# Slovak: false friends



## laur&a

Hi,
What is the Slovak equivalent for "false friends"?


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## kirahvi

I think it's _falošní priatelia_.


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## laur&a

I mean " an English word that looks like a Slovak word, but has different meaning"


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## kirahvi

Yes, those are called _falošní priatelia_, as far as I know.

Like _on_ (the preposition, English) and _on_ (he, Slovak).


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## Azori

medzijazykové homonymá

zradné slová


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## kirahvi

Is _falošní priatelia _just a translation from the English term, Azori? I think I've only ever heard my friends, who are somewhat language geeks but have no real background in linguistics, use that word. It's also mentioned under the English title on this wikibook.


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## Azori

There are some articles on this topic online which mention "falošní priatelia", so I guess it can be used. I'd prefer to use "medzijazykové homonymá", though. "Falošní priatelia" might sound a bit vague / odd, depending on the context.


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## laur&a

Thank you, Azori, you've been very helpful


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## miwalko

"Zradne slova" is the term commonly used in linguistic literature. Do not use "falosni priatelia", that would refer to persons


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## Azori

By the way, singular forms:

falošný priateľ
zradné slovo
medzijazykové homonymum

An article here on Slovak-Belarusian false friends (pdf, p. 70-75) says that all of these terms are used:


> ...lexikálne jednotky s odlišným významom a rovnakou, resp. podobnou formou, ktoré nazývame *medzijazykové homonymá* alebo *zradné slová*, ale zaužívaný je aj termín *falošní priatelia* (prekladateľa).


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