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French Language

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  • From the Wiktionnary : "Someone who practices hypocrisy, who pretends to hold beliefs, or whose actions are not consistent with their claimed beliefs." For me "hypocrite" has the same meaning in french or english… Commented Aug 23, 2016 at 6:10
  • In french, I would not use "hypocrite" in the first example (about the father)... I would only use it in situations like the 2nd example (about the girl)... So there seem to be a difference, or is the first example odd in english too ? Commented Aug 23, 2016 at 9:23
  • With a quick look at etymology here, we can see the hypo- prefix associated with the root crit like in critic / critical (in the sense of "analyse and judge"). So the first direct meaning of hypocrite is "someone who critics [others, in front of them,] less than [he really thinks]", and that's true in both languages. Commented Aug 23, 2016 at 12:58
  • I've added in 2 definition sources for english and french. Is there a better french dictionary to use? Commented Aug 23, 2016 at 13:48
  • Looking at the full definition in the link you provide, I find: a person who acts in contradiction to his or her stated beliefs or feelings. This corresponds to your second example, acting in contradiction to your feelings, being nice with someone you find awful... Commented Aug 23, 2016 at 19:51