HOMOPHONES ou ces mots qui se prononcent exactement de la même façon, mais s’écrivent et se traduisent autrement

Vous est-il déjà arrivé, comme à moi, de prendre un mot pour un autre quand vous parlez anglais ?

Tout comme, en français, on a des mots comme “verre, vert, vers, ver”, dont la sonorité est la même, mais le sens très différent, en anglais il se passe le même phénomène.

Imaginez, par exemple, ce qui arriverait si, quand quelqu’un plaisante en disant : I am a “cereal killer”, on le prenait pour un serial killer ?

Plus concrètement, pour vous aider à parler l’anglais plus facilement, voici quelques phrases qui contiennent des homophones très courants. Le mot “jumeau” se trouve dans la même phrase de façon à bien visualiser les 2 orthographes et significations différentes.

Le premier groupe contient les 34 principaux homophones, le dernier groupe contient les 40 autres, pour votre information. Vous en trouverez la traduction entre (). Je vous propose de lire la phrase en visualisant bien les 2 mots en gras. Avant de recourir à la traduction de ces derniers, essayez de comprendre le sens général de la phrase.

Un petit conseil pratique pour éviter de prendre un mot pour un autre :

Soyez attentif au contexte dans lequel la discussion ou le récit a lieu. De cette façon, vous aurez déjà une bonne intuition au départ et serez ainsi enclin à bien interpréter ce que vous entendrez. Il sera alors plus facile pour vous de bien comprendre les nuances de la langue.

Voici donc les Principaux Homophones :

White is the right colour to write on a blackboard (blanc-juste-écrire)

I ate eight fruits today! (ai mangé-huit)

The man knew that there was a new secretary (savait-nouvelle)

You’re always changing your mind at the last minute!

Who’s calling all the time and whose car is it? (Qui …-à/de qui)

I have to go to bed, too bad! (lit-dommage !)

Hi! The price of the T-shirts is very high today! (bonjour/salut-haut/élevé)

They’re there, but their dog isn’t

My things are ok, but there’s a problem with theirs

It’s a nice device, but its performance can still be improved

This recipe is for four persons (pour quatre)

The crew was bored on board (to be bored: s’ennuyer-on board: à bord)

I don’t know, I have no answer to that! (savoir, je ne sais pas-pas de)

She knows that he has a pointed nose (sait-nez)

There was just one place where I would wear this hat and people were amazed (où-would wear: portais-étaient) (were aussi valable dans : you were, we were)

I can see the sea from here (voir-mer)

My son doesn’t bear laying in the sun (fils-soleil)

This week I feel very weak (semaine-faible)

It’s a weekly task and please don’t do it too weakly (hebdomadaire-mollement)

My little toe aches too much, I have to call number 202 for medical advice (orteil-trop-to: forme de have to-two)

This meat doesn’t meet the American standards (viande-correspondre, ne correspond pas à, autre sens : rencontrer)

The father didn’t want to go farther with his son (père-plus loin)

I will go whether the weather is nice or not (… que le temps soit beau ou pas)

I can’t hear anything from here (entendre-ici)

I have to wait until I get the perfect weight (attendre-poids)

A contract is a piece of paper which can bring peace (morceau-paix)

I don’t bear to be bare (supporter-nu)

The plane was a plain colo(u)r (avion-uni,e)

The price of the apartment you want to hire (US) is higher than mine (louer-plus élevé)

I would like to saw (scier) this piece of wood (would like: aimerais-bois)

He began to bawl because the small ball had fallen into his bowl (hurler-balle-bol)

He came by car to buy it and he forgot to say bye bye (by car: en voiture-acheter-au revoir)

He threw the ball through the window (lança/a lancé-à travers)

The sum needed is some millions (somme-quelques)

We’ll change the wheel if necessary (we’ll change = we will change: nous changerons-roue)

Oh! I still owe you some money (owe: dois (de l’argent))

Voici maintenant les autres Homophones, pour votre info :

If you brake too hard, it will break the brake(s) (freines/freinez-casser-frein(s))

The borough has to borrow equipment (municipalité-emprunter)

The dog always chews bones, but he likes to choose them (mâche-choisir)

Today the dessert is as dry as the desert (dessert-désert)

The feint was to pretend to faint at the right moment (feinte-s’évanouir)

It was great to see how he was trying to grate the carrots (super-râper)

I hope you won’t groan any longer when you have grown up! (grogner-grandi)

The holy place was wholly invaded by the crowd (saint,e-complètement)

First he wracks the window, then he takes what is on the racks (démolit-présentoirs)

He wrote a song and sang it rote (écrivit/a écrit-par coeur)

The trainer taught her how to keep her body taut (a appris-tendu)

The doctor says : the heel should heal very soon and he’ll be better (talon-guérir-he’ll be = he will be: il sera)

The maid made a mistake: she forgot to change the sheets (femme de ménage-a fait)

Time passed, it is already half past ten (a passé-après = 10 h 30)

You are not allowed to read aloud! (autorisé-à haute voix)

The root of the problem is the route: it’s too dangerous (racine-route)

He wore big shoes during the war (a porté/porta-guerre)

When he checks wares, he always wears gloves (marchandises-porte)

I must warn you: they have taken and worn all your clothes! (avertir-porté)

The sky was blue, but it blew a lot (bleu-a soufflé)

It’s not a reason to be coarse, of course! (grossier-of course: bien sûr)

As complement to his speech, he made a compliment to his boss (complément-compliment)

Such a high fare is not fair! (tarif/prix-juste, not fair = pas juste)

Fine flour is the common translation of the French expression “flower flour” (farine-farine fleur ou fleur de farine, “flower flour” = mot inventé par traduction littérale, n’existe pas en anglais !)

The whole picnic has fallen into the hole (the whole = tout …-trou)

Not knot the end of the rope is dangerous! (Ne pas nouer …)

It’s a male attitude not to answer my mail (masculine-courrier)

He missed the curve because of the morning mist (a manqué-brume)

Can you please bring me the pale blue pail? (pale blue: bleu pâle-seau)

My cat likes to pause and lay his paws on me (faire une pause-pattes)

The poor are happy when they can pour somebody a glass of water (pauvres-verser, ici: servir à qqn)

The principal reason for doing it is to respect the principle of respecting others (principal,e-principe)

If your hand aches, you will not be able to raise it. So I will fix the rays for you! (lever-rayons)

There is no site in sight (site-in sight: en vue)

Don’t stare at me like that because I may miss a stair (don’t stare at me: ne me regarde pas fixement-marche)

Some stationery is missing, the orders must be stationary (fournitures de bureau-à l’arrêt)

Steel is a material difficult to steal! (l’acier-voler/dérober)

The way you have to weigh the food you eat is very stressing (manière/façon-peser)

The story began on the first storey (histoire-étage)

En gardant cette liste à portée de main, vous pourrez la consulter à tout moment. Aujourd’hui, il s’agit surtout de bien les repérer pour éviter de se faire surprendre.

Bye!

Cathy