True false friends 2

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Linguaphile
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Re: True false friends 2

Postby Linguaphile » 2024-04-13, 19:06

(en) to reverse to turn around, transpose, revoke
(es) reversar to vomit, to burp

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Re: True false friends 2

Postby Linguaphile » 2024-05-05, 0:36

(en) pulverise, (en-US) pulverize to reduce to dust; to destroy by crushing into small fragments
(es) pulverizar, (pt) pulverizar to reduce to dust; to defeat; to spray liquid droplets
(fr) pulvériser to reduce to dust; to defeat; to spray liquid droplets

(es) Pulveriza las plantas de interior cada dos días.
(en) She sprays the houseplants every other day.
(not: She *pulverizes the houseplants every other day. :silly: )

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linguoboy
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Re: True false friends 2

Postby linguoboy » 2024-05-22, 20:31

I thought this one was fun:

(es) molón cool, great
(es-MX) molón annoying

The Spanish word is from the slang verb molar "to rule, to kick ass" whereas the Mexican word is from the verb moler "to grind (down)".
"Richmond is a real scholar; Owen just learns languages because he can't bear not to know what other people are saying."--Margaret Lattimore on her two sons

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Re: True false friends 2

Postby Linguaphile » 2024-05-25, 5:32

Zhuang (za) cien one thousand (1,000) /ɕiːn˨˦/
(es) cien one hundred (100) /ˈθjẽn/

(Chinese flag above represents the Zhuang language.)

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Re: True false friends 2

Postby Linguaphile » 2024-06-02, 16:33

(et) kääne turn; declension
(fi) käännös turn; translation

Sometimes I forget this so more than once I've clicked on "käännös" on dictionary sites expecting it to give me the declension, and been surprised when it gave me a translation to some other language instead.

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Re: True false friends 2

Postby Linguaphile » 2024-06-17, 21:27

More often than confusing actual genuine "false friends", this is what I do more often:
(for example) I was trying to come up with the Estonian word for "traces", as in "no traces were left behind". The correct word is jäljed. But what I did come up with? Silly me, I ended up with rasted, which means absolutely nothing, but apparently this was my brain's weird cross between jäljed and the Spanish word for the same thing, which is rastros.
:silly:

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Re: True false friends 2

Postby Linguaphile » 2024-06-21, 5:01

(en) fluid liquid; flowing
(es) fluido liquid, gaseous; flowing; electrical current
There is a lot of overlap in the meanings, but the issue here is that one of most common meanings of English fluid in general usage is "in a liquid state (as opposed to solid, gas or plasma)" whereas in Spanish fluido is "in a liquid, gaseous or plasma state (as opposed to solid)".

(en) occasional from time to time, not very often; for a specific occasion
(es) ocasional temporary; chance; for a specific occasion
An encuentro ocasional is a chance encounter (and probably happens only once).

(en) eventual final; occurring inevitably after a long period
(es) eventual sporadic; temporary; provisional; possible
A trabajador eventual is a temporary worker (not one who eventually gets around to working).

aleph.0
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Re: True false friends 2

Postby aleph.0 » 2024-06-30, 9:15

Linguaphile wrote:(en) pulverise, (en-US) pulverize to reduce to dust; to destroy by crushing into small fragments
(es) pulverizar, (pt) pulverizar to reduce to dust; to defeat; to spray liquid droplets
(fr) pulvériser to reduce to dust; to defeat; to spray liquid droplets


(it) polverizzare - to wipe out, to annihilate (dictionaries also list the "reduce to dust" and "spray liquid droplets" meanings too, personally I'd never use polverizzare to mean those things but maybe it's just me, or maybe those meanings are quite obsolete/technical)

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Re: True false friends 2

Postby Linguaphile » 2024-07-17, 22:31

(en) ambulance emergency vehicle for transporting medical patients
(et) ambulants small clinic, dispensary; emergency vehicle for transporting medical patients
(de) Ambulanz outpatient clinic; emergency vehicle for transporting medical patients

Jaamaarst näitas ambulantsi: tipp-topp ruumid, suur opituba, palat kolme spetsvoodiga, hambaravitool, eraldi ruum ravimetele....
The station doctor showed the clinic: top-of-the-line rooms, a large operating room, a ward with three specialized beds, a dental chair, a separate pharmacy area....

h34
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Re: True false friends 2

Postby h34 » 2024-10-11, 4:54

(pl) krótki short
(ru) кроткий mild, gentle
((ru) короткий short)
Corrections always appreciated.

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linguoboy
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Re: True false friends 2

Postby linguoboy » 2024-11-05, 18:54

This one really threw me:

(en) inhabited
(ca) inhabitat uninhabited
"Richmond is a real scholar; Owen just learns languages because he can't bear not to know what other people are saying."--Margaret Lattimore on her two sons

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Re: True false friends 2

Postby Dormouse559 » 2024-11-08, 19:08

Dormouse559 wrote: (en) courtier - noble; member of a royal court
(fr) courtier - broker, stockbroker

When I posted this in 2016, I evidently forgot to check the other implied false friend. How to say "courtier" in French?

(fr) courtisan - courtier, member of a royal court
(en) courtesan - female prostitute, especially with high-status clients

The French feminine courtisane does mean “prostitute,” though, and that’s where the English comes from.
N'hésite pas à corriger mes erreurs.

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Dormouse559
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Re: True false friends 2

Postby Dormouse559 » 2024-11-21, 5:21

(en) marionette - puppet controlled by strings
(fr) marionnette - any puppet
N'hésite pas à corriger mes erreurs.

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Re: True false friends 2

Postby Linguaphile » 2024-11-23, 20:44

(es) inspeccionar to inspect
íntspekuarheni to sell
Both are languages of (es-MX) Mexico.


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