# false friends



## Elvus

It came to my mind to create a thread concerning the 'false friends' including all the languages. Maybe the name of false friends is not appropriate for them in this case because rather no e.g. Russian learning Spanish would be mistaken if accidentally some Spanish word sounds the same as some Russian one. But it's interesting, anyway. Perhaps we would call it 'the words which are written the same way in totally different - often very far from each other - languages but mean something completely unalike'. On the other hand it's probably hard to have any knowledge of such words for usually we come across them by chance and only if we understand a little the foreign language we find such word in. But I'll start with one example to show what I mean:
*
matka *- Finnish: 'journey', Polish (and some other Slavic languages) 'mother'

An example from life:
At middle school I had a rather grumpy religion teacher who was much disliked by the class. One day the topic of lesson was 'Mother'. Of course the final target of discussion was the Blessed Virgin. But we started from scratch. Mrs. H. had written 'MOTHER' on the blackboard and each of us was supposed to stand up, come to the blackboard and write a word we associate with the 'mother'. Then, I whispered to my fellow I was sitting with: _'Matka' is 'a journey' in Finnish. _Everyone started coming to the board and writing: 'gentleness', 'love', 'caring' and so on. It came my fellow's turn. He rose up and said _Matka is also 'a journey' in Finnish... _The whole class dismayed, the teacher stood silently with anger in her eyes, and my fellow went to write on the blackboard 'JOURNEY (IN FINNISH)'. That was a fascinating experience showing what advantages give us the knowledge of languages, that was indeed. 

It may be not very funny or even pathetic when looked on from an objective perspective but you know... Anyway, if you find the thread stupid, silly or anyhow undeserving existence, don't hesitate to close it.


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## Rallino

No I don't find it stupid  I don't have any examples but one, at this hour though ^^

The most common Turkish false friend, I think, is: *apartman*

English: appartment, French: appartement, Italian: appartamento...

In all these languages, this word means: _a flat_;  while in Turkish it means an entire residential building with many flats. Turks who study English usually fail at using this word. ^^


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## Encolpius

It would be interesting to find triple false friends, I mean 1 word and 3 or more different meanings in different languages. 
Like the word: kar. 

*kiss *(English) - *kiss *(wee-wee in Swedish) - *Kiss *(very common family name in Hungarian)


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## Rallino

Well, there are more dangerous ones. For example, when I'd heard the Hungarian expression for "good luck" : *sok sikert*, I was shocked, and burst into laughing. _Sok sikert_ in Turkish means:_ 'put it in and start f.cking' _(litterally). Although the pronunciation of "s" differs, the overall similarity is quite surprising!


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## sakvaka

How about tenfold false friends? 

*ei*
Nahuatl: three
Dutch: egg
Finnish: he doesn't / no
Kott: pine
Mandarin: desire, want
Romanian: they
Scots: eye
Norwegian: one
Armenian: you were
Japanese: ray (fish)


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## Encolpius

Rallino said:


> Well, there are more dangerous ones. For example, when I'd heard the Hungarian expression for "good luck" : *sok sikert*, I was shocked, and burst into laughing. _Sok sikert_ in Turkish means:_ 'put it in and start f.cking' _(litterally). Although the pronunciation of "s" differs, the overall similarity is quite surprising!



wow, that's really interesting. Would you please analyse the Turkish collocation, I know no Turkish. But maybe you could find some false friends if you know some Hungarian.


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## Encolpius

Tenfold false friends. As easy as pie! 

*far*
1. English = remote in place
2. Albanian = lighthouse
3. Danish = father
4. Esperanto = by
5. Faroese = drive, tour
6. Hungarian = buttocks
7. Italian = short form of fare
8. Maltese = mouse
9. Scottisch Gaelic = where
10.Turkish = headlight; eye shadow


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## Rallino

Encolpius said:


> wow, that's really interesting. Would you please analyse *the Turkish collocation,* I know no Turkish. But maybe you could find some false friends if you know some Hungarian.



collocation for "good luck", you mean?

*Bol şans*, pronunced: Bol sánsz
or
*İyi şanslar*, pronunced: Iji sánszlár

Other than that, I'll count some more, the format will be: 
the word - Hungarian meaning - Turkish meaning
*
Kamu* - Unreal thing - Public*
Baba* - baby - father
*Koca *- sow (?) - husband*
Cici* - Breasts - Cute, sweety
*Emel *- to lift - Scope, goal
*Harap* - to bite - ruined, destroyed
*Pazar* - magnificent - Sunday
*Hal *- fish - situation
*Fal* - wall - Future prediction by looking at one's hands or at his/her coffee remaining
*Dal *- song - a tree branch
*Kan* - male boar - blood
*Bal *- left direction - honey
*El - *away - hand
*Ön* - you (formal) - front
*Az - *that - few

also:*

Csók* - Kiss - Very / many (Turkish spelling is_ çok_, but pronunced the same)
*Didim *- My tits - a region to the west in Turkey


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## Encolpius

Wow, Rallino, I love those false friends, really funny. 
No, I do not know what the wrod *sok *and *sikert *mean in Turkish?


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## Rallino

Encolpius said:


> Wow, Rallino, I love those false friends, really funny.
> No, I do not know what the wrod *sok *and *sikert *mean in Turkish?



sok is the imperative of: _sokmak_ = to penetrate, to squeeze

sikert is the imperative of a colloquial verb: sikertmek, comes from _sikmek_ = _to f..k_


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## Volcano

*artist - one who creates works of art (paintings, sculptures, etc.) 

artist - one who is known as popular, especially in movies (in Turkish)*


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## WondererCarvalho

sakvaka said:


> How about tenfold false friends?
> 
> *ei*
> Nahuatl: three
> Dutch: egg
> Finnish: he doesn't / no
> Kott: pine
> Mandarin: desire, want
> Romanian: they
> Scots: eye
> Norwegian: one
> Armenian: you were
> Japanese: ray (fish)


 
I found out that besides Ducth, German, not just have "*ei*" for egg, but also have this "*ei*" as "*Hey!*" or "*Oh!*" or "*Gee!*" that they say is not much common nowadays, when I had doubts about uses of "ei" in a lyric.
Here, my finished thread about uses of "ei" that in that context, I thought it meant "Ich"...

http://forum.wordreference.com/showthread.php?t=1759688&highlight=ei+for+ich

Moreover, "ei" also means "hey!" in Portuguese and I haven't managed to realize that . And is written "ei!" in Portuguese!

Another example from myself, comparing to Portuguese:

Portuguese:* Me:*
(I think in Spanish those meanings are the same as in Portuguese)

Examples: "*Me* alcança aquele lápis, por favor!" - "Please, get *me* that pencil!"
"Faça-*me* o favor!/ *Me* faça o favor!" - "Do *me* a favor!"

Norwegian - *We* (Depending on dialect, I have a thread about it as well
http://forum.wordreference.com/showthread.php?t=1759681&highlight=me+re+vi+er)

English - *me*/*To me*/ *at me*/ *for me*


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## Elvus

Also in Finnish *me *means _'we'.

_In Polish *me *is a form of possessive pronoun *moje *which means _'my'_ in singular neutrum and in plural, e.g.

*me czyny = moje czyny = *_my deeds
_*me dziecko = moje dziecko *= _my child

_However, this form might be considered archaic or pompous and it's practically not used in spoken language. Often it's also, let's say, 'phonetically unsuitable' to use *me*.


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## Bântuit

*Hi,

Cool *means *eat*(the imperative from)in spoken arabic,it's  written *كول*


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## Orlin

In Bulgarian as well as Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian *ме/me* is the enclitic form of the 1st person sg. personal pronoun, accusative case: Той *ме* вижда./ On *me* vidi. = He sees me.


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## WondererCarvalho

As Norwegian has "*vi*" (bokmål) for "*we*" as well, "*vi*" in Portuguese means "*I've seen*" (Pres. Perf.) or "*I saw*", that is past of verb "ver" (to see). Even its pronounce is the very same.
In English and German, just to give some examples of false friends:
Eng:*a* Port: *the* (fem)
Eng:*no *Port: *In the* (masc)
Ger:*na *Port: *in the* (fem)
Ger:*nun *Eng:*well!/now*
Eng: *an *Ger: *about/in/at/by/upon/on*


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## volkonsky

Russian: ковёр (kovyor) doesn't mean 'caviar' but 'carpet'.

And the Polish translation for 'carpet' is dywan, which is derived from Turkish and refers to a sofa or a couch in most European languages.


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## Rallino

My etymological dictionary says that _Divan_ in Turkish, is an Arabic or Persian word.


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## enoo

A few in French, although the pronunciation is often very different (maybe not 3 meanings, but at least more that 3 letters  ) :
English *pain* is the French for bread.
English *coin* is the French for corner.
English *chat* is the French for cat.
English *bond* is the French for leap.
Finnish *lapin* (of Lapland) is the French for rabbit.

(and to give words that were previously mentionned, "*me*" means "myself" with reflexive verbs, and "*far*" is a kind of dessert)


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## volkonsky

Rallino said:


> My etymological dictionary says that _Divan_ in Turkish, is an Arabic or Persian word.


