Michelle Baumgartner Last updated: 16 Aussi Synonyms to Avoid Sounding Redundant in French
You may have seen aussi in phrases like tout aussi , aussi que , d’aussi , et aussi , aussi bon and aussi bien .
If you’ve never seen those phrases before, don’t worry: we’ll talk about them in a bit!
But first, let’s get one thing straight: although aussi often translates to “also” in French, it’s so much more than that.
If you only use aussi the way you use “also” in English, you’d be missing out on so many opportunities to add color to your French!
In this post, we’ll talk about the main uses of aussi and the most common aussi synonyms you’ll encounter.
Contents
- The 5 Main Uses of Aussi
- French Synonyms for Aussi
- 1. Encore (more, another, too)
- 2. De plus (more, as in “extra”)
- 3. Itou (informal word for “too”)
- 4. Ainsi que (as well as, together with, along with)
- 5. Ainsi que (just as, as, just like)
- 6. Également (equally, just as, every bit as)
- 7. Autant que (equally, as much as, just as much)
- 8. Comme (like)
- 9. Également (equally, preceded by a negative)
- 10. Tellement (so)
- 11. Également (also, as well)
- 12. En plus (informal version of “what’s more,” moreover, in addition)
- 13. D’ailleurs (moreover, besides)
- 14. Pareillement (similarly; likewise)
- 15. De même (likewise)
- 16. Tant mieux (good, just as well, all the better, even better)
- Why Use Synonyms for Such a Useful Word?
- French Aussi Synonyms in Context
- And one more thing...
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The 5 Main Uses of Aussi
Addition
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.”
Comparison
The phrase aussi … que is often used as a means of comparison between two people, things or ideas.
Since, as I’ve mentioned, 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 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 ne me souviens pas de quelque chose d’aussi parfait.
I don’t remember anything so perfect
Something beyond compare
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 happens to be 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.
Conjunction function
Aussi can be used as a conjunctive adverb, which is also known as a transition word. You can fit it 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.
Just as well
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.
French Synonyms for Aussi
Without further ado, here’s a glossary of common French synonyms for aussi.
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.
1. Encore (more, another, too)
You can sub in encore for aussi when you’re doing simple addition, like this:
| Aussi | Encore |
|---|---|
| Il m’a vu cette fois aussi. | Il m’a vu cette fois encore. |
| He saw me this time, also. | He saw me this time, too. |
In other contexts, you may need to rephrase the sentence to keep the meaning closer to the original.
| Aussi | Encore |
|---|---|
| Je voudrais aussi une autre chose. | Je voudrais une chose encore. |
| I would also like another thing. | I would like one more thing. |
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:
| Aussi | Encore |
|---|---|
| Je voudrais une autre chose aussi. | Je voudrais encore une autre chose. |
| I would like another thing, also. | I would still like (yet) another thing. |
2. De plus (more, as in “extra”)
You can use de plus in place of aussi when you’re adding more of something you already have. For instance:
| Aussi | De plus |
|---|---|
| En préparation de ses vacances d’hiver, Claude doit aussi prendre un autre sweat à capuche. | En préparation de ses vacances d’hiver, Claude doit prendre un sweat à capuche de plus. |
| In preparation for his winter vacation, Claude also has to take another hoodie. | In preparation for his winter vacation, Claude has to take an extra hoodie. |
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).
3. Itou (informal word for “too”)
If you’re writing a French novel with a pre-modern setting where a character is using aussi to mean “too,” you can substitute itou for aussi. I should note that you’ll hardly hear this word used these days, but it’s still worth knowing!
| Aussi | Itou |
|---|---|
| J’aime bouffer avec mes potes, aussi. | J’aime bouffer avec mes potes, itou. |
| I like pigging out with my buddies, also. | I like pigging out with my buddies, too. |
4. Ainsi que (as well as, together with, along with)
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.
| Et aussi | Ainsi que |
|---|---|
| Jean-Luc et aussi Guillaume travaillent sur le pont. | Jean-Luc, ainsi que Guillaume, travaille sur le pont. |
| Jean-Luc and also Guillaume work on the bridge. | Jean-Luc, along with Guillaume, works on the bridge. |
5. Ainsi que (just as, as, just like)
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.
| Aussi | Ainsi que |
|---|---|
| François est devenu avocat aussi, comme son père. | François est devenu avocat ainsi que son père. |
| Frank became a lawyer also, like his father. | Frank became a lawyer, just like his father. |
6. Également (equally, just as, every bit as)
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.
| Tout aussi | Également |
|---|---|
| Les lois de ce pays sont tout aussi injustes et punitives. | Les lois de ce pays sont également injustes et punitives. |
| The laws of this country are every bit as unjust and punitive. | The laws of this country are equally unjust and punitive. |
The change from tout aussi to également is a change in tone, not meaning: from informal to formal.
