French Cognate Patterns: -tion, -té, -eux, -ment and the Endings That Hand You Thousands of Words

English took roughly a third of its vocabulary from French. Most of the shared words differ only in their ending, and half a dozen swaps cover the bulk of it.

The patterns

French ending	English ending	Examples	What it makes
-tion	-tion	nation, information	nation, information
-	-ty	,	university, liberty
-	-ous	,	dangerous, generous
-	-ly	,	rapidly, finally
-ique	-ic	,	public, historic
-aire	-ary	,	necessary, ordinary

The first one barely changes at all. An English word ending in -tion is very often the identical French word, spelled the same way and pronounced completely differently.

The Normans conquered England in 1066, and French was the language of the English court, the law and the administration for about three hundred years. English swallowed enormous quantities of French vocabulary in that time.

That is why English so often has two words where other languages have one: a plain Anglo-Saxon word and a formal French one. Ask and demand. Freedom and liberty. Kingly and royal. In each pair the second is the French import, and it is still recognisably French today.

The practical consequence: the more formal the English word, the more likely it is to be French. If you are stuck for a word, reach for the fanciest English one you know and make it French. It works embarrassingly often.

The gender comes free

Every noun ending in -tion is feminine. Every noun ending in - or -ité is feminine.

la nation, la situation, l'information, la question
la liberté, l'université, la réalité, la société

Gender agreement is the commonest error in beginner French, and two endings settle thousands of nouns.

Where it breaks

. A short list of words wear the disguise and mean something else:

is currently, not actually
à is to attend, not to assist
is sensitive, not sensible
librairie is a bookshop; a library is
is to wound, not to bless

Register. The swap sometimes lands on a real word that is rarer or more formal than the everyday one. You will be understood, and you will sound like a textbook.

What to do with this

When you hit an unknown French word, strip the ending, swap it, and see whether an English word falls out. When you are stuck for a French word, take the most formal English word you have and make it French. Both work far more often than they have any right to, and both cost nothing when they fail.

Practise: test yourself

Fill in the blank

0/6

Apply the ending swap. Write the French word for each English one.

nation (-tion stays -tion) = la
university (-ty becomes -te) = l'
dangerous (-ous becomes -eux) =
rapidly (-ly becomes -ment) =
public (-ic becomes -ique) =
necessary (-ary becomes -aire) =

Pick the right one

0/6

Every -tion and -te noun is feminine. Pick the right article.

question est difficile.
liberte est importante.
livre est sur la table.
situation est claire.
realite est autre.
jour est long.

Translation drill

0/6

Read each French word and write the English. You have not been taught these: work them out from the ending.

la conversation
la possibilite
genereux
finalement
la communaute
historique

Frequently asked questions

Why do English and French share so many words?

Because the Normans conquered England in 1066 and French was the language of the English court, law and administration for roughly three hundred years. English absorbed enormous quantities of French vocabulary in that period, particularly in law, government, cuisine, art and abstract thought. That is why English often has two words where other languages have one: a homely Anglo-Saxon word and a formal French one. Ask and demand, freedom and liberty, kingly and royal. The French half of each pair is still recognisably French, which is what makes the cognate patterns so productive.

Do French cognate endings always work?

Nearly always, which is what makes them worth learning, but not quite. Some words look identical and mean something else: actuellement means currently, not actually; assister means to attend, not to assist; sensible means sensitive; and a librairie is a bookshop, not a library. Those are the faux amis. Beyond them, the swap sometimes produces a real French word that is rarer or more formal than the everyday one, so you are understood but sound bookish.

Is every French word ending in -tion feminine?

Yes. Every noun ending in -tion is feminine, without exceptions worth worrying about: la nation, la situation, l'information, la question. The same is true of -te and -ite: la liberte, l'universite, la realite. So the ending hands you the word and its gender at once, which removes the single commonest source of error in beginner French.

Which French cognate pattern should I learn first?

-tion, because it barely changes at all. An English word ending in -tion is very often the identical French word, spelled the same way, and it is always feminine. After that, -te for -ty and -ique for -ic. Those three cover most of the abstract vocabulary you need to read a French news article, which is a realistic goal far earlier than holding a conversation is.