That's possible, but the word was introduced to Europe through the similarly named state council of the Ottoman Empire.


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## Orlin

In Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian*  vi *is you (2nd person pl., nominative case).


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## Perkele

*se*
Finnish: 3rd person singular inanimate
Spanish: accusative/dative form, 3rd person general

*me*
Finnish: 1st person plural
Spanish: accusative/dative form, 1st person singular

*te*
Finnish: 2nd person plural
Spanish: accusative/dative form, 2nd person singular

*su*
Finnish: genetive, 2nd person singular (dialectal)
Spanish: genetive, 3rd person general


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## Orlin

Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian:
- *se* - a reflexive particle forming reflexive verbs (them same for Bulgarian *се*);
- *te* - enclitic personal pronoun for 2nd person sg., accusative case (=Bulgarian *те*);
- *su* - 3rd person pl. present (enclitic) of the verb "biti" (to be).


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## apmoy70

Greek:
*Nαι (ne)*: Adverb used to show agreement or acceptance.
Bulgarian:
*Hе (ne)*: Adverb used to show disagreement or negation.
BCS:
*He/Ne*: Adverb used to show disagreement or negation.


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## Elvus

*rana
*Latin: _frog
_Polish: _wound
_
*palik
*Lithuanian: _leave!_ (Imperative)
Polish: diminutive from *pal *(_pole; stake; picket_)

*pas
*Lithuanian: _at, to _(*bū**ti pas draugą *_- to be at friend's [place], *eiti pas draugą *- to go to friend's [place])_
Polish: _belt
_Croatian: _dog_

*jojo
*Lithuanian: _yo-yo _but also 3rd person past form of the verb *joti *- _to ride. _(_*Jis jojo. - *He rode.)_
Polish: yo-yo

*meta
*Lithuanian: 3rd person present form of the verb *mesti *- _to throw _(*Jis meta. *_- He throws._)
Polish: _finish

_*puola
*Lithuanian: 3rd person present form of the verb *pulti *- _to fall _(*Jėzus puola trečią kartą. *_- Jesus falls for the third time.)
_Finnish: _Polish [language], _*Puola *= _Poland

_*katu
*Finnish: _street
_Basque: _cat
_Polish: dative case of the noun *kat *- _executioner

_*can
*English: _can
_Galician: _dog
_
*hunt
*English: _hunt
_Yiddish: _dog

_*tie
*English: _tie
_Finnish: _road
_Lithuanian: _these _(masculine)

*verda
*Esperanto & Ido: _green
_Lithuanian: 3rd person present form of the verb *virti *- _to cook, to boil.

_*teka
*Lithuanian: 3rd person present form of the verb *tek**ėti *- _to flow
_Polish: augmentative from *teczka *(_briefcase; folder_)


Enough for now.


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## ilocas2

German - Fluss - river
Czech - flus - spit (noun) (slang)


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## Zsuzsu

Elvus said:


> *verda
> *Esperanto & Ido: _green
> _Lithuanian: 3rd person present form of the verb *virti *- _to cook, to boil.
> 
> _



In Hungarian slang *verda* means car.


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## niernier

Some classic examples of Filipino-Spanish false friends:

seguro in Tagalog means "maybe" (In Spanish it means "sure")
siempre in Tagalog means "of course" (In Spanish it means "always")
firmi in Chavacano/Bicolano means "always" (In Spanish it means "firm/steady")

I'm sure there are other false friends out there but these are the most popular ones.


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## mataripis

Tagalog: _Mapagbalatkayo_


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## Encolpius

*banya*: *Hungarian* (quite a funny word meaning ugly old woman) - *English/Russian* (steam bath) - *Catalan *(horn)


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## Favara

*cama:* Catalan _leg_,_ "let's go"_; Spanish _bed_.
*fart:* English _fart_; Catalan _tired_; Swedish _speed_.


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## AutumnOwl

*Rata*
Finnish: railroad track
Swedish: scorn

_*Sota *_
Finnish: war
Swedish: to soot

*Made*
Finnish: burbot (a fish)
English: made

_*Maila*_
Finnish: stick, club
Swedish: to e-mail

*Sork*
Swedish: vole
Gutamål: boy (Gutamål is the dialect on the Swedish island of Gotland)

*Sur*
French: on
Swedish: acid, sour

*Hot*
Swedish: threat
English: hot


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## AutumnOwl

Perkele said:


> *se*
> Finnish: 3rd person singular inanimate
> Spanish: accusative/dative form, 3rd person general


Swedish: to see


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## WondererCarvalho

It's worth mentioning that most Spanish rules showed here apply for Portuguese as well


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## In Vino Veritas

MÉTER NÉLKÜL (hungarian) Without a meter...a bad word in italian.
_Katso merta (finnish) _Look at the sea...a bad word in italian.
КАК ДЕЛА(russian) how are you...a bad word in italian.
KUL RÖTT (swedish) cool red...a bad word in italian.
etc etc etc


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## apmoy70

Perkele said:


> *se*
> Finnish: 3rd person singular inanimate
> Spanish: accusative/dative form, 3rd person general


Greek: Weak form of 2nd person  sing. personal pronoun in accusative «σε»



Perkele said:


> *me*
> Finnish: 1st person plural
> Spanish: accusative/dative form, 1st person singular


Greek: Weak form of 1st person  sing. personal pronoun in accusative «με»



Perkele said:


> *su*
> Finnish: genetive, 2nd person singular (dialectal)
> Spanish: genetive, 3rd person general


Greek: Weak form of 2nd person  sing. personal pronoun in genitive «σου»


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## Favara

A few more with Catalan and Spanish:

_acostar_ CAT: to approach; ES: to lie down.
_cebar _CAT: to add onions (when cooking)_; _ES: to prime, to bait, to feed, to stoke, to cram.
_colgar_ CAT: to bury; ES: to hang.
_escoltar_ CAT: to listen; ES to escort, to guard.
_jueves_ CAT: jew women; ES: thursday.
_prima_ CAT: lean woman; ES: cousin (fem.).
_pudor_ CAT: stink; ES: modesty.
_tasca_ CAT: task; ES: pub.


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## sakvaka

Some more between Swedish and English.

tall (pine)
full (_of a thing_: full, _of a person_: drunk)
gift (married/poison)
vrist (ankle)
kock (chef)
chef (boss)
fan (fan/c*nt)
fart (speed)
fack (compartment)
gem (paperclip)
glass (ice cream)
lake (a kind of fish)
personal (personell)
smäll /'smell/ (blow)
pregnant (packed with meaning; pithy)


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## Favara

_Autista_: IT driver; CAT/ES autistic


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## Encolpius

This thread is for franknagy who have been cofusing coincidences and false friends 

Hungarian "eleven" means "vivid", "living" not 11 as in English.
HU "ragad" verb. "It is sticking" <--> EN "rugged".
HU "liszt"=flour EN "list" RU "лист"= leav(es).
HU "kasza" = scythe RU "коса" = ponytail.
HU "más" = other SP "más" =but, more.


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## Gavril

Finnish _pois_ "away"
Portuguese _pois_ "because, whereas"
French _pois_ "pea"

English _no_
Finnish _no_ "well ..."
Portuguese _no_ "in/on the [+ masc. singular noun]"
Greek _nō_ "we two"

Finnish _typpi_ "nitrogen"
Icelandic _typpi_ "button, knob"

Spanish (and other Romance langs.) _tú _"you" (singular), _tu_ "your"
Slovenian _tu_ "here"
Welsh _tu_ "side"


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## Encolpius

I think there are millions of false friends and I personally do not find this thread interesting at all unlike the "coincidences" thread which is fascinating....


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## ilocas2

Hungarian *liszt* - flour

Czech *list* - leaf

The most famous Hungarian composer Ferenc Liszt was Ferenc Flour


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## bibax

ilocas2 said:


> Hungarian *liszt* - flour
> 
> Czech *list* - leaf
> 
> The most famous Hungarian composer Ferenc Liszt was Ferenc Flour


German: List, Hinterlist - trick, ruse, subterfuge;

Franz List (Liszt) was an ethnic German.


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## 涼宮

Japanese - Spanish

傘 _Kasa_ (umbrella) - casa (house)

まりこ Mariko (female name*) - marico (gay)

の _No_ (possessive particle, explicative particle) - no (not/don't/non)

手 _te_ (hand) - té/te (tea, thee)

かま _kama_ (iron pot, furnace, sickle) - cama (bed)

毛 _ke_ (hair) - que/qué (that, what)

物 _mono_ (thing, object) - mono (monkey)

マンコ _manko_ (pussy, cunt -genital-) - manco (one-armed person, amputee)

ここ _koko_ (here) - coco (coconut, col. head)

伸せ _nose_ (stretch!) - no sé (I don't know)

米 _kome_ (rice) - come, ¡come! (s/he eats, eat!)

緯度/井戸 _ido_ (latitude, water well), ido (gone)

In German *kochen* means _to cook_ but in Spanish it means _they grab/take/fuck_

In Ukrainian and Serbo-Croatian _tata_ means *dad* but in English it's one of the many ways to say _boob_, though I've always seen the word in the plural form, tatas.


*If I remember it's also a female name in Italy, though the spelling would differ.


