Published May 25, 2025 • Updated May 19, 2026 — By French teacher David Issokson with native audio by Marie Assel Cambier
Même is one of those French words you’ll hear all the time. Translations include “same” and “even”, but there is a wide range of usages, which I’ll cover in this lesson with native audio examples.
📘 Même meaning
Même is a very common and versatile French word that can mean “same”, “even”, or “self” depending on the context. You’ll hear it in many everyday expressions such as le/la/les même(s) (the same), même + noun (even the + noun), moi-même (myself), même si (even if), même pas (not even), and quand même (all the same / anyway). Native speakers use même constantly to add emphasis, comparison, or emotion to sentences.
🎧 Même pronunciation
The pronunciation of même is /mɛm/ (IPA), which sounds roughly like “mehm”.
📝 Même examples
1. The same = le/la même; les mêmes
Ce sont les mêmes lunettes que j’ai achetées l’an dernier !
These are the same glasses that I bought last year!
2. Myself, yourself = moi-même, toi-même
Il a fait le gâteau lui-même.
He made the cake himself.
👉 A stressed pronoun followed by “même” means self. For example lui-même (himself).
3. Even = même + noun
Même les gamins ont compris l’histoire !
Even the kids understood the story!
4. Even if = même si
Même si tu en as marre, tu dois finir le projet !
You have to finish the project even if you’re fed up!
5. Doesn’t even = même pas
Il ne sait même pas lacer ses chaussures !
He doesn’t even know how to tie his shoes!
💡Quand même is an extremely common and super useful expression with même, meaning “all the same” or “anyway”.
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🔗 Related words and expressions
- tout de même (quand même) — anyway, still, even so
- en même temps — at the same time
- alors même que — just as, while, at the very moment that
- au même moment — at that very moment
- C’est toujours la même musique ! — It’s always the same old thing!
- de même — too, also, likewise
🪶 Même word origin
The Modern French même comes from metipsimus in Latin, which is comprised of met– (emphatic prefix) and ipse (himself, itself). Mismo in Spanish has the same origin.
📚 Related lessons
👉 Quand même (all the same, anyway) »
👉 Voire (even) »
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