What is also in french?

Wash, rinse, repeat: Aussi, tout aussi, aussi que, d’aussi, et aussi, aussi bon, aussi bien…

…Sure, aussi is incredibly useful, but it can also be so incredibly boring.

Add some color to your French by learning these synonyms.

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Aussi is such a versatile French word!

Because of its versatility, it can be used in many different ways. Here are five of the most common.

Aussi is often used to add another object, thought or idea to a sentence. This is probably the best-known usage of the word, which is often translated into English as “also.”

Examples:

Elle m’a aussi dit qu’elle avait lu ce livre déjà. She also told me that she had already read that book.

Nous voulons aussi apprendre d’autres usages pour le mot “aussi.” We also want to learn other usages for the word “aussi.”

The phrase aussi…que is often used as a means of comparison between two people, things or ideas.

Since aussi essentially means “also,” these are comparisons of equality—in other words, “Entity A also has a certain quality in the same measure as Entity B.”

An adjective or adverb can be placed between aussi and que to describe the nature of the comparison.

Example:

Il trouve Annick aussi belle que Vivienne. He finds Annick as beautiful as Vivienne.

In general, comparisons where two items, ideas or people fare equally well, aussi bon que tells you that one thing is “as good as” another thing. Aussi bien que can mean “just as much as.”

Examples:

Ce pain au chocolat est aussi bon que cette pâtisserie. This chocolate sweet roll is as good as this pastry.

J’aime écrire aussi bien que j’aime chanter. I like writing just as much as I like singing.

Aussi…que isn’t the only way to use aussi in comparisons of equality.

When merged with de (of, from), aussi becomes d’aussi. You can use d’aussi to refer to two things that are equally good.

For instance, you might say:

Je cherche un autre roman d’aussi intéressant pour lire ensuite. I am looking for another novel just as interesting as this one to read next.

D’aussi can be paired with an adjective, such as beau (beautiful, handsome) or bon (good), to proclaim the height of an experience.

While traveling in Lyon, France, our fictional friend Tara tries a famous local confection: le Coussin de Lyon (the Cushion of Lyon).

Tara’s a chocoholic who also adores marzipan. Since this candy combines both, she’s over the moon. In fact, you might say:

Tara n’avait jamais mangé un bonbon d’aussi bon. Tara had never eaten such a good candy.

Aussi can be used as a conjunctive adverb, which is also known as a transition word.

Aussi is a quick fit in places where you’d use words like “moreover,” “consequently” or “thus” in English.

Example:

Nous n’étions jamais allées en France. Aussi, c’était notre premier voyage en Europe. We had never been to France. Also/Moreover, it was our first trip in Europe.

The phrase aussi bien is similar to the idiomatic expression “just as well” in English.

Example:

C’est aussi bien que j’ai déjà mangé. It’s just as well that I ate already.

With its uncanny ability to be so flexible in conversation, aussi can seem almost indispensable. Why would we want to find substitutes for aussi?

As we’ve seen, aussi and its variations can function in five different ways—and within each of those five functionalities, it can indicate many nuances of meaning.

With all these nuances, though, can come confusion.

One reason you might choose a synonym for aussi is to distinguish between different senses of the word.

For example, a synonym for aussi might be used to clarify that you’re making a comparison or a transition, rather than just an addition to a list of items already in your sentence.

Whether you’re speaking or writing, you don’t want to sound like a broken record. You’ll keep your audience’s attention much better if you don’t use the same word over and over again—even if it is a multifaceted workhorse like aussi.

Knowing synonyms for aussi will help you vary your word choice for more interesting writing and conversation.

To better identify and use these synonyms, you’ll want to keep your eyes and ears open to catch them in many different contexts.

Here are a few places where synonyms for aussi regularly make their appearances.

Written news stories often contain various synonyms for aussi. Look for them in news magazines like “Franceinfo,” or well-known French newspapers such as “Le Monde.”

Televised news reports are more structured and methodical than everyday conversation, as are public addresses and lectures.

If you’re watching the news or listening to a speech in French, you’re sure to hear a lot of phrases that contain synonyms for aussi.

Use context clues to identify aussi synonyms in audiovisual resources such as French shows or TED talks.

The authentic French videos on FluentU—like music videos, movie trailers, and inspiring talks—are also useful for contextual learning. The interactive subtitles paired with these videos may help you to identify how aussi and other synonyms are used naturally by native speakers.

Without further ado, here’s a glossary of common French synonyms for aussi, arranged by usage. Some of them may be included in more than one category.

Caveat: Although these synonyms will mean essentially the same as aussi within their particular contexts, you might need to rephrase your sentence a bit to accommodate the synonym.

You can sub in encore for aussi when you’re doing simple addition, like this:

In other contexts, you may need to rephrase the sentence to keep the meaning closer to the original.

Notice that, if you were to keep the original phrasing of the last sentence and just substitute encore directly for aussi, you would change the meaning slightly:

You can use de plus in place of aussi when you’re adding more of something you already have. For instance:

In the example using aussi, aussi and un autre (another) together imply that Claude will be taking the hoodie in question in addition to one he’s already packed.

