French Verbs Designed to Confuse You Quiz

Answer: To wait for

"Attendre" means to wait for someone or something to occur - "J'attends mes enfants" means "I am waiting for my children", for example.

To attend, in the sense of going somewhere, would be "aller à", meaning go to.

Answer: To wound or injure

In French, "blesser" has nothing to do with being blessed, by a priest or anyone else. The French meaning is to hurt somebody, with the word coming from an early German word meaning to bruise. "Blesser" can also be used figuratively, as in hurting someone's feelings.

If you want to be blessed, you need the word "bénir". In English, we use the word benison to mean a blessing, from the same root.

Answer: To fulfil

"Réaliser" means to reach your goal or achieve your aims. The English word realise means to fully understand or grasp the meaning of something.

In French, "comprender" is similar to the English realisation as it means to understand.

Answer: To work

"Travailler" in French refers to working, although it is derived from the same root as the English "travail" which is more related to torment. Maybe for some of us working is equivalent to torture, but normally it's not quite that bad.

It certainly shouldn't be confused with the English word relating to travel, despite looking similar. In French, you need to say "voyager", which is related to the English voyage.

Answer: To plead

If you saw the word "supplier" in English, you'd immediately think of someone who provides you with goods. In French, "supplier" means to plead or beg for, deriving from the Latin word "supplico", meaning to kneel or request.

English also has similar words, with supplicant, meaning someone who begs, coming from the same root.

Answer: To summarise

"Résumer" does not mean to start again, which is what it looks like to an English speaker. In French, it means to summarise or sum up. Some of us might recognise it in the sense of a curriculum vitae, or resumé, giving details of achievements when applying for a new job.

"Pour reprendre" is the expression you need for resuming in French.

Answer: To shoot

"Tirer" can be translated as "shoot" in the sense of firing a gun. It can also be used to refer to hauling or dragging something along.

It has nothing to do with the English word "tired" or being exhausted. in French that would be "fatiguer", which is more recognisable to English speakers as meaning the same as being fatigued.

Answer: To insult

Although it looks similar to the English word injure, in French "injurier" means to abuse or insult somebody, not to cause them physical damage. You may well hurt their feelings, though.

Of course, as already covered earlier in the quiz, the French word meaning to injure is itself misleading as it is "blesser".

Answer: To watch

"Regarder" can also be translated as to see, perceive and notice. In English, we use the word regard more specifically to refer to thoughts or thoughtfulness.

We can also hold someone in high regard, meaning to esteem. In French, this sense would translate as "estimer", so is much more readily understood.

Answer: To warn

The word is derived from Latin and means to turn away. English uses avert, but in a different way. It still means to turn away, but is used to mean looking away or prevent, while the French use it to issue a warning to take care.

In French "éviter" is the verb to use if you want to avert something.