French vs. Spanish: 🇫🇷 pour ~ 🇪🇸 para | 🇫🇷 par ~ 🇪🇸 por — helpful hand or “false friend”?

It all started with me casually wondering about the common Spanish expression “por eso”. Specifically, I was wondering how to say it in French (my Spanish is much better than my French, so I often use Spanish as a reference point).

Google Translate gave me “pour cela”, a translation that I was not comfortable with. Especially considering how unsure Google was about it:

Two things came to mind.

Firstly, neither “pour cela” nor “c’est pour ça” felt convincing. They both felt a bit unnatural, and I thought, wouldn’t they just say “pour ça” most of the time (i.e. is “c’est” really necessary)?

Secondly, if you know some French and some Spanish, you may have noticed that “pour” in French is roughly equivalent to “para” in Spanish, and “par” in French to “por” in Spanish. Roughly, I say… because you may have also noticed “pour” being used in French quite often where “por” would be used in Spanish. As seems to be the case here.

All this got me thinking, am I leaning too much on this supposed equivalence? Is it more of a help, or is it a “false friend”?

So, I turned to ChatGPT.

Being relatively new to ChatGPT, I’m still figuring out where it can be truly helpful (other than for software development). But I thought, isn’t collecting and organizing publicly-available information what ChatGPT does best? That’s really what I need here, after all. And honestly, if my other option is to go search the Internet for various tidbits I could put together as a post… well, I may as well have ChatGPT do the searching and collecting for me, and just be the editor. Right?

Ultimately, I’m quite happy with the results of my “conversation” with ChatGPT. Not saying it’s perfect or complete (I did my best to confirm the info I got, but I may well have missed something), but it certainly gave me some valuable insight that I am happy to share below (responses were edited for clarity and accuracy).

If you’re a native or advanced speaker of French, Spanish, or both, please feel free to comment — whether you see a problem or disagree, have something to add, or even just for reinforcement. Ultimately our goal here is to help our fellow language learners with concise and useful information — so your input is always greatly appreciated.

Me: “pour cela” vs “c’est pour ça”

ChatGPT:

“Pour cela”
Meaning: “For that” or “For this”
Usage: Used in formal or written French.
Example: “J’ai besoin d’un outil. Pour cela, je vais au magasin.” (I need a tool. For that, I am going to the store.)

“C’est pour ça”
Meaning: “That’s why” or “It’s for that reason”
Usage: Used in informal or spoken French. Commonly used in speech.
Example: “Il pleut beaucoup aujourd’hui. C’est pour ça que je prends mon parapluie.” (It’s raining a lot today. That’s why I’m taking my umbrella.)

Me: Can you say “pour ça” without the “c’est”?

ChatGPT:

Yes, you can say “pour ça” without the “c’est,” but it is less common and typically used in informal contexts. In informal speech, “pour ça” is perfectly acceptable and commonly used.

Examples:
“Je vais au magasin pour ça.” (I am going to the store for that.)
“Tu as besoin de quoi ? Pour ça, il te faut un outil.” (What do you need? For that, you need a tool.)

Me: so “pour” in french is used for both “por” and “para” in spanish.. There is also “par” in french, that is supposedly eauivalent to “por” as “pour” is to “para”. Thoughts?

ChatGPT:

The usage of these prepositions can be nuanced, and they don’t map directly in every context. Here’s a concise comparison:

“Pour” in French — euivalent to “para” in Spanish; used to indicate purpose, destination, or intended recipient.
Examples:
“C’est pour toi.” (Spanish: “Es para ti.” — English: “It’s for you.”)
“Je travaille pour gagner de l’argent.” (Spanish: “Trabajo para ganar dinero.” — English: “I work to earn money.”)

“Par” in French — equivalent to “por” in Spanish; used to indicate cause, means, or agent in passive constructions.
Examples:
“Il a été vu par beaucoup de gens.” (Spanish: “Fue visto por mucha gente.” — English: “He was seen by many people.”)
“Je suis passé par Paris.” (Spanish: “Pasé por París.” — English: “I passed through Paris.”)

Understanding the nuances of “pour” and “par” can help you use them correctly in various contexts. While “pour” aligns more with intentions and destinations (like “para”), “par” aligns with causes, means, and agents (like “por”).

Me: and yet, “por eso” is “pour ça” which goes against what you just said

ChatGPT:

The nuances of prepositions can sometimes create exceptions and specific idiomatic expressions that don’t follow the general rules. Let’s address this particular case and refine the understanding:

In Spanish, “por eso” is often translated as “pour ça” in French. This phrase is an exception to the general rule about “pour” and “par”. Let’s break it down:

Contextual Usage
Spanish: “No tengo dinero, por eso no puedo ir.”
French: “Je n’ai pas d’argent, pour ça je ne peux pas y aller.”
English: “I don’t have money, that’s why I can’t go.”

Me: Can you give me some common examples where “pour” would be used in French and “por” in spanish?

ChatGPT:

Examples of “Pour” in French and “Por” in Spanish

Indicating a reason or cause:
French: Merci pour votre aide.
Spanish: Gracias por tu ayuda.
English: Thank you for your help.

Duration or time:
French: Je pars pour trois jours.
Spanish: Me voy por tres días.
English: I am leaving for three days.

Exchange or substitution:
French: Je t’échange ce livre pour un autre.
Spanish: Te cambio este libro por otro.
English: I trade you this book for another.

In favor of or support:
French: Je vote pour lui.
Spanish: Voto por él.
English: I vote for him.

On behalf of:
French: Elle a parlé pour lui.
Spanish: Ella habló por él.
English: She spoke on his behalf.

To summarize, “par” in French is typically not used as “para” would be in Spanish. “Par” aligns more closely with “por” in Spanish, especially in contexts involving means, cause, or the agent in passive constructions. Conversely, “pour” in French generally aligns with “para” in Spanish, particularly in contexts involving purpose, destination, deadline, and recipient.

Among the results, I came across an interesting example, where Spanish uses “para” but French does not use either “pour” or “par”.

Destination:
Spanish: “Voy para Madrid.”
French: “Je vais à Madrid.”
English: “I am going to Madrid.”

Me: Any other examples where Spanish uses “para” and French uses something other than “pour” or “par”?

ChatGPT:

Here are a few more examples:

Purpose/Intended Use
Spanish: “Una taza para café.”
French: “Une tasse à café.”
English: “A cup for coffee.”

Direction/Movement Toward
Spanish: “Voy para allá.”
French: “Je vais là-bas.”
English: “I am going over there.”

As I said before — please feel free to comment, agree or disagree with anything written here. I’d love to hear from you. Methods of expression differ from language to language, of course, as they do within languages, and I’m sure there’s a lot that can be added on this topic.

Furthermore, there are often multiple ways to express a thought or feeling in words, and this is especially the case with idiomatic expressions such as the ones discussed here. I am, first and foremost, a language learner who just wants to get better.

Thanks for reading, and happy language learning to us all!