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## 810senior

These cases, put down by same Chinese characters but having different meanings.
That's what I have ever heard of.


Japanese:手紙 a letter
Chinese:手紙 toilet paper
*手=hand, 紙=paper

Japanese:愛人 a lover (the partner who you have sex with in particular)
Korean:愛人 a girlfriend/boyfriend
*愛=love, 人=man, person

Japanese:来日 coming to Japan
Chinese:来日 future
Korean:来日 tomorrow
*来=to come, 日=day

Japanese:湯 hot water
Chinese:湯 soup
*湯=boiling water, decoction


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## 涼宮

_Suka_

It means _bitch_ in Russian, Slovak and Polish, _to vomit_ in Tagalog, _brush_ in Finnish, _ to like _in Indonesian and Malay, and _to shake_ in Swahili. Such a versatile word .


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## Ghabi

I think Japanese-Chinese false friends can be divided into "character false friends" and "word false friends". The former, when spelled out, will lose their hypocrisy instantly (I use the Cantonese form for Chinese):



CharactersChinese wordJapanese word湯tong1 "hot water (classical); soup (modern)"yu "hot water"手紙sau2zi2 "hand-paper"-->"toilet paper"tegami "hand-paper"-->"letter"


The latter are words which are etymologically related (i.e. the Japanese words are composed of Sino-Japanese morphemes), for example:



CharactersChinese wordJapanese word大丈夫dai6zoeng6fu1 "a macho man"daijōbu "fine; okay; not injured"人間jan4gaan1 "human world"ningen "human beings"皮肉pei4juk6 "physical; carnal"hiniku "sarcasm"勉強min5koeng5 "barely; reluctantly"benkyō "study"


The strange thing is, false friends can become real ones.



CharactersChinese wordJapanese word覺(覚)悟gok3ng6 "to be enlightened; awakened"kakugo "mental readiness"



In recent years I've noticed that gok3ng6 is more and more used in the Japanese sense. Perhaps in the beginning the usage was only found among Japanophiles, serving as a kind of shibboleth, but the usage has apparently spread, and is nowadays used by those who don't know Japanese at all.


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## Zsanna

涼宮 said:


> _Suka_
> 
> It means _bitch_ in Russian, Slovak and Polish, _to vomit_ in Tagalog, _brush_ in Finnish, _ to like _in Indonesian and Malay, and _to shake_ in Swahili. Such a versatile word .


Although I don't think it belongs to the false friends category but to add another word to your list: szuka (sz pronounced as the s in English) means a female dog in Hungarian and also used as a derogatory term for a woman ("a lower value female thing"..., there are several different shades to its usage).


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## Zsanna

I would also like to add that Liszt Ferenc (see in wiki) was a _Hungarian_ composer, I suppose partly on the basis that he himself considered himself to be and that he was born in Western Hungary.


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## 涼宮

Zsanna said:


> Although I don't think it belongs to the false friends category but to add another word to your list: szuka (sz pronounced as the s in English) means a female dog in Hungarian and also used as a derogatory term for a woman ("a lower value female thing"..., there are several different shades to its usage).



Thanks for the addition! Yes, it does belong to the false friends category . Because it's pronounced the same and it's written similarly and it does differ in meaning from the other languages.


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## Riverplatense

I have not read the entire thread, but I think that since there's only a limited inventory of sounds and a limited inventory of possible syllables and a practical limit of the words' length there's a lot of false friends. Two further examples which came immediately into my mind:


_igel _(Basque, ‹frog›) vs. _Igel _(German, ‹hedgehog›) 
_regnat _(Latin, ‹reigns›) vs. _regnat _(Swedish, ‹rained›, supinum)


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## ilocas2

from other thread:

Czech: *Česko* - Czech Republic

Hungarian: *Cseszkó* (same pronunciation except long o in the end) - Czechoslovakia
maybe they use it as nickname for Czech Republic too, I don't know

perhaps it's rather coincidence than false friend


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## Self-taught

*Fart* in english and *Fahrt* (trip) in german= Guten Fahrt! Have a nice trip.
*Marieke* (dutch female name)= *marica* in spanish (gay). Both sound very similar. Long ago I was introduced to a girl in Holland who's name was Marieke and my eyes went open that she could realize about my surprise. Luckily I could avoid any explanation.
*Curva* in spanish means curve= *Kurva* in some slavic languages means whore.

*Ondulat* in catalan means ondulated= *undulat* in swedish means budgerigar. They nearly have the same pronunciation.
*Cadeira* in portuguese means chair= *cadera* in spanish means hip (part of the body).


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## Zsanna

ilocas2 said:


> from other thread:
> ... Hungarian: *Cseszkó* (same pronunciation except long o in the end) - Czechoslovakia
> maybe they use it as nickname for Czech Republic too, I don't know


It is a term we used before the changes (90s), as a nickname for Czechoslovakia but I don't know whether the Czech word influenced us in its formation (don't think really).


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## AutumnOwl

*English - Swedish:*
Not - note, or annotation
Tar - takes
Barn - child
Bog - bow (on a boat), or shoulder (anatomy)
Log - smiles


Gavril said:


> Spanish (and other Romance langs.) _tú _"you" (singular), _tu_ "your"
> Slovenian _tu_ "here"
> Welsh _tu_ "side"


Swedish: two, used in for example de unga tu (the young two)


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## Zsanna

@ Self-taught: _kurva_ means slut in Polish surely and - incidentally - in Hungarian, as well.


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## Gavril

Irish _trichae_ "30" < *_trikonta_
Welsh _trigain_ "60" < *_tri_-_wikmti_ "3 x 20"

Although the two words don't look hugely alike now, all their sounds seem to be cognate with one another, apart from the second_ -i-_ in _trigain_.


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## ger4

_tres_
Danish: 'sixty' < _tresindstyve_ = 3 x 20
Spanish: 'three'


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## AutumnOwl

Holger2014 said:


> _tres_
> Danish: 'sixty' < _tresindstyve_ = 3 x 20
> Spanish: 'three'


Add an accent and you get the French très = very.


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## ger4

_hallitus_ 
Finnish: government 
Estonian: mould 

_bauda_ 
Latvian: delight, pleasure, treat 
Lithuanian: penalization, sanction, fine 

_vale_ 
Estonian: false, falseness (noun=adj.)
Spanish: okay, right, alright 
Even though v- sounds a bit different...


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## AutumnOwl

English - Swedish:
Egg - edge
Lam - a person who is paraplegic
Vast - a kind of fence on the island of Gotland
From - devout, pious
Asp (snake) - aspen (tree)

German - Swedish:
Igel (hedgehog) - leech

French - Swedish:
Par (through, by) - pair


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## 涼宮

*Reddast*

Icelandic: to turn out well, to be alright.
Norwegian Nynorsk: to be afraid, to worry.


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## Sardokan1.0

between Italian and Sardinian there are many false friends

Brutto (ugly) Bruttu (dirty)
Buttare (to throw away) Buttare (to puke)
Cocomero (watermelon) Cucùmere (cucumber)
Prendere (to take) Prendere (to immobilize, to tie) - just referred to animals
Lato (side) Ladu (flat)
Levare (to remove) Levare, Leare (to take) - both of them come from Latin "Levare" (to lift, to grab)
Segare (to saw) Segare (to break, to cut)
Stampare (to print) Istampare (to pierce)
Mancante (missing) Mancante (idiot)
Arreso (surrended) Arressu (immobilized in bed)
Ciminiera (chimney) Tziminera, Tziminea (fireplace)
Rutto (burp) Ruttu (burp) - but also past participle of Rùere (to fall)
Salire (to go up, to climb) Salire (to add salt)
Soldi (money) Solde (worm, maggot)
Minuto (minute) Minudu (small change, little)
Manta (manta ray) Manta (blanket)
Mura (walls) Mura (blackberry)
Matta (crazy) Matta (bush, belly, abdomen)
Cancro (cancer) Càncaru (idiot, lazybones) - literally means "hinge"


----------



## Red Arrow

Some Dutchmen pronounce ''hoor'' almost exactly the same as the English word ''whore''.

Dutchmen add the word ''hoor'' at the end of a sentence to sound friendlier, or to emphasize something


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## Rani_Author

Rallino said:


> the word - Hungarian meaning - Turkish meaning
> *Kamu* - Unreal thing - Public
> *Baba* - baby - father
> *Emel *- to lift - Scope, goal
> *Harap* - to bite - ruined, destroyed
> *Hal *- fish - situation
> *Dal *- song - a tree branch
> *Kan* - male boar - blood



Wooowww!!! That's interesting.  I have no idea to answer this thread until I saw this comment. 

Indonesian -- Malay:
Kamu: you (informal general singular) -- you (very impolite singular).
Emel: tooth enamel -- e-mail.
Harap: hope, promise, dream -- hope.
Hal: page, thing, matter -- case.

Bengali -- Hindi -- Urdu:
Dal: gravy made from vegetables and spices -- team -- lentil.
Kan: eyes, ears -- ears -- mine, quarry.

Hmmm... I just want to share that "baba" in bengali also means "father". But, it also could be used for father in law (because of marriage or because of adoption).

