200 French Synonyms for Essays & Academic Writing

Advanced French vocabulary for the DELF and DALF exams: society, politics, science and culture, plus the essay words examiners expect — l'enjeu, la problématique, le constat, la démarche, le dispositif, la mise en œuvre, le bilan.

French linking words sorted by the job they do in a sentence: mais, et, ou, donc, car, or, cependant. Covers cause, consequence, contrast and conclusion, each with an example, since the register varies more than the meaning.

French academic vocabulary for studying at a French university: université, étudiant, professeur, cours, campus, semestre, diplôme, bourse. Covers lectures and essays plus enrolment, deadlines and campus admin.

French word pairs that say the same thing at different levels of formality: je ne sais pas and je sais pas, nous and on, cela and ça, il faut and faut. Shows which version fits an interview and which does not.

French vocabulary for journalism: le journaliste, le reporter, le correspondant, l'envoyé spécial, le rédacteur en chef. Covers press and broadcasting formats and the words for attributing a source in a report.

French vocabulary for international relations, where wording is deliberately precise: la diplomatie, l'ambassadeur, l'ambassade, le consulat, le ministère des Affaires étrangères. Plus treaties and negotiation terms.

French vocabulary for talking about mental health properly: l'anxiété, la dépression, le stress, l'épuisement professionnel, la thérapie, le thérapeute. Plus the wording that keeps a hard conversation respectful.

French vocabulary for environmental topics: le changement climatique, le réchauffement climatique, l'environnement, la pollution, la durabilité. Covers recycling, renewable energy and the terms used in the news.

French words that sound almost identical and mean different things: accepter and excepter, affecter and effectuer, allusion and illusion, amener and emmener. Each pair with what separates them and an example of both.

French irregular verbs grouped by conjugation pattern, starting with the ones used constantly — être, avoir, aller, faire, dire, pouvoir, vouloir. Present, past and future forms, each with an example sentence in an ordinary phrase.

French words learners regularly get wrong — beaucoup, croissant, restaurant, heure, oeuf, oeil, fille, famille — grouped by the sound causing the trouble: silent endings, nasal vowels and disappearing liaisons.

French words that look like English ones and mean something else: assister means to attend, attendre means to wait, la librairie is a bookshop and la journée is a whole day. Each pair gives the word you actually needed.