I want to put together a list of words that mean different things in English than another language?

Question

for instance, in Swedish:
bra = good
slut = done / end
sex = six
in Persian:
barf = snow (mommy mommy, can I go play in the barf?)

any language welcome! and thanks!

for instance, in Swedish:
bra = good
s lut = done / end
sex = six
in Persian:
barf = snow (mommy mommy, can I go play in the barf?)

any language welcome! and thanks!

please, the words have to be an actual word in both languages

Answer 1

Afrikaans......English
put................pit
see...............ocean
seer..............hurt
keel...............throat
rug................back
nee................no
veer...............feather
name.............names
gene..............genes
gate................holes
nag.................night
lag...................laugh
been................leg
sin...................sentence
dig...................stupid
lap....................cloth
sap...................juice
steel.................steal
pop...................doll


There are lots more in Afrikaans, but too many to give as an answer. Afrikaans is one of South Africa's 11 official languages. All the words listed under Afrikaans can be used in the English language as well.

Answer 2

Words that appear to be similar in spelling and meaning but which actually differ are called false cognates. There are tons of French-English false cognates because there are so many words in the English language that have been adopted from French, and some of these have changed meanings over the centuries. Here are some of the more common French false cognates, with their correct translation in English:

French...........English
assiste...........attend
attend............wait
bras...............arm
célibataire......single
corps.............body
crayon...........pencil
douche...........shower
faculté............university campus
figure.............face
football...........soccer
front..............forehead
lecture...........reading
librairie..........bookstore
pièce............room/coin/play
quitte.............leave
patron............boss
raisin.............grape
reste.............stay
robe..............dress
slip................underwear

For more examples, see link below:

Answer 3

In Polish my favourite is an English word "jest" (= a joke) which in Polish means "is" like in "he is". Here is a list of some "false friends" in different languages: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_false_friends

Answer 4

we used to have a joke in greece when younger, you ask someone to tell you the phrase in english " tea sleep for us?" well in greek that question asks "what kind of underwear are you wearing?" tea=what, sleep= underwear, for us= wear (you, for o =wear (me)
other words well the word "moon" with an "i" at the end is the female sex organ, the word "car" with an "o" at the end means a gharry
i have also heard that the name Jim in Thailand means the male sex organ

Answer 5

Ndinokuda - I love you
Mangwanani - Good Morning
Manheru - Goog evening
Masikati - Good afternoon
Makadii - How are you
Doro - Beer

(This is shona - zimbabwean language)

Answer 6

In French, a seal is "un phoque", pronounced very like a different word in English.

"Gift" is German for poison.

Answer 7

good=καλό(pronounced kalo)
sex=σέξ(pronounced the same with english)
snow=χιόνι(pronounced hioni,as h-ome)!
these are greek words...!

Answer 8

Apparently "susu" means milk in malay, you may want to double check though :-)

Answer 9

sex: six (in Latin)
forte: strong (in Italian)
Bad: bath (in German)
cane: dog (in Italian)
via: street/road in the addresses (in Italian)

Answer 10

bill in persian =spade in English
in in persian =this
on in persian=that
toe in persian=you(one person)
qui in french = qui in persian=who
ya in german=ya in persian(means OR)