Because you are a Turk and I'm falling in love with Turkish, would you please to give me examples of false friends between Turkish and Azerbaijani? Hmmm... how about "öykü"? Based on what I understood from any resources, in Turkish means "all of works except novel", in Azerbaijani it's just for "short story". Is it right?

Indonesian and Malay have a lot of false friends. But, I would mention some fundamental ones because having the contradictory meanings that make Indonesians and Malayans don't understand are often upset.
Belia: young -- young man.
Bercinta: to make love -- to express love.
Bual: to talk nonsense, to boast -- to chat, to talk each other.
Budak: slave -- children, kids.
Butuh: to need -- male sex.
Comel: to mutter, to grumble -- pretty, interesting.
Kaki tangan: accomplice, henchman -- employee, worker.
Pokok: point, topic -- tree.
Pusing: dizzy -- to go around.
Seronok: hot (in negative meaning for a person) -- glad, happy.


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## Red Arrow

English: actual
Dutch: actueel
French: actuel
Swedish/German: aktuell

The Dutch, French, Swedish and German words mean current/topical.


----------



## Hans Molenslag

Red Arrow :D said:


> Dutchmen add the word ''hoor'' at the end of a sentence to sound friendlier, or to emphasize something


Belgians do that too.


----------



## Red Arrow

Hans M. said:


> Belgians do that too.


I didn't mean to make it look like Belgians don't do this. Sorry for the confusion.


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## Dib

Rani_Author said:


> Bengali -- Hindi -- Urdu:
> Dal: gravy made from vegetables and spices -- team -- lentil.
> Kan: eyes, ears -- ears -- mine, quarry.



These are not quite accurate.
daal = lentils (cooked or uncooked) in both Bengali and Hindi/Urdu. However the Bengali word has a retroflex D, while Hindi-Urdu has a dental d, and hence differs in pronunciation as well as native spelling.
daal means "branch of a tree" when pronounced with a retroflex D in both Hindi-Urdu and Bengali (so, in Bengali, the "lentil" and "branch" words are homonyms, in Hindi-Urdu they are not).
dal = team in both Bengali and Hindi, with a dental d in both languages, but the pronunciation of the "a" differs. And "a" differs in pronunciation (and native spelling) from "aa" in Bengali, Hindi and Urdu - all of them.
There is no false friend here.

kaan = ear, again in Bengali, Hindi and Urdu - all of them. However, in Urdu it has the additional meaning of "mine/quarry" (but the "ear" meaning and "mine" meaning have different genders). Hindi also has the same word, but with an aspirated "k" (i.e. khaan). Bengali indeed lacks this meaning. So, there may be a false friend here, but rather marginally.

=======

A few Bengali vs Hindi-Urdu false friends that came to my mind:
maathaa : B. head, HU. forehead
shesh : B. end, H. remainder
ghum- (verb) : B. sleep, HU. rotate, etc.
so- (verb) : B. lie down, HU. sleep
ghur- (verb): B. rotate, etc., HU. stare


----------



## Toddy96

"English word - Spanish similar word and its (meaning in English)".

Embarassed - Embarazada (pregnant)
Dinner - Dinero (money)
Exit - Éxito (succes)    _There's a meme about this._
Once - Once (eleven)
Rope - Ropa (clothes)
Realize - Realizar (make/do)
Bomber - Bombero (firefighter)
Cartoon - Cartón (cardboard)
Dice - Dice (he/she/it *says*)
Recollection - Recolección (to collect/gather/harvest)
Salad - Salado (salty)
Record - Recordar (to remember)
Fabric - Fábrica (factory)
Arena - Arena (sand)             _Sandy Cheeks is "Arenita Mejillas" in Spanish _
Actually - Actualmente ("nowadays", this is one of the most common mistakes in english students here)
Terrific - Terrorífico (terryfing)
Luxury - Lujuria (lust)
Crude - Crudo (raw)
Bigot - Bigote (mustache)
Balloon - Balón (ball)
Pan - Pan (bread)
Sunrise - Sonrisa (smile)


----------



## ilocas2

Czech: *kaplan* - chaplain
Tatar: *каплан* - leopard


----------



## Rallino

ilocas2 said:


> Czech: *kaplan* - chaplain
> Tatar: *каплан* - leopard


Kaplan is _tiger _in Turkish_. _


----------



## Perseas

Rallino said:


> Kaplan is _tiger _in Turkish_. _


Also in Greek _καπλάνι_ (neut.) means _tiger_ but it is dated. καπλάνι < kaplan (Turkish)
We have also the word _τίγρη _(fem.), which is the one we use.


----------



## ilocas2

German: *Biber* - beaver
Serbian: *biber* - pepper


----------



## apmoy70

Spanish *vida* (fem.), _life_ < Lat. *vīta* (fem.) < PIE *gʷeih₃w- _to live_ cf Skt. जीव (jivah), _life_, Gr. βίος (bíŏs), _life_
MoGr *βίδα* [ˈviða] (fem.), _screw_ < Ven. *vida* (fem.), _vine_ < Lat. *vītis* (fem.), _vine_ < PIE *ueh₁y- _to twist, weave_ cf Proto-Slavic *viti, _to wind, twist_


----------



## Sardokan1.0

*English *: _to speak_
*German *: _sprechen_

*vs*

*Sardinian *:_ ispricare, isplicare_ (the action of talking, the mouth's movement) from Latin _"explicare"_ (to explain)

while the verb "to speak" is translated in Sardinian as _"faveddare, faeddare"_, from vulgar Latin _"fabellare, favellare"_


----------



## Armas

Finnish _greippi_ "grapefruit" -- Eng. grape.


----------



## ilocas2

Hungarian: *nagy* - big
Polish: *nagi* - naked


----------



## ilocas2

Encolpius said:


> Tenfold false friends. As easy as pie!
> 
> *far*
> 1. English = remote in place
> 2. Albanian = lighthouse
> 3. Danish = father
> 4. Esperanto = by
> 5. Faroese = drive, tour
> 6. Hungarian = buttocks
> 7. Italian = short form of fare
> 8. Maltese = mouse
> 9. Scottisch Gaelic = where
> 10.Turkish = headlight; eye shadow



11. Czech = genitive plural of _fara_ (= clergy house)


----------



## Doraemon-

There are even false friends on words directly taken from another language.
"Macho" in French and English means "sexist, arrogant male", while in Spanish (where they've taken it from) it simply means "male"


----------



## Dymn

Doraemon- said:


> There are even false friends on words directly taken from another language.
> "Macho" in French and English means "sexist, arrogant male", while in Spanish (where they've taken it from) it simply means "male"


I think this happens very often, in the original language the word has a very general usage, while in the borrowing languages it has a more strict meaning, which usually includes its origin. For example, _manga _(= Japanese comic) simply means "comic" in Japanese, _cosmonaut _(= Soviet astronaut) simply means "astronaut" in Russian, or _führer _(= Hitler, or authoritarian leader by extension), simply means "leader" or "guide" in German, without negative connotations afaik.


----------



## Gavril

There are some terms that have one meaning in English, and another meaning in most continental European languages.

For example,

_control_
English: "to direct"
rest of Europe: "to inspect, check" (French _contrôler_, German _kontrollieren_, Polish _kontrolować_, etc.)

_eventual_
English: "ultimate, occurring in the end"
rest of Europe: "possible, hypothetical" (French _éventuel_, Swedish _eventuell_, Russian _eventual'nyi_, etc.)

_rubric_
English: not a very common term, but has a tendency to mean “standards, framework”
rest of Europe: "heading, title" (Spanish _rúbrica_, Fr. _rubrique_, Dutch _rubriek_, Russian _rubrika_, etc.)

NB – in many cases, it may be possible to the English and continental terms synonymously; this comparison is just about the most common meanings of each term.


----------



## apmoy70

Greek *«θήτα»* [ˈθi.ta] (neut.) --> _letter Θ,θ_
Spanish (Castillian pron.) *cita* [ˈθi.ta] (fem.) --> _date, appointment_

Greek *«πέλος»* [ˈpe.lɔs] (masc.) --> _pile, nap_
Spanish *pelos* [pe.lɔ̝s] (masc. pl.) --> _hair_

Greek *«μύγα»* [ˈmi.ɣa] (fem.) --> _fly (insect)_
Spanish *miga* [ˈmi.ɣa] (fem.) --> _crumb, bit_

Greek *«κουράδα»* [kuˈɾa.ða] (fem.) --> _turd, flop (slang)_
Spanish *curada* [kuˈra.ða] (fem.) --> _drunken, intoxicated (slang)_

Greek *«δέντρο»* [ˈðen.drɔ] (neut.), colloquialism of *«δένδρο»* [ˈðen.ðrɔ] (neut.) --> _tree_
Spanish *dentro* [ˈden.trɔ̝] (adv.) --> _inside_

Greek *«αστείο»* [asˈti.ɔ] (neut.) --> _joke_
Spanish *hastío* [asˈti.ɔ̝] (masc.) --> _boredom_

Greek *«βρώμα»* [ˈvrɔ.ma] (fem.) --> _stench_
Spanish *broma* [ˈbrɔ̝.ma] (fem.) --> _joke_


----------



## Red Arrow

*Jamaican Patois - nyam* = to eat (loanword from a West African language)

*Dutch - njam* = what you say when you're eating something delicious, like "om nom nom" or "yummy" in English


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## Dymn

Gavril said:


> _control_
> English: "to direct"
> rest of Europe: "to inspect, check" (French _contrôler_, German _kontrollieren_, Polish _kontrolować_, etc.)


