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False Friends Amongst Separate Languages | Aussietranslations Blog

There are many words in English that are used in other languages but they do not have quite the same meanings. There is a special term given for these words and that is false friends.

Examples of false friends

The word angel in English means a winged supernatural being, but in German, the word means ‘fishing rod’, and in Dutch, ‘sting’.

Bank in English is the place where the money is kept safe, or ‘to bank on’ means a trustworthy person. It also means the sloping edge of a river. However, in Dutch, the word bank means ‘to cough’.

A standalone structure on a farm in English is a barn, while in Dutch it is children.

Bat in English means a bat used when hitting a ball or a flying mammal.

The English word ‘beer’ in Dutch means a bear.

‘Big’ in Dutch means a baby pig.

Car in English means because in French.

Conclusion

Languages certainly share similar spellings even if the meanings are different. If you need to get some documents translated

this is when you have to choose a highly experienced translator who will understand how colloquialisms, figurative speech and idioms are used in the two languages. This means no misunderstanding will occur if words in another language look like English words but in fact have a totally different meaning. You may make that mistake but an experienced translator will not.

 

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Uploaded on July 9, 2019