Confusing French words, sorted out.

Some French mistakes come from vocabulary you don't know yet. These come from vocabulary you do know - two words your textbook translated the same way, splitting a job English gives to one. Each guide below isolates one pair: what actually separates the two words, the mistakes learners make, contrasting examples, and a decision rule you can apply mid-sentence.

For the longer editorial treatments of classic pairs like savoir vs connaître, see the French word differences section of the Magazine.