I've never thought of any meaningful difference between "_to control_" and Spanish "_controlar_", but I may be wrong.



Gavril said:


> _rubric_
> English: not a very common term, but has a tendency to mean “standards, framework”
> rest of Europe: "heading, title" (Spanish _rúbrica_, Fr. _rubrique_, Dutch _rubriek_, Russian _rubrika_, etc.)


_"Rúbrica" _isn't a very common word in Spanish either, and the first thing that comes to mind when I hear it is one of these evaluation tables (for example to assess a school project).


----------



## Olaszinhok

*Rubrica* is a very common word indeed in Italian, it means telephone book, address book and it is pronounced rubr*i*ca, erroneously r*u*brica.


----------



## bibax

In Czech, *rubrika* (< rubrum) means mostly a column (writen by a columnist) in a newspaper or magazine, the Czech term is *sloupek* (= little column), *sloupkař* (= columnist).


----------



## Zareza

*Romanian*


Elvus said:


> *matka *(Pol.) = mother


*matcă *= queen bee; lode


Encolpius said:


> *far *(many languages)


*far *= lighthouse


Rallino said:


> *bol *(Turk.) = plenty of


*bol *= bowl


Rallino said:


> *baba *- baby (Hung.) - father (Turk.)


*babă *(pejorative) = old woman


Rallino said:


> *harap *- to bite (Hung.) - ruined, destroyed (Turk.)





Rani_Author said:


> *harap *- hope, promise, dream (Indonesian) - hope (Malay)


*harap* = Arab


Rallino said:


> *bal *- left direction (Hung.) - honey (Turk.)


*bal *= prom, dance, ballroom


Rallino said:


> *el - *away (Hung.) - hand (Turk.)


*el *= he


Rallino said:


> *csók *- kiss (Hung.) - *çok *- very / many (Turk.)


*cioc *= beak; knock-knock / tap, tap; goatee (pronunced the same in all three languages)


Rallino said:


> *sok *(Hung.) = many, much


*soc *= elderberry


Elvus said:


> *pas*
> Lithuanian: _at, to _(*būti pas draugą *_- to be at friend's [place], *eiti pas draugą *- to go to friend's [place])_
> Polish: _belt_
> Croatian: _dog_


*pas *= step


Favara said:


> *prima *CAT: lean woman; ES: cousin (fem.)


*prima *(fem.)= first


sakvaka said:


> Some more between Swedish and English
> *kock *(chef)
> *fack *(compartment)
> *gem *(paperclip)
> *glass *(ice cream)


*coc *= bun, chignon
(eu) *fac *= I do / make
*gem *= jam
*glas *= voice


----------



## Zareza

*Romanian*


ger4 said:


> *vale*
> Estonian: false, falseness (noun=adj.)
> Spanish: okay, right, alright


*vale *= valley


AutumnOwl said:


> *par - *through, by (Fr.)  - pair (Swedish)


*par *= stake (piece of wood)


Dymn said:


> *manga *(= Japanese comic) simply means "comic" in Japanese


*mangă *> beat mangă = drunk as a skunk


----------



## Penyafort

Encolpius said:


> Tenfold false friends. As easy as pie!
> 
> *far*
> 1. English = remote in place
> 2. Albanian = lighthouse
> 3. Danish = father
> 4. Esperanto = by
> 5. Faroese = drive, tour
> 6. Hungarian = buttocks
> 7. Italian = short form of fare
> 8. Maltese = mouse
> 9. Scottisch Gaelic = where
> 10.Turkish = headlight; eye shadow





ilocas2 said:


> 11. Czech = genitive plural of _fara_ (= clergy house)





Zareza said:


> *Romanian
> far *= lighthouse



13. *far *= lighthouse in Catalan too.


----------



## Red Arrow

bibax said:


> In Czech, *rubrika* (< rubrum) means mostly a column (writen by a columnist) in a newspaper or magazine, the Czech term is *sloupek* (= little column), *sloupkař* (= columnist).


In modern Dutch, a *rubriek *is something that is always on the same page in a newspaper or magazine.

f.i. de *sport*rubriek


----------



## bibax

Yes.

*sportovní rubrika*, *rubrika pro ženy* (for women), etc.

However, in _"normal"_ newspapers there is a whole page (or several ) dedicated to sport (*sportovní stránka*).


----------



## Penyafort

Some between Catalan and French:

*Catalan:* *brut *(dirty)
*French: brut *(raw, crude)

*Catalan: fracàs* (failure)
*French: fracas *(loud noise)

*Catalan: oratge *(land breeze)(weather _in Valencian_)
*French: orage *(storm)

*Catalan: pastís* (cake)
*French: pastis* (pastis, anise-flavoured liqueur)

*Catalan: sot* (hole on the ground)
*French: sot* (fool, dumb)

And very important. The Catalan* fricandó *is different from the Southern *French *and *Swiss **fricandeau*.


----------



## Gavril

Dymn said:


> I've never thought of any meaningful difference between "_to control_" and Spanish "_controlar_", but I may be wrong.



_controlar/control _may be closer semantically to Eng. _control_ than most of its counterparts, but the "inspect" meaning still seems noticeably more prominent than in English.

E.g. a phrase like _control médico_ ("check-up" according to the WR dictionary) would be misunderstood if one simply assumed that meaning of _control _in this phrase matched that of Eng. _control._


----------



## AndrasBP

Penyafort said:


> *Catalan: oratge *(land breeze)(weather _in Valencian_)


It's the same correlation as between Slavic *veter/vítr/wiatr *(wind) and Germanic *weather/Wetter/väder*.


----------



## nimak

Penyafort said:


> *Catalan:* *brut *(dirty)
> *French: brut *(raw, crude)


*Macedonian: брут* [brut] = "nail", _a metal spike with a broadened flat head, driven typically into wood with a hammer to join things together_



Penyafort said:


> *Catalan: sot* (hole on the ground)
> *French: sot* (fool, dumb)


*Albanian: sot* = "today"


----------



## Gavril

Gavril said:


> There are some terms that have one meaning in English, and another meaning in most continental European languages.



Another item to add to this list:
_redaction_

English:
"edition", "deletion/censoring of text", etc.
Many/most other European languages:
"editorial staff/department (at a newspaper, etc.)", and in many/most Romance languages, "written composition"


----------



## Zareza

Zareza said:


> *far *= lighthouse


*far *= beacon // headlamp (Br Eng) - headlight (Am Eng)
*far*, faruri - generic term for *headlamp *or *tail light *or *indicator */ *blinker*


----------



## AndrasBP

*IGEN *means "yes" in Hungarian and "again" in Danish and Swedish.


----------



## Sardokan1.0

*French :*
- acheter (to buy)
- appeler (to call)
- bouffer (to blow, to inflate)
- maison (house)

*Sardinian :*
- agattare (to find)
- appeddare (to bark)
- buffare (to drink)
- masone (flock of sheeps)


----------



## Dymn

Gavril said:


> Another item to add to this list:
> _redaction_
> 
> English:
> "edition", "deletion/censoring of text", etc.
> Many/most other European languages:
> "editorial staff/department (at a newspaper, etc.)", and in many/most Romance languages, "written composition"


In Spanish it takes all of these three meanings.


----------



## AndrasBP

The word "*TUTAJ*" means "*here*" in Polish and "*raft*" in Hungarian (which is "tratwa" in Polish). The pronunciation is almost the same in the two languages.

It was funny to hear this word in Poland all the time.


----------



## bibax

Czech/English (mostly one-syllable words):

pot (sweat in Czech);
plot (fence);
plod (fruit, foetus);
knot (candle wick);
bob (bean);
bod (point);
lid (nation, folk);
led (ice);
let (_noun _fly);
i (also, even);
had (snake);
papal ([s/he] ate);
line ([it] wafts);
ovary (_plur. _boiled pork heads);
chat (_gen. plur._ cottages, chalets);
pat (_gen. plur._ heels);
not (_gen. plur._ notes);
slot (_gen. plur._ bad-weathers);
far (_gen. plur._ presbyteries);
bit (_pass. part._ beaten);
pad (_transgr._ having falled)


----------



## Zareza

In Romanian :


bibax said:


> Czech/English  *plod* (fruit, foetus)


*plod =* toddler



bibax said:


> Czech/English *pat* (_gen. plur._ heels)


*pat*= bed


----------



## Penyafort

Some more between *Catalan *and *Spanish *not mentioned before:
​*ampolla *'bottle'  _vs  _*ampolla *'blister', 'ampoule, vial'​*bolet *'mushroom'  _vs  _*boleto *'ticket'​*bordar *'to bark'  _vs  _*bordar *'to embroider'​*calces *'panties'  _vs  _*calces *'wedges'​*civada* 'oats'  _vs  _*cebada *'barley'​*fressa *'continuous sound/noise'  _vs  _*fresa *'strawberry'​*fusta *'wood'  _vs  _*fusta *'riding whip'​*golfes *'attic, loft'  _vs  _*golfas *'brazen slutty women'​*llevar-se* 'get up'  _vs  _*llevarse *'take away'​*pujar *[pu'ʒa] 'go up, lift, raise'  _vs  _*pujar *[pu'xaɾ] 'bid', 'struggle'​*rentar *'to wash'  _vs  _*rentar *'to yield', 'to let/rent out'​*trepar *'to drill'  _vs  _*trepar *'to climb'​*vaga *'strike, stoppage'  _vs  _*vaga *'lazy woman'​*venda *'sale'  _vs  _*venda *'bandage', 'blindfold'​


----------



## Armas

Finnish *novelli* is not a novel (Fin. _romaani_), nor a novella (Fin. _pienoisromaani_ "small novel"), but a short story. Swedish seems to use *novell* for short story as well.


