Don' mix up these 8 words in French anymore!

This week at Ohlala French Coffee, we are going to talk about art. It's not a subject I know much about.

However, one thing I do love is drawing!

I love all things visual and most of all, you've probably noticed if you follow me on Instagram, I love visuals that teach new things. Being a very visual person myself, I find it to be a great technique for retaining information.

Vin or vingt ?

Yes, they have the same pronunciation. Well, it's true that in the North, we pronounce this number "VingtE". But, most French people say "Vin".

In order not to confuse their spelling, I suggest this drawing:

"Vin" with a glass of wine at the end.

"Vingt" with the number formed by the two letters G et T.

Une ancre or une encre ?

The difference between these two spellings is made by the letter A and E.

So, for "une ancre", imagine an anchor formed by the A.

For "encre", imagine three inks that form the letter E.

Magasin or magazine ?

I know you confuse these two a lot!

Remember that in "magasin" there is an S on which you can hang a small sign "Open".

And in "magazine" there is a Z that almost takes the shape of a magazine and at the end there is an "e" that can be represented a camera to have nice pictures in the magazine

Verre or vert or vers ?

We've seen a lot of memes about these words. So, today I present you a trick to not confuse them anymore.

Imagine two glasses represented by the letter R.

At the end of "vert", there is a T, imagine this T as a green tree.

"Vers" can mean two things: un vers (a worm) or the preposition "vers", in the direction of (toward).

So, either we'll turn the S into a worm.

Or it can be changed to road to indicate the preposition

Un poids or un pois ?

 One represents something heavy, and the other represents a plant.

It is simple to distinguish them, we will imagine a person who lifts "un poids" (a weight) formed by the D and the S

And for pois (pea) that ends with an S, we will imagine a plant.

Le chant or le champ ?

One refers to the act of singing and the other to an area of land.

So imagine a musical note at the end of "chant" represented by the letter T.

And for field, imagine a cow in place of the M and a bale of hay in place of the P. Imagine a cow eating a bale of hay in un champ (a field).

Amener or apporter ?

So, these are a little more special, because they are not homophones. But, they are verbs that you can often confuse.

So, in order not to confuse them anymore, I suggest you to imagine instead of the M two pairs of legs which represents a father who (amène) brings his child to school.

And to bring, imagine instead of P two hands carrying apples. For, we bring (apporte) objects or food, but not humans

Un renne or une reine ?

I love this one!

To avoid confusing "renne" and "reine", here's my tip:

Imagine a reindeer (un renne) formed by the two N's.

And for a queen, imagine a crown over the I and a throne in place of the N to remind you that there is an I and an N when you write (reine) queen/

What word in French do you confuse all the time ?

I'll see you soon for new adventures, in French of course! 🇫🇷