Pour être honnête vs à vrai dire; apercevoir vs reperer

Question

I translated "to be honest" as "à vrai dire" instead of "pour être honnête" but it wasn't accepted. Is there a difference between the two?

Also, my dictionary suggested repérer for "to spot," i.e., "je l'ai repéré par la baie..." Does this not work?

Accepted Answer

Bonjour Gee,
1. "à vrai dire" and "pour être honnête": there is a difference

À vrai dire = to be exact (precise) / in fact
Pour être honnête = to be honest / to tell the truth

2. To spot / repérer:
"To spot" can be translated as "repérer" in the sense of physically looking out for something (like a pirate using a spyglass for example ;-) ). This is not the case here.
I hope this is helpful.
Bonne journée !