----------



## nimak

Macedonian – Dutch
_almost same pronunciation: ɔ - o; ɛ - e; j /j/; nj /ɲ/_

јас (jas) "_I_" – jas "_jacket_"
орање (oranje) "_plowing_" – oranje "_orange_"
вол (vol) "_ox_" – vol "_full_"
сок (sok) "_juice_" – sok "_sock_"


----------



## Sardokan1.0

Penyafort said:


> Some more between *Catalan *and *Spanish *not mentioned before:
> ​*ampolla *'bottle'  _vs  _*ampolla *'blister', 'ampoule, vial'​*civada* 'oats'  _vs  _*cebada *'barley'​*fressa *'continuous sound/noise'  _vs  _*fresa *'strawberry'​*fusta *'wood'  _vs  _*fusta *'riding whip'​*llevar-se* 'get up'  _vs  _*llevarse *'take away'​




Catalan and Spanish vs *Sardinian

ampulla *- bottle
*sevada, sebada, seada*  - typical Sardinian specialty, made with bran, and stuffed with cheese
*fresa *- typical Sardinian bread, thin and crunchy
*fuste *- stick, rod, staff (Latin "fustem", accusative of "fustis" - stick, rod, staff)
*si levare, si leare* - to take away, to remove yourself


----------



## AndrasBP

I've just seen a "Hungarian" word in a Portuguese text. 

In Hungarian,"*fizesse*" is an imperative/subjunctive form of the verb "fizet" (= to pay), meaning "let him pay" or "he should pay" (pron. /'fizɛʃ:ɛ/).
In Portuguese, it is some form of "fazer" (= to make, to do). Is that right?


----------



## jazyk

Yes. It is the imperfective subjunctive in the first and third person singular. Se eu/ele fizesse - if I/he did/made.


----------



## Red Arrow

Some other "real" false friends: the English words "pen", "pencil" and "crayon" can be pretty confusing.

French:
*pinceau* = paintbrush
*crayon* = pencil
*stylo *= ballpoint pen
*plume* = fountain pen
*craie* = chalk or crayon

A crayon can also be called "crayon de cire", but crayon usually means pencil.

Dutch:
*penseel* = paintbrush
*potlood* (literally pot + lead) = pencil
*pen* = pen
*krijt *= chalk or crayon

Swedish:
*pensel* = paintbrush
*penna* = pen or pencil
*krita* = chalk or crayon

You can be more specific in Swedish by calling a pencil a "blyertspenna" (a graphite pen).


----------



## AndrasBP

I've just bought a jar of Dutch "*pindakaas*" (peanut butter) and found that "pinda" means "pussy" (the female parts) in Czech.


----------



## nimak

*Macedonian*: *дедо* (dedo) ['dɛdɔ] = "_grandfather_"
*Spanish* (and some other Romance languages): *dedo* = "_finger_"


----------



## AndrasBP

Hungarian:  *galiba *= mix-up, mess, confusion (the etymology is unknown)
Turkish: *galiba *= probably (I think it's also used in Macedonian and Bulgarian)


----------



## Şafak

*Turkish*: "durak" = a (bus) stop
*Russian*: "дурак" [durak] = a fool, an idiot

*Turkish*: "bardak" = a glass, a cup
*Russian*: "бардак" [bardak] = a mess


----------



## nimak

AndrasBP said:


> Turkish: *galiba *= probably (I think it's also used in Macedonian and Bulgarian)


 *галиба* ['galiba]


----------



## Penyafort

One that I still can't get used to between Italian and Catalan:

*Italian*: *aggiornamento *= update​*Catalan*: *ajornament *= postponement​
Whenever I see the word in Italian, the first thing I wonder is why that is being postponed...


----------



## jazyk

Ajourner also means postpone in French. And Portuguese has adiar for the same meaning. It looks like Italian is the odd one out here.


----------



## DarkChild

AndrasBP said:


> Hungarian:  *galiba *= mix-up, mess, confusion (the etymology is unknown)
> Turkish: *galiba *= probably (I think it's also used in Macedonian and *Bulgarian*)


We don't have that.


----------



## TheCrociato91

Penyafort said:


> One that I still can't get used to between Italian and Catalan:
> 
> *Italian*: *aggiornamento *= update
> *Catalan*: *ajornament *= postponement
> Whenever I see the word in Italian, the first thing I wonder is why that is being postponed...


The most common meaning of _aggiornamento_ is _update_, as you say. However, in limited contexts (mainly legal/political discourse and mainly in reference to a meeting or session) it does mean postponement:

Il rinviare ad altro giorno: _fu deliberato l’a_. _della riunione alla settimana seguente_.

aggiornaménto in Vocabolario - Treccani

The same applies to the verb "aggiornare" (aggiornare in Vocabolario - Treccani).


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## Welsh_Sion

One that I learnt after giving my first Welsh lesson in a Polish university. Cue much mirth from the students:

*Welsh: *cwrdd â = To meet (with) s.o.
*Polish: '*A very common swear word'

Work it out for yourselves!


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## AndrasBP

Welsh_Sion said:


> *Welsh: *cwrdd â = To meet (with) s.o.
> *Polish: '*A very common swear word'
> 
> Work it out for yourselves!


They sound similar, but not the same.
The Polish word is 'kurwa', which would be '*cwrfa*' if written in Welsh.


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## Perseas

*Greek*: Ναι *[ne] = yes
Korean*: 네 *[ne] = yes*


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## Welsh_Sion

Ok, @AndrasBP, I accept your being strict for accuracy - but it did help to break the ice between teacher and students on the first day, and probably helped the latter to remember the Welsh expression. (It also taught me one of my first few words of PL, too!)

In other matters, distinguish well this pair in the Brythonic languages:

*Welsh: *gwin coch 'red win'
*Breton:* gwin coc'h 'vin de merde'

Again, a teaching situation where I was teaching Welsh to Bretons in an Irish pub in Paris ...


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## clamor

*French: *gadoue (mud)
*Western Armenian:* gadu (cat)

*French:* tire ! (shoot!)
*WA:* tir! (put!)

*English:* miss
*WA:* mis (meat)


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## Welsh_Sion

With acknowledgements to @clamor:

*Western Armenian: * tir! (put!)
*Welsh: *tir /ti:r/ (land)

*Western Armenian: *mis (meat)
*Welsh: *mis /mi:s/ (month)

*Western Armenian:* gadu (cat)
*Welsh:* gadw /'gadu/ (a form of 'keep', verb.)


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## clamor

There are also:
*French: *allure (speed)
*Western Armenian:* alür (flour)

*French: *lev-er (raise, lift)
*Western Armenian:* lëv-al (wash)


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## Welsh_Sion

And by extension ...

*English:* allure (n.)/(vb.) (Fr. attrait/séduire)

[...]

*English:* lever (n.)/(vb.) (Fr. levier/extraire)


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## clamor

Welsh_Sion said:


> And by extension ...
> 
> *English:* allure (n.)/(vb.) (Fr. attrait/séduire)
> 
> [...]
> 
> *English:* lever (n.)/(vb.) (Fr. levier/extraire)



Yes but I tried to keep the grammatical class


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## Welsh_Sion

For the English: Did I not keep the part of speech - noun and verb?

Some of my Welsh examples, I admit do not ... - but 'month'/'meat' are both nouns.


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## clamor

For allure yes
For ''lever'' it was about the ''lev'' radical but doesn't matter
Your examples are interesting


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## Welsh_Sion

*'Lev'*

And don't forget the money they use in Bulgaria or Leon Trotsky's real first name then!


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## clamor

This one two:
*French: *tourte (pie, pronounced tught)
*WA: *tught (paper)

And of course:
*French:* coq (rooster)
*English:* cock (rooster and...something else)
*WA:* kok (lap)


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## AndrasBP

Welsh_Sion said:


> *'Lev'*
> 
> And don't forget the money they use in Bulgaria or Leon Trotsky's real first name then!


"Lev" means "lion" in Russian. It's also the original form of *Leo *Tolstoy's first name.


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## marco_2

AndrasBP said:


> They sound similar, but not the same.
> The Polish word is 'kurwa', which would be '*cwrfa*' if written in Welsh.


But he meant *kurde*, which is a euphenism for *kurwa*, a taboo word.


