There are words in English and French that cause grief for translators. Let’s have a look at why:
Some words look the same and mean the same but are used in different ways.
A good example is the French verb améliorer, which means to improve. It’s a regular word that everybody knows. And it has an almost exact equivalent in English, to ameliorate. But ameliorate is a literary word used only in formal writing. Nobody would ever say, “I need to ameliorate my cooking skills.”
Some words look the same and mean the same, but one is more frequent than the other.
A good example is pertinent, which is identical in the two languages. However, you’ll sound stuffy and old-fashioned if you say pertinent in English every time you see pertinent in French. The everyday word is relevant. It’s about 15 times more common.
Another example is collaboration. For all intents and purposes, it’s identical in English and French. However, English speakers tend to use it mostly in writing. When they talk, they usually say cooperation. French speakers do not.
Some words look the same, and mean roughly the same, but have different connotations.
A good example is notoriété vs. notoriety. In French, notoriété means celebrity. If you are notoire, you are probably famous for something good. In English, notoriety means infamy. If you are notorious, it’s for something bad. No one would talk about a notorious hero.
Some words appear to match, but are actually opposites.
That’s the case for the verb to share, which is partager in French. When someone says or writes in French that les avis sont partagés, English speakers may mistakenly conclude that it means opinions are shared. It actually means that opinions are not shared—that opinions are divided up into separate “shares” or “versions.”
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All of the above cases are problematic but not insurmountable. Meanings, usages, and connotations can be committed to memory. Problems really begin when English and French words go in different directions, or when words in one language have no exact equivalents in the other.
Some words are just hard to match.
To help, we’ve created Match That Word, a special feature of the TRSB website. It’s to provide inspiration for the many words that throw translators for a loop. Let’s take a look at a few:
Complicité: French loves abstract words like complicité. It looks like it means complicity (which it does if you’re talking about a crime), but it actually has the extra meaning of spontaneous compatibility, or a sort of natural ability to get along. You’ll see it everywhere. It could be affinity or chemistry in English, or maybe a phrase like we really connect. There are dozens of ways to translate it, and it can be hard to pick the right one. Just go to our Match That Word entry and see which example fits your context best.
Incontournable: This adjective is formed from the verb contourner, which means to go around, and its basic meaning is inescapable or unavoidable. It’s like saying “un‑go‑aroundable.” However, it’s used in many more ways that that—crucial, leading, prime, foremost, compelling—the list goes on and on. Our entry for incontournable contains over 60 possible translations!
Vivre-ensemble: This somewhat jargony noun literally means “the living together.” It’s gaining traction in business and government, and its unusual construction and relative newness make it a challenge to translate at times. We’ve unearthed 19 different suggestions from our archives of client translations. See them here.
We’re happy to share
We’re proud of our talented linguists at TRSB and happy to share their wordsmithing. You’re welcome to visit our Match That Word feature any time to see what ideas they’ve come up with. After consulting three words, you’ll be asked to provide your email address to continue browsing. You can also sign up for our newsletter and receive notification when we add new words.
Would you like to have TRSB’s talented translators work for you? Let’s meet to discuss your requirements.