If you dropped aussi from the first sentence, you might be indicating that Claude is taking this other hoodie instead of the one he originally packed.

When you swap in de plus for aussi, you instantly convey that Claude needs to take an additional hoodie, and that he’s probably already packed one away in his valise (suitcase).

When aussi means “too,” and you’re in a casual conversation, you can substitute the informal word itou for aussi.

Ainsi que can be used as a coordinating conjunction, instead of et aussi (and also).

Ainsi que might be considered slightly more formal than et aussi.

Ainsi que can replace aussi when you’re talking about someone doing something in the same way as someone else, or something happening in the same way as something else.

The idiomatic expression tout aussi is used to mean “just as” or “every bit as.”

For instance, you might say:

“J’ai voulu un gâteau tout aussi bon que le gâteau opéra fait par ma mère.” “I wanted a cake that’s every bit as good as the Opera Cake my mother makes.”

Conversations about cake lend themselves to a laid-back register of speech.

Sometimes, though, you take on serious topics and need to express yourself a bit more formally. In that case, également can be an equally good way to say tout aussi.

The change from tout aussi to également is a change in tone, not meaning: from informal to formal.

Squeeze bien (well) in between aussi and que, and you get an expression that can mean “as well as,” “as good as” or “as much as,” depending on the context.

Now imagine that you want to communicate the same thought slightly more efficiently, and maybe a little less casually. This is where autant que can save you a little bit of time and effort.

Autant…que can replace aussi…que in comparisons of equality, in cases where two different qualities belong to the same person in equal amounts:

When comme replaces aussi…que in comparisons of equality, the focal point of the sentence changes.

When aussi +adjective +que is used, the emphasis is on the quality that the two parties or objects share in equal measure:

Using comme instead of aussi in this type of comparison shifts the focus to the two parties or objects that are alike.

Aussi and its direct synonyms frame comparisons of equality and give you great flexibility of expression.

Sometimes, however, you need similar comparatives such as quasiment (nearly, almost) and mieux que (better than) to compare and contrast items that aren’t quite alike.

Here’s how you might use these related words to compare various sets of words to aussi:

Ces mots-ci sont quasiment utiles que le mot “aussi.” These words are almost as useful as the word “aussi.”

Ces mots-là sont aussi utiles que le mot “aussi.” Those words are just as useful as the word “aussi.”

Les mots dans cette liste sont plus utiles que le mot “aussi”; donc, ces mots sont mieux que le mot “aussi.” The words in this list are more useful than the word “aussi”; therefore, these words are better than the word “aussi.”

Like d’aussi, également can be paired with an adjective to describe a quality of something that’s just beyond compare.

The use of également conveys more formality than d’aussi.

As Eartha Kitt declared in her inimitable style, C’est si bon (It’s so good). And what could be better than the easy-breezy substitution of si for d’aussi when you want to say something is beyond compare?

Drop the d from d’aussi, and you’ve got plain old aussi again… which you can use to brag or complain about how something is…

…among many other qualities.

If you want to emphasize the “so” part of the sentence, try tellement (so much/so) in place of aussi:

When aussi is used, it might mean that we saw Claire and she also saw us—or it could mean that Claire saw us in addition to doing something else or seeing someone else.

The use of également implies that just as Claire saw us, we also saw her.

But wait—there are even more French synonyms for aussi!

Transition smoothly from one point of your argument to another in a casual conversation using en plus. Here’s an example.

En plus in this context gives the statement that follows a little more emphasis than aussi would.

Let’s continue with the story of the man who found his lost papers (from the examples above).

Beyond the happy news that he has found the papers he’d lost, we want to make the point that these important documents were retrieved intact.

D’ailleurs expresses this thought clearly:

D’ailleurs can also mean “besides”:

D’ailleurs, l’homme était certain que personne ne pouvait jamais comprendre ces documents énigmatiques qu’il avait écrits. Besides, the man was certain that no one could understand these cryptic documents that he had written.

In a scholarly discussion, you might find yourself talking about the similarities of two things.

For instance, let’s say you’re giving a lecture about ways in which French is like Spanish. You want your audience to draw the conclusion that the relationship is meaningful and not coincidental.

Pareillement (similarly, likewise) is a handy adverb you can use to tie trains of thought together.

It works more smoothly than aussi in this context, and provides a sense that there’s more than just a casual or accidental relationship between two similar entities:

De même is much more casual than pareillement (similarly, likewise). It’s closer to aussi in tone and nice to use when you want to keep a conversational vibe while changing up your word choice.

Aussi bien is an idiomatic expression meaning “just as well.” If you replace it with tant mieux, you can introduce a whole range of potential meanings:

Tant mieux can give you that extra hint of ambiguity when you want to leave some doubt in your listeners’ minds as to how happy you are about the way something went down.

Don’t settle for same old, same old. Spice up your speaking and writing with this dazzling dozen variety pack of synonyms for aussi.

Your listeners will thank you.

And one of the hardest working words in the French language, aussi, can go en vacances (on vacation) somewhere sunny for a few days. Someplace nice. How about Nice? I hear the south of France is lovely this time of year.

Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere. Click here to get a copy. (Download)