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## AndrasBP

marco_2 said:


> But he meant *kurde*, which is a euphenism for *kurwa*, a taboo word.


Ah, I see. And what does 'kurde' mean originally?


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## marco_2

AndrasBP said:


> Ah, I see. And what does 'kurde' mean originally?


It means nothing - the Poles use it, along with *kurna, kurczę *or *kurdelebele* to avoid an abovementioned taboo word.


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## Red Arrow

Belgian and Netherlandic Dutch have a few false friends as well:

lopen - walking in the Netherlands, running in Flanders
schoon - clean in the Netherlands, beautiful in Flanders
poepen - to poop in the Netherlands (onomatopoeia), to fuck in Flanders (from French poupée, originally "playing with dolls")


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## clamor

Two personal pronouns. 
Western Armenian *անի* _ani _(he, she) 
Hebrew *אני* _'ani_ (I)


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## Red Arrow

Another actual false friend:

Ancient Greek μήτηρ (méter) = mother
Dutch meter = godmother


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## Şafak

Russian: направо = turn right.
Bulgarian: направо = straight on.

Russian: стол = table.
Bulgarian: стол = chair.

Russian: шутка = joke.
Bulgarian: шутка = vagina.

Russian: гора = mountain.
Bulgarian: гора = forest.


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## elroy

Red Arrow said:


> lopen - walking in the Netherlands, running in Flanders


In German "laufen" has both meanings.  
If it's not clear from context sometimes you can disambiguate using "zu Fuß gehen" ("walk") and "rennen" ("run"). 


Şafak said:


> Russian: направо = turn right.
> Bulgarian: направо = straight on.


In French, "droit" = right and tout droit" = straight.


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## velisarius

Ancient Greek _σπείρα, spiral _in English and reborrowed as_ σπιράλ _in modern Greek (but not re-hellenicized). 

English - *spiral* (adjective/noun) coiling around a fixed point/ a helix 
Greek - *σπιράλ* (noun) An intrauterine device (IUD), a contraceptive coil/the spiral binding on a notebook

Every summer when the mosquitos start to bite, I go to buy mosquito coils and make a fool of myself by asking for "σπιράλ" for the mosquitos. I cannot rid my mind of that false friend. In Greek they're called "φιδάκια", little snakes.


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## AndrasBP

sör /ʃør/ - *beer*, Hungarian
шöр /ʃør/ - *milk*, Mari (a Finno-Ugric language spoken in Russia)


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## Şafak

What's beer in Hungary is milk in Russia.


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## Kaoss

Şafak said:


> What's beer in Hungary is milk in Russia.


The says a lot about russians


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## apmoy70

velisarius said:


> Ancient Greek _σπείρα, spiral _in English and reborrowed as_ σπιράλ _in modern Greek (but not re-hellenicized).
> 
> English - *spiral* (adjective/noun) coiling around a fixed point/ a helix
> Greek - *σπιράλ* (noun) An intrauterine device (IUD), a contraceptive coil/the spiral binding on a notebook
> 
> Every summer when the mosquitos start to bite, I go to buy mosquito coils and make a fool of myself by asking for "σπιράλ" for the mosquitos. I cannot rid my mind of that false friend. In Greek they're called "φιδάκια", little snakes.


Well, that's its colloquial name, formally it's called *«καπνογόνος σπείρα»* = "smoke-producing spiral (coil)"


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## Şafak

Kaoss said:


> The says a lot about russians


You mean Russians. Yep, it says that Russians are damn cool.


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## Penyafort

Russian: *конь* [konʲ] = horse
Catalan: *cony *[koɲ] = (_vulgar_) vulva

Russian: *род* [ɾot] = mouth
Catalan: *rot *[rot] = burp

Russian: *сука* [ˈsukə] = bitch
Catalan: *suca* [ˈsukə] = dip it in


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## Şafak

Penyafort said:


> Russian: *род* [ɾot] = mouth





Penyafort said:


> Russian: *рот* [ɾot] = mouth
> Catalan: *rot *[rot] = burp



No lo es. “*La boca*” significa “*рoт*”. “*Род*” significa “*la generación*” o “*el linaje*”.


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## apmoy70

Penyafort said:


> ...
> Russian: *сука* [ˈsukə] = bitch
> Catalan: *suca* [ˈsukə] = dip it in


In Tsakonian (the sole MoGreek dialect deriving from the ancient Doric Greek dialect) *σούκα* [ˈsuka] (neut. nom. pl.) = figs (*σούκο* [ˈsuko̞] is fig (neut. nom.)); in Standard Modern Greek after iotacism, the same word is *σύκο/σύκα* [ˈsiko̞] (neut. nom. sing.)/[ˈsika] (neut. nom pl.) < Classical neuter noun *σῦκον* sûkŏn = fig, probably a Mediterranean Wanderwort (compare Latin fīcus & Old Armenian թուզ (tʿuz))


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## Penyafort

Şafak said:


> No lo es. “*La boca*” significa “*рoт*”. “*Род*” significa “*la generación*” o “*el linaje*”.



¡Ups, errata realmente imperdonable! 

¡Gracias! _¡Es pasiva_! (<-another false friend )



apmoy70 said:


> In Tsakonian (the sole MoGreek dialect deriving from the ancient Doric Greek dialect) *σούκα* [ˈsuka] (neut. nom. pl.) = figs (*σούκο* [ˈsuko̞] is fig (neut. nom.)); in Standard Modern Greek after iotacism, the same word is *σύκο/σύκα* [ˈsiko̞] (neut. nom. sing.)/[ˈsika] (neut. nom pl.) < Classical neuter noun *σῦκον* sûkŏn = fig, probably a Mediterranean Wanderwort (compare Latin fīcus & Old Armenian թուզ (tʿuz))



And this is why I always tell people who write ps- in Spanish without the p-, that if they write _sicología _instead of _psicología_, they're dealing with figs, not the soul!


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## Włoskipolak 72

There's a lot of funny false friends between Polish and Czech .

Czech : nápad  = idea, concept .    Pol. (pomysł) but we say: tok myślenia = train of thought
Polish : napad  = assault , attack.  Czech (útok) .....

Polish : chudy  = thin
Czech : chudý =  poor

Polish : miłość = love
Czech : milost = mercy

Polish : odbyt = anus
Czech : odbyt = sale , market ...

Polish : opona = tyre
Czech : opona = curtain

Polish : panna = Miss , colleen
Czech : panna = virgin

Polish : nieprzytomny = unconscious 
Czech : nepřítomný   =  absent

Polish : zachód = sunset
Czech : záchod = WC


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## Cork Irish

Well in Russian *шукать* is a dialectal word meaning "to look for". And in Ukrainian it is *шукати*, and in Belarusian *шукаць*. Apparently these are borrowings from the Polish *szukać*, which comes from the German *söken*. But in Czech *šukat* means "to fuck".


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## Cork Irish

These are not strictly false friends, but many non-Irish people will have been tripped up by the signs for Ladies and Gents (= toilets) in Ireland. *Fir* and *Mná*. Someone who didn't know Irish might think mná was the men's loos and fir the ladies', but fir means "men" and mná "women".


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## Şafak

Cork Irish said:


> Well in Russian *шукать* is a dialectal word meaning "to look for".


I’ve never used nor heard it. The only place you could learn the word from is jail.


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## Cork Irish

Şafak said:


> I’ve never used nor heard it. The only place you could learn the word from is jail.


Thanks. I think that when the Russian Wiktionary lists words as "dialectal", it often means they are found only in the southern Russian area adjacent to the Ukraine. (In linguistic terms, what the Russians might regard as southern Russian dialects could easily be Ukrainian dialects, or dialects transitional to Ukrainian.)

Wiktionary has:

диал., прост. искать, разыскивать ◆ Теперь и пойдут *шукать* по всем приискам, кто продавал Синицыну золото…  _Д. Н. Мамин-Сибиряк, «Золотуха», 1883 г. (цитата из Национального корпуса русского языка, см. Список литературы)_
But Mamin-Sibiryak was from near Perm. There are fairly recent examples in the Russian National Corpus, but I accept your point that this is not standard Russian.


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## Włoskipolak 72

Górnołużycki (_szuknyć_ – ‘szepnąć, podszepnąć’). Czasowniki _szepnąć_ i _szukać_ byłby w świetle takiej teorii ściśle powiązane etymologicznie.

In Upper Sorbian ( _szuknyć_ – ‘szepnąć, podszepnąć’ = whisper ) The verbs _szepnąć_ i _szukać _could be strictly related  etymologically.


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## Perseas

Both Greek and Serbian share the forms "kameno, kameni, kamena, kamenu, kamene".
(Greek spelling: καμένο, καμένη/καμένοι, καμένα, καμένου, καμένε).
In Greek it's past participle meaning "burnt", in Serbian it's adjective referring to "stone".

Also, in Esperanto "kameno" is "fireplace".

P.S. Presumably this word exists in other Slavic languages too.


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## Włoskipolak 72

Perseas said:


> Both Greek and Serbian share the forms "kameno, kameni, kamena, kamenu, kamene".
> (Greek spelling: καμένο, καμένη/καμένοι, καμένα, καμένου, καμένε).
> In Greek it's past participle meaning "burnt", in Serbian it's adjective referring to "stone".
> 
> Also, in Esperanto "kameno" is "fireplace".
> 
> P.S. Presumably this word exists in other Slavic languages too.


