Discover Paronyms and homonyms in French

Paronymy:

Introduction :

Paronymy is the relationship between two linguistic forms, oral and written, which are close but different. It is therefore a lexical relationship between two words whose meanings are different while the spelling (script) and/or pronunciation (oral) are almost identical to the point where they are confused when reading or hearing.

Définition :

Paronyms are words that have similar (not identical) forms. We often tend to confuse them in writing and speaking. But the meanings are completely different.

Examples : « message et massage ».

There are many paronyms that are often confused. Here are a few :

-à faire (to do) / affaire (business)

-à faire : avoir une tâche (have a task), une mission (a mission), quelque chose à réaliser ( something to achieve).

-affaire : avoir affaire à quelqu’un (to deal with someone).

*Auspices / hospice.

- Auspices means support, patronage, protection…

- Hospice means “social assistance home”.

*Bâiller / bayer.

-Bâiller : Opening your mouth as a sign of fatigue or sleep.

-Bayer : daydream, be carried away by dreams.

*Balade / ballade.

-Balade : a stroll is a walk or hike.

-Ballade : ballade is a poem or the lyrics of a song.

*Bimensuel / bimestriel.

-Bimensuel means “that which takes place twice a month”.

-Bimestriel means “what happens, happens once every two months”.

*Censé / sensé.

-Censé means “supposed” (followed by an infinitive). John is supposed to do this work alone.

-Sensé means “who has common sense”, opposite of “insane”

*de suite / tout de suite.

-de suite= following , consecutively.

-tout de suite = on the field.

*En train / entrain

-en train = what is currently running.

-entrain = liveliness, enthusiasm.

*Fond / fonds

-fond = the deepest, lowest point.

-fonds = business capital, large sum of money.

*Repaire / repère.

-Repaire = a refuge, a shelter, a den.

-Repère = a mark, a point of orientation

*Suggestion / sujétion.

-suggestion means a proposal, advice.

-sujétion means a constraint, a dependence.

Homonymy:

It is the relationship between words in a language which have the same oral and/or written form but different meanings. Homonymy is a special case of ambiguity (case of polysemy).

Classes d’homonymes.

1.Les homographes : These are words that are spelled the same way but have different meanings.

Examples : 

Fortune / fortune

-Fortune = luck

-Fortune = large amount of money

*Mineur / mineur

-Mineur = one who works in a mine

-Mineur= a child (who is not yet an adult).

*Vent / vent

-Vent = a strong movement of air.

-Vent = intestinal gas.

2.Les homophones.

These are words that are pronounced the same way and written differently.

Example :

*Chat / chas.

-Chat = the cat (animal) meows. 

-Chas = the eye of the needle.

Note: Words that are written and pronounced the same way are called “true homonyms.”

Here is a list of common homonyms :

-Aller=(verbe) , aller à l’école.  -Allée= (nom) , l’allée du jardin.

Go=(verb), go to school.    -Allée= (name), the garden path. 

*Au / eau / haut.

-Eau= buvez l’eau minérale        -Au=les joueurs sont au stade. 

-Water=drink mineral water       -Au=the players are at the stadium.

-Haut= le haut du tableau. (haut =/= bas).

-Top= the top of the table. (top =/= bottom).

*Balai / ballet.

-Ballet = groupe de danseurs  -Balai= outil pour nettoyage (les escaliers) .

-Ballet = group of dancers    -Broom = tool for cleaning (stairs).

*Bar / barre.

-Bar=local où on vend du vin   -Barre= une barre de fer.

-Bar=local where wine is sold   -Bar=an iron bar.

*Bon / bond.

-Bon= Un bon travail (=/= mauvais)  -Bond= saut : le lapin fait des bonds

-Good= Good work (=/= bad)    -Bond= jump: the rabbit jumps

*Sans / sang / cent.

-Cent=(100) , un siècle signifie cent ans.  

-Hundred=(100) , a century means a hundred years    

-Sang= Nous avons tous du sang dans les veines.     

-Blood= We all have blood in our veins.

 -Sans(préposition)= Ne conduisez pas sans permis.

  -Sans(preposition)= Do not drive without a license.    

*Chair / cher / chère.

-Chair= la chair humaine     - Cher= Les bijoux en or sont chers.   

 -Flesh= human flesh       - Expensive= Gold jewelry is expensive.

-Chère= Chère maman.

-Dear= Dear mom.

*Cour / cours / court.

-Cour= La cour de la maison est spacieuse.   

-Courtyard= The courtyard of the house is spacious.     

-Cours= Un cours de français

-Course= A French course

-Court(=/= long) un short est un pantalon court.

-Short (=/= long) shorts are short pants.

*Faim / fin.

-Faim =(need to eat). It's noon, the children are hungry.

-Fin = (=/= début) the referee whistles the end of the match, the spectators leave the stadium.

*Lait / laid.

-Lait= Lait de vache. Boire un café au lait. -Laid(=/= beau). Un visage laid.

-Milk= Cow's milk. Drink a latte.    -Ugly (=/= beautiful). An ugly face.

*Mer / mère.

-Mer= La mer Méditerranée sépare l’Europe de l’Afrique.    

-Sea= The Mediterranean Sea separates Europe from Africa. 

  -Mère= J’aime beaucoup ma mère.

-Mother= I love my mother very much.    

*Mot / maux.

-Mot= ensemble de lettres. Les mots d’une phrase. 

-Word= set of letters. The words of a sentence. -

 -Maux= les maux de tète.

- pain=headaches.

*Pâte / patte.

-Pâte : pâte pour faire du pain ou des gâteaux.   

-Dough: dough for making bread or cakes. 

-Patte= la poule a deux pattes.

-Paw= the hen has two legs. 

*Poids / pois.

-Poids : le poids de ce bébé est cinq kilos

-Weight: the weight of this baby is five kilos

-Ce plat de petits pois est vraiment délicieux.

-This pea dish is really delicious.

*Reine / renne.

-Reine (féminin de roi) . La reine Elizabeth.

-Queen (feminine of king). Queen Elizabeth.

-Renne (un animal).

-Reindeer (an animal).

*Sale / salle.

-Sale (=/= propre). Laver le linge sale.

-Dirty (=/= clean). Wash dirty laundry.

-Salle (grande pièce) . La salle de classe n°2.

-Room (large room). Classroom n°2.

*Vin / vingt

-Vin= le vin blanc.

-Wine= white wine.

-Vingt (20). Robert est jeune. Il n’a que vingt ans.

-Twenty (20). Robert is young. He is only twenty years old.