Inondation is the French word for flood. In English, we say "inundation". But usually we say flood. Sometimes I hear people used "inundated" in English in a more figurative sense. This word comes from Latin " inundatus" which means wave. I am often kind of dismayed in class when an Anglophone asked what a French word means when it has an English cognate. Really? Maybe you should learn your own language before trying to learn another one. It can certainly help. There are quite a few Asians in my classes and I'm pretty sure they don't have anything to go on for cognates. I can't imagine how difficult that would be. Although I think most of them probably know some English already, and they have little electronic translators that they bring to class.
I have been reading a French novel and refusing to look up any words and just guess the meanings based on the context. I finally broke down because I knew the protagonist was playing a game, and he threw one of the pieces at his girlfriend and she started to lose blood. Before that part of the book I had just imagined that this game that I didn't recognize the name of was maybe tiddlywinks. So after she started losing blood I looked up the word: it was darts. That made more sense.
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