Yes that's right :  камень, камък , kámen , kamień , kameň, камінь etc.
In Greek : πέτρα, Italian : pietra , Romanian : piatră , French : pierre , Spanish: piedra , Catalan: pedra. etc


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## Gavril

Some more cases where English routinely has false friends with continental European languages:


1.
English _politics_

French _politique_, Spanish _política_, German _Politik_, Polish _polytyka_, etc.

The continental words mean both "politics" and "policy", whereas the English term only has the first of these meanings.


2.
English _society_

Romance _societé_, _sociedad_, _sociedade_, _società_

The English and Romance terms overlap in some of their meanings, but the Romance words also have the meaning of "company, firm, business organization", which isn't normally conveyed by English _society_.

(NB: I'm not sure if the meaning of "company"/"business" is present in Romanian _societate_ or Catalan _societat_, but all the other main Romance languages seem to have it.

I'm also not sure if Portuguese _sociedade_ refers to any business whatsoever – so far, I've only found the meanings "joint venture, partnership".)


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## Red Arrow

This also used to trip me up in French. Dutch has politiek (politics) and beleid (policy).

English has the word "president" which can be the leader of a country or a *company*. Dutch and French don't have that.


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## Red Arrow

One thing I can't seem to learn naturally is writing implements! I _think_ I know these words, but every time I have to use them, I get confused due to all of the false friends.

The English word PENCIL looks like the word for brush in other languages.
The English word CRAYON looks like French crayon.
The Swedish word PENNA is used for both pens and pencils.



EnglishFrenchSwedishDutchpenun styloen (bläck)pennade penfountain penune penne, un stylo-plumeen reservoarpennade vulpenballpoint pen, biroun stylo à bille, un stylo-bille, un bicen kulspetspennade balpen, de stylo, de bicpencilun crayonen (blyerts)pennahet potloodcolo(u)red pencilun crayon de couleuren färgpennahet kleurpotloodchalkune craieen kritahet krijtcrayon, (wax) pastelune craie de cire, une craie grasseen färgkritahet waskrijt, de wasco(paint)brushun pinceauen penselhet penseel, de kwast, de verfborstel


Furthermore, Dutch distinguishes between a big brush like this (verfborstel, kwast) and a thin brush (penseel), but English and French don't make such a distinction, and I don't think Swedish does either.

So Dutch speakers use four words (pen, potlood, kwast/verfborstel, penseel) whereas Swedes only use two words (penna, pensel)!


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## clamor

Red Arrow said:


> EnglishFrenchSwedishDutchpenun styloen (bläck)pennade penfountain penune penne, un stylo-plumeen reservoarpennade vulpenballpoint pen, biroun stylo à bille, un stylo-bille, un bicen kulspetspennade balpen, de stylo, de bicpencilun crayonen (blyerts)pennahet potloodcolo(u)red pencilun crayon de couleuren färgpennahet kleurpotloodchalkune craieen kritahet krijtcrayon, (wax) pastelune craie de cire, une craie grasseen färgkritahet waskrijt, de wasco(paint)brushun pinceauen penselhet penseel, de kwast, de verfborstel


I never heard ''une penne'' in French


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## Red Arrow

clamor said:


> I never heard ''une penne'' in French


Me neither, but surprisingly, it is the first word mentioned in this dictionary. I suppose it is old-fashioned.


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## Welsh_Sion

"Penne" in French in this context refers to the tail or wing feather of a bird (probably something like a goose) used as 'a quill' - another old-fashioned English word.

*penne*​ 
* nf  *
1      (zoologie)   grande plume de l'aile ou de la queue, chez les oiseaux 

Source: penne definition | French definition dictionary | Reverso

You could at a stretch call it 'a pen' in English, I suppose, but most people associate the word today with 'Parker's' or 'biros'.


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## Red Arrow

Penne is Latin for feather.

Still, the dictionary mentions penne under vulpen/biro, not under veer/feather (= plume).

Maybe the dictionary Mijnwoordenboek is wrong?


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## Awwal12

Cork Irish said:


> But Mamin-Sibiryak was from near Perm. There are fairly recent examples in the Russian National Corpus, but I accept your point that this is not standard Russian.


According to dictionaries it's present in south-western Russian dialects, but it's not standard Russian indeed. I've actually heard it in Russian only from ethnic Ukrainians or in regional communities of Ukrainian descent (recognizing themselves as ethnic Russians but speaking what's essentially an Ukrainian dialect heavily influenced by Standard Russian).


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## DearPrudence

Red Arrow said:


> Still, the dictionary mentions penne under vulpen/biro, not under veer/feather (= plume).
> 
> Maybe the dictionary Mijnwoordenboek is wrong?


Yes, I would say so; even the (old-fashioned) dictionary of the Académie française doesn't have this sense.

(and for "crayon", I would prefer something like "crayon gras", rather than something with "craie")


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## Red Arrow

Another actual false friend:

Icelandic *flana* = to rush (the original meaning)
French *flâner* = to stroll, to walk slowly  

And another false friend?

Dutch *file* = traffic jam (so driving very slowly)
French *filer* = to go fast 



Red Arrow said:


> Penne is Latin for feather.


I should have said penna.


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## Gavril

I've collected some good ones in the last several months:

1.
US/Canadian English *mail* "postal service" (or letters/packages/etc. delivered through this service)

In numerous other languages, _mail_ (or a similar-sounding word) refers specifically to e-mail: for example, German _*Mail*_, French _*mail/mél*_, Swedish _*mejl*_, and Polish _*mail/mejl*_, refer to e-mail (as a service), or to an individual e-mail message, but never (as far as I know) to traditional postal delivery.

--------------------


2.
English _*to pack up*_ is semantically similar to the more basic verb _to pack_ (albeit not quite synonymous): it means to place something in a pack, bag or similar, for the purpose of transporting it. (For example, ”It's time to pack up our sleeping bags and set off.”)

By contrast, Swedish _*packa upp*_ means "to unpack" – i.e., to remove the contents of a pack/package.

(I'm not sure if the object of _packa upp_ is normally the pack/bag itself, or the object(s) inside it. English _unpack_ can take either.)


-----------------------

3.
French _*abonner*_ "to subscribe (to a service, etc.)", German _*abonnieren*_ "to subscribe", Scandinavian _*abonnere/abonnera*_ "to subscribe", Russian _*abonirovat'sja*_ "to subscribe"

vs.

Spanish _*abonar*_ "to subscribe", but also "to pay, settle" and "to fertilize" (cf. _*abono*_ "fertilizer, compost, installment (of a payment)", etc.)

vs.

Portuguese _*abonar*_ "to endorse", "to attest", "to provide (money) in advance", etc. (_abono_: "allowance", "advance", "bonus")


(NB: I don't know about the semantic nuances of all the words that I translated "subscribe" above – e.g. not all of them are necessarily the main word for "subscribe" in their respective languages – but I have at least found "subscribe" as a translation of these terms in somewhat reliable sources.)


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## Kaoss

Gavril said:


> I've collected some good ones in the last several months:
> 
> 1.
> US/Canadian English *mail* "postal service" (or letters/packages/etc. delivered through this service)
> 
> In numerous other languages, _mail_ (or a similar-sounding word) refers specifically to e-mail: for example, German _*Mail*_, French _*mail/mél*_, Swedish _*mejl*_, and Polish _*mail/mejl*_, refer to e-mail (as a service), or to an individual e-mail message, but never (as far as I know) to traditional postal delivery.
> 
> --------------------
> 
> 
> 2.
> English _*to pack up*_ is semantically similar to the more basic verb _to pack_ (albeit not quite synonymous): it means to place something in a pack, bag or similar, for the purpose of transporting it. (For example, ”It's time to pack up our sleeping bags and set off.”)
> 
> By contrast, Swedish _*packa upp*_ means "to unpack" – i.e., to remove the contents of a pack/package.
> 
> (I'm not sure if the object of _packa upp_ is normally the pack/bag itself, or the object(s) inside it. English _unpack_ can take either.)
> 
> 
> -----------------------
> 
> 3.
> French _*abonner*_ "to subscribe (to a service, etc.)", German _*abonnieren*_ "to subscribe", Scandinavian _*abonnere/abonnera*_ "to subscribe", Russian _*abonirovat'sja*_ "to subscribe"
> 
> vs.
> 
> Spanish _*abonar*_ "to subscribe", but also "to pay, settle" and "to fertilize" (cf. _*abono*_ "fertilizer, compost, installment (of a payment)", etc.)
> 
> vs.
> 
> Portuguese _*abonar*_ "to endorse", "to attest", "to provide (money) in advance", etc. (_abono_: "allowance", "advance", "bonus")
> 
> 
> (NB: I don't know about the semantic nuances of all the words that I translated "subscribe" above – e.g. not all of them are necessarily the main word for "subscribe" in their respective languages – but I have at least found "subscribe" as a translation of these terms in somewhat reliable sources.)


In Spanish can have both the French and the Portuguese meaning. Plus to fertilize...


----------

