Learn French words through etymology and mnemonics

[yong321]

For those that like to learn the vocabulary through some word analysis instead of by rote memory or simple repetition, etymology combined with mnemonics is a good method. Here's an example:

tromper to deceive, to cheat; (reflexive) to be wrong. Cognate with trumpet. According to A. Brachet, an etymologist, this word means “properly to play the horn, alluding to quacks and mountebanks, who attracted the public by blowing a horn, and then cheated them into buying; thence to cheat”. You may also create a mnemonic if the word sounds like the name of a politician you don’t trust. To balance that joke, though, also learn the less common word berner, which has the same meaning.

This of course does not mean repetition is not needed.