Mr. Zhang / 张老师
プロの講師
False friends (false cognates) between languages

I don't know about you, but I find false friends entertaining. Anytime someone gets two similar sounding words that have completely different definitions mixed up, it can lead to some pretty funny moments.

The most enjoyable for me is when English speakers misuse embarazada when trying to speak Spanish, mistaking it to mean embarrassed. Too often I've heard:

"Ay, lo siento. Estoy embarazada."

It's even funnier if a man says it, since embarazada actually means pregnant =)

What are some of your favorite false friends (between any languages)?

2017年1月30日 22:36
コメント · 1

Well, in Brazilian portuguese we have a lot of false friends. For example:

Apologize: in portuguese 'apologize' seems a word 'apologia'. 'Apologia' meaning defend something.


 

2017年1月30日
Mr. Zhang / 张老师
語学スキル
中国語 (普通話), 中国語 (その他), 英語, フランス語, 日本語, スペイン語, スウェーデン語
言語学習
フランス語, 日本語, スペイン語, スウェーデン語