -ly in
English have an equivalent in
French ending in -ment:
Many words that end in -ary in 1. absolutely – absolument
English have their equivalent as - 2. correctly – correctement
aire in French: 3. directly – directement
1. actuary – actuaire 4. especially – spécialement
2. arbitrary – arbitraire 5. evidently – évidemment
3. dictionary – dictionnaire 6. exactly – exactement
4. extraordinary – extraordinaire 7. finally – finalement
5. imaginary – imaginaire 8. immediately – immédiatement
6. ordinary – ordinaire 9. naturally – naturellement
7. anniversary – anniversaire 10. normally – normalement
8. dictionary – dictionnaire 11. totally – totalement
9. salary – salaire
10. vocabulary – vocabulaire Many English words have a close
11. military – militaire French equivalent with circumflex:
12. necessary – néccessaire 1. coast – côte
13. contrary – contraire 2. forest – forêt
3. hotel – hôtel
4. hospital – hôpital
Many words that end in - 5. theatre – théâtre
ical have -ique equivalents in
French:
1. alphabetical – alphabetique
2. analytical – analytique
3. Catholic – Catholique
4. chemical – chemique
5. critical – critique
6. cubical – cubique
7. dramatic – dramatique
8. electrical – electrique
9. ethical – èthique
10. historical – historique
11. identical – identique
12. logical – logique
13. lyrical – lyrique
14. music – musique
15. practical – pratique
16. romantic – romantique
17. statistical – statistique
18. symmetrical – symetrique
19. typical – typique