Common mistakes
Dur or difficile? Four traps when translating “hard” into French
Compare hard bread, difficult instructions, a tough day and working hard. Practise dur, dure, durs and dures, with pictures and four quiz questions.
- A2
- 4 corrections
- Examples and fixes
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In short
Use dur for physical hardness: du pain dur. Use difficile for something hard to do: une consigne difficile à comprendre. A demanding task can be dure or difficile; dur often stresses the effort or strain.
Yellow the idea to rememberBlue French to learn
- du pain durbread that is complicatedhard bread
Le pain est dur. Il est difficile à couper.The bread is hard. It is difficult to cut.
Dur describes the bread. Difficile à couper describes the action: cutting it.
- difficilefirm to the touchdifficult; not easy
Cette consigne est difficile à comprendre.This instruction is difficult to understand.
Name the action with à + an infinitive: à comprendre, à lire, à expliquer.
- dur avec quelqu’unphysically strongharsh on someone
Le professeur est dur avec ses élèves.The teacher is hard on his pupils.
For physical strength, use fort: Il est très fort. For harsh treatment, use dur avec.
- travailler durto work with difficultyto work hard
Elles travaillent dur pour réussir leur examen.They work hard to pass their exam.
Here dur describes how they work and stays unchanged. “With difficulty” is avec difficulté.
What is the difference between dur and difficile?
Name the object and its texture
Find:
| Noun | With dur |
|---|---|
| un siège | un siège dur |
| une chaise | une chaise dure |
| des sièges | des sièges durs |
| des chaises | des chaises dures |
Difficile has one singular form for both genders: un exercice difficile, une question difficile. Add -s in the plural: des questions difficiles.
How do you say “a hard day” in French?
- Léo
Tu as passé une bonne journée ?
Did you have a good day?
- Inès
Une journée dure ! J’ai porté des cartons toute la journée.
A hard day! I carried boxes all day.
- Léo
C’était difficile à organiser ?
Was it difficult to organise?
- Inès
Non, les tâches étaient simples, mais les cartons étaient lourds.
No, the tasks were simple, but the boxes were heavy.
Cet exercice est dur. / Cet exercice est difficile.
This exercise is hard. / This exercise is difficult.
Both work. Dur is common in everyday speech; difficile is a neutral choice for the difficulty of the exercise.