7. Autant que (equally, as much as, just as much)
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.
| Aussi bien que | Autant que |
|---|---|
| J’aime voyager aussi bien que rester chez moi. | J’aime voyager autant que rester chez moi. |
| I like traveling as much as I like staying home. | I like traveling as much as I like staying home. |
Autant … que can replace aussi … que in comparisons of equality, in cases where two different qualities belong to the same person in equal amounts:
| Aussi … que | Autant … que |
|---|---|
| Elle est aussi naïve qu’elle est jeune. | Elle est autant naïve que jeune. |
| She is as naive as she is young. | She is as naive as she is young. |
8. Comme (like)
When comme replaces aussi … que in comparisons of equality, the focal point of the sentence changes.
| Aussi … que | Comme |
|---|---|
| Vous êtes aussi intelligente que lui ! | Vous êtes intelligente comme lui ! |
| You are just as intelligent as he is! | You are intelligent, just like him! |
When aussi + adjective + que is used, the emphasis is on the quality that the two parties or objects share in equal measure:
| Aussi … que | Comme |
|---|---|
| Gérard est aussi grand que Charles. | Gérard est grand comme Charles. |
| Gerard is as tall as Charles. | Gerard is tall, just like Charles. |
Using comme instead of aussi in this type of comparison shifts the focus to the two parties or objects that are alike.
Neighboring expressions
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:
| Neighboring Aussi Expressions | English Translation |
|---|---|
| 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." |
9. Également (equally, preceded by a negative)
Like d’aussi, également can be paired with an adjective to describe a quality of something that’s just beyond compare.
| D’aussi + adjective | Également + adjective |
|---|---|
| Quand j’ai regardé la montagne ce matin, il me semblait que je n'avais jamais rien vu d'aussi beau. | Quand j’ai regardé la montagne ce matin, il me semblait que je n'avais jamais vu quelque chose d'également beau. |
| When I looked at the mountain that morning, it seemed to me that I had never seen anything that beautiful. | When I looked at the mountain that morning, it seemed to me that I had never seen anything equally beautiful. |
The use of également conveys more formality than d’aussi.
10. Tellement (so)
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 possesses a certain quality.
| Examples of Aussi Used for Emphasis | English Translation |
|---|---|
| aussi cher | so expensive |
| aussi bon | so good |
| aussi loin | this far/that far |
| aussi belle | so beautiful |
If you want to emphasize the “so” part of the sentence, try tellement (so much/so) in place of aussi:
| Aussi | Tellement |
|---|---|
| Ces chaussures coûtent aussi chers ! | Ces chaussures coûtent tellement chers ! |
| These shoes are so expensive! | These shoes are so expensive! |
11. Également (also, as well)
| Aussi | Également |
|---|---|
| Claire nous a vu aussi. | Claire nous a également vu. |
| Claire saw us, also. | Claire saw us, as well. |
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.
12. En plus (informal version of “what’s more,” moreover, in addition)
Using en plus, you can transition smoothly from one point of your argument to another in a casual conversation. Here’s an example.
| Aussi | En plus |
|---|---|
| Aussi, l’homme a retrouvé tous les papiers qu’il avait perdu. | En plus, l’homme a retrouvé tous les papiers qu’il avait perdu. |
| Also, the man found all the papers that he had lost. | What’s more, the man found all the papers that he had lost. |
En plus in this context gives the statement that follows a little more emphasis than aussi would.
13. D’ailleurs (moreover, besides)
Let’s continue with the story of the man who found his lost papers (from our last 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:
| Aussi | D’ailleurs |
|---|---|
| Aussi, c’était évident que personne n’avait touché ses papiers importants. | D’ailleurs, c’était évident que personne n’avait touché ses papiers importants. |
| Also, it was clear that no one had touched his important papers. | Moreover, it’s obvious that no one had touched his important papers. |
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.
14. Pareillement (similarly; likewise)
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 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:
| Aussi | Pareillement |
|---|---|
| Le français écrit aussi utilise des accents pour indiquer la prononciation et le sens d’un mot. | Pareillement, le français écrit utilise des accents pour indiquer la prononciation et le sens d’un mot. |
| Written French also uses accent marks to indicate the pronunciation and the meaning of a word. | Similarly, written French uses accent marks to indicate the pronunciation and the meaning of a word. |
15. De même (likewise)
De même is much more casual than pareillement. 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 | De même |
|---|---|
| Aussi, nous avons voulu vendre la bagnole. | De même, nous avons voulu vendre la bagnole. |
| Also, we wanted to sell the car. | Likewise, we wanted to sell the car. |
16. Tant mieux (good, just as well, all the better, even better)
As I mentioned earlier, 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:
| Aussi bien | Tant mieux |
|---|---|
| C’est aussi bien que j’ai laissé mon chapeau là. | Tant mieux que j’ai laissé mon chapeau là. |
| It’s just as well that I left my hat there. | (It’s) good/just as well/all the better that I left my hat there. |
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.
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Why Use Synonyms for Such a Useful Word?
With its uncanny ability to be so flexible in conversation, aussi can seem almost indispensable. So why would we want to find substitutes for aussi?
Fine-tune shades of meaning
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.
Avoid redundancy in writing and speech
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.
French Aussi Synonyms in Context
To better identify and use aussi 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.
Extra! Extra! Read all about aussi!
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.”
‘Aussi’ dans les actualités (“Also” in the news)
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.
Watch and learn
Use context clues to identify aussi synonyms in audiovisual resources such as French shows or TED talks.
Don’t settle for same old, same old. Spice up your speaking and writing with this dazzling variety pack of synonyms for aussi.
Your native French-speaking friends will thank you.
Besides, using these synonyms means aussi can go en vacances (on vacation) somewhere sunny for a few days. Someplace nice. (How about the city of Nice?)
Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere. Click here to get a copy. (Download)
And one more thing...
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