Paul parle pareil avec ses amis et avec ses collègues.

Here, pareil means in the same way or similarly.

That can surprise English speakers, because pareil is often first learned as an adjective meaning similar or the same kind of. In this sentence, though, it is being used with parler to describe how Paul speaks.

So:

• un pull pareil = a similar sweater / a sweater like that
• parler pareil = to speak the same way

This use is very common in everyday French.

Because it is functioning like an adverb of manner here: it tells you how Paul speaks.

In French, words or expressions that describe the manner of an action often come after the verb:

• Il parle vite.
• Elle chante bien.
• Paul parle pareil.

So pareil comes after parle because it is modifying the action of speaking, not directly describing Paul or the nouns.

Because in this sentence, pareil is being used in an adverb-like way, so it stays unchanged.

Compare:

• des chaussures pareilles
  Here pareilles is an adjective describing chaussures, so it agrees in number and gender.

• Paul parle pareil
  Here pareil describes the way he speaks, so it does not agree.

That is why you do not say Paul parle pareille here.

It is very natural and common, especially in spoken French. It sounds fairly everyday and conversational.

In more formal French, you might prefer:

• Paul parle de la même manière avec ses amis et avec ses collègues.
• Paul parle de la même façon avec ses amis et avec ses collègues.

So parler pareil is correct and common, but it has a slightly more informal, spoken feel than those longer alternatives.

In this sentence, the difference is small, but there is a stylistic contrast.

• pareil is shorter, more everyday, and more conversational
• le même / de la même manière sounds a bit more explicit or formal

For example:

• Paul parle pareil avec ses amis et avec ses collègues.
• Paul parle de la même manière avec ses amis et avec ses collègues.

Both are fine. The first is more natural in casual speech.

Also, in other contexts, même can suggest exact sameness more strongly, while pareil can sometimes mean similar rather than identical. But in this sentence, they are very close in meaning.

Ses is the plural possessive determiner meaning his, her, or sometimes its, depending on context.

French possessives agree with the thing possessed, not with the owner.

So:

• son ami = his friend / her friend
• ses amis = his friends / her friends
• ses collègues = his colleagues / her colleagues

Because amis and collègues are plural, French uses ses in both cases.

In this sentence, since the subject is Paul, we understand ses as his.

French often repeats a preposition for clarity, balance, or rhythm.

So:

• avec ses amis et ses collègues
• avec ses amis et avec ses collègues

Both are possible.

Repeating avec can make the sentence feel a little clearer or more balanced, especially when contrasting two groups. It emphasizes that the comparison involves:

• one situation with his friends
• another situation with his colleagues

So the repeated avec is not strange at all; it is a very normal French structure.

Yes, that is possible, but it is not exactly the same structure.

French has both:

• parler à quelqu’un = to speak to someone
• parler avec quelqu’un = to speak with someone

The difference is often small, but:

• à can focus more on the person being addressed
• avec can suggest interaction or speaking with someone

In your sentence, avec sounds very natural because it refers to the people Paul is with when he speaks. Using à would also be understandable, but it slightly shifts the feel.

Collègues usually means colleagues or coworkers, but it is broader than just office work.

It can refer to:

• people you work with
• professional peers
• fellow teachers, doctors, researchers, etc.

So it does not have to mean only office coworkers. It is a fairly general professional word.

Pareil is pronounced /pa.ʁɛj/.

A rough English approximation is pah-RAY, but with a French r.

A few pronunciation notes:

• the final l is pronounced
• ei here sounds like èye or ay
• the stress in French is much flatter than in English, so do not over-stress one syllable too much

So the whole sentence is pronounced approximately:

Paul parle pareil avec ses amis et avec ses collègues
/pɔl paʁl pa.ʁɛj a.vɛk se za.mi e a.vɛk se kɔ.lɛɡ/

Yes. You can say:

Paul parle pareil avec ses amis et ses collègues.

That still means the same thing.

The version with two avec sounds a bit more carefully structured and can make the comparison more obvious. The version with one avec is slightly shorter and also very natural.

So both are correct:

• avec ses amis et avec ses collègues
• avec ses amis et ses collègues