Newsletter Activity 6 – False Friend: rude

In this newsletter activity, we’re looking at a false friend.

The French word rude in French does not mean the same as the English word “rude”. Can you work out its meaning from the following examples?

  • ma professeur est rude, elle ne veut jamais qu’on parle en cours
  • je fais de l’escalade, j’ai une rude épreuve qui m’attend demain

This is quite a tricky one. Once you have worked out its meaning, post a comment and try to write a sentence in French which makes the differences in meaning between the French word and the English word obvious. For an extra challenge, try to include other false friends in your comment.

Remember that for every false friend, there are two words to discover, so do you know how to say “rude” in French?

Bonne chance!

4 thoughts on “Newsletter Activity 6 – False Friend: rude”

  1. 1. ma professeur est rude, elle ne veut jamais qu’on parle en cours.
    > my teacher is tough, she never wants us to talk during a lesson.

    2. je fais de l’escalade, j’ai une rude épreuve qui m’attend demain.
    > I do (rock) climbing, I have an ordeal that awaits me tomorrow.

    It’s obvious no language can be translated word for word. It’s meaning that makes sense, and that’s what should be carried across from one language to another.

    Reply
  2. Ma professeur est rude…. mais si je parle en cours elle ne jamais impoli avec moi. En fait, elle est sympathique et gentil.

    Reply
  3. Je suis d’accord avec la traduction des autres auditeurs. Un faux ami est le mot “assister” qui veut dire “attend” en Anglais. Impoli est le mot juste pour “rude”.

    Reply

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