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Languages Home
- Your Say
  - All topics:
    - Don't try this abroad
    - Lost for words
    - False friends
    - Phrasebook classics
    - Weird words
    - Learning tips
    - Going abroad
    - Language and identity
    - Tongue twisters
    - China diary
    - diary
    - Spain diary
    - diary

Newsletter

Your say - False friends 2q556j

horno-oven

False friends 3jp4v

Cognates - words that sound similar in different languages - can be very helpful when learning another lingo. But sometimes they can turn out to be 'false friends' and mean something completely different. These contain some examples of adult humour.

French

Séverine - Raped cheese (English/French)
Ann - Built like Jacques Cousteau
Ann - Birthday surprise (French/English)
Louis - Hurt yourself! (French/English)
Lar - Can you dig it? (French/English)
Jenny - Contain your excitement (French/English)
Mike - Piles of embarrassment (French/English)
Stephanie - Safer jam (English/French)
Suzanne - Too many lonely nights? (French/English)
David - I am the champignon!(English/French)
Pauline - Nude portrait (Dutch/French)
Chloé - Bordeaux ice-cream (German/French)

Spanish

John - Shameless (Spanish/English)
Godot - Giving up a bad habit (Spanish/English)
Natalie - Lots of fun in Brasil (Spanish/Portuguese)
Caron - Nice but not sympathetic (Spanish/English)
Kristie - Linda? No, Kristie... (Spanish/English)
John - The pen is mightier than ... (Spanish/Italian)
George - Hot and horno (English/Spanish)
Victor - Miraculous conception (English/Spanish)
Jane - Revolutionary shoes and man-riding (English/Spanish)
Ben - Llama, what's your name? (Spanish/Quechuan)
Ronaldo - A sty in my eye (English/Spanish)
Pammie - Jump! (Spanish/Portuguese)
Jaime - Bird flu (English/Spanish)

German

Danny - Housing problems? (English/German)
Asmaa - False enemies (English/German)
Alex - Getting fit
Lissa - Unexpected fan base (Welsh/German)
Iain - Hello good-bye (Dutch/German)
Polly - Special dietary requirements (Dutch/German)
Turid - Straightforward invitation (Norwegian/German)
Josh - Be careful - it's a gift! (English/German)
Dorothy - Who is the bathroom? (English/German)
Nancy - Bad hotels and schools for nutters (English/German)
Matt - I am a doughnut! (English/German)
Jochen - Light as hell (English/German)
Simona - Cheers, stupid! (Romanian/German)
Inge - Delighted Dutch, crazy Germans (Dutch/German)
Gary - Vomit? Dammit! (English/German)
Chloé - Bordeaux ice-cream (German/French)
Jessica - I want to become a steak (English/German)
Ronaldo - Had enough? (Dutch/German)
Chris - Damn, missed! (German/English)
Lloyd - Dream job terrorist (German/English)
Brita - A vehicle called lobster (English/German)
Malin - German speciality? (Norwegian/German)
Susanne - Explicit advertising (Swedish/German)
Stefanie - Mist! Common false friends in German (English/German)
Kev - Not the doctor (English/German)
Grant - What nice Bubis you have (English/German)
Patrícia - No offence intended (Portuguese/English/German)
Gemma - Ratty German (English/German)

Italian

Riccardo - Attualmente and actually (English/Italian)
Marco - Eventualmente and eventually (English/Italian)
Rose - From the forest (Italian/English)
Gordon - Coldo (Italian/English)
John - The pen is mightier than ... (Spanish/Italian)
Malin - Antique antics (English/Italian)

Portuguese

Natalie - Lots of fun in Brasil (Spanish/Portuguese)
Patrícia - No offence intended (Portuguese/English/German)
Pammie - Jump! (Spanish/Portuguese)

Russian

Gulnara - This is the bus stop, you fool! (Russian/Turkish)
Greg - An unusual taste (English/Russian)

Swedish

Susanne - Explicit advertising (Swedish/German)
Dina - Exit through the backside (English/Swedish)
Richard - Kisse kisse! (English/Swedish)
Chris - That's kräpp! (English/Swedish)
Richard - Dubbelkrapp at the supermarket (English/Swedish)

Polish

Zach B - Open the door or else (Polish/Ukrainian)
Jan - It's all English anyway! (English/Polish)
Tony - Super what? (English/Polish)

Welsh

Llyr ap Iwan - Yes, difficult (Welsh/Czech)
Ceri - Tinned what? (Welsh/English)

Dutch

BertBert - It's a zin (Dutch/English)
BertBert - Taking the douche (Dutch/English)
Iain - Hello good-bye (Dutch/German)
Polly - Special dietary requirements (Dutch/German)
Inge - Delighted Dutch, crazy Germans (Dutch/German)
Chris - They've got to have balls (English/Dutch)
EuroBazz - Building what? (English/Dutch)
Pauline - Nude portrait (Dutch/French)
Ronaldo - Had enough? (Dutch/German)
Inge - Technical bluff (English/Dutch)
Peter - Horny banana (English/Dutch)
Gemma - Horny banana (English/Dutch)
Pieter - Hello pretty! (Finnish/Dutch)
Inge - Who are you today? (English/Dutch)
Inge - To panic or not to panic (English/Dutch)
Sean - Chicken for breakfast (Dutch/English)
Julia - Roomful of slags (English/Dutch)

Turkish

Kate - How to greet a Turk (English/Turkish)
Turkuaz - I am I am and other Turkish false friends (English/Turkish)
Gulnara - This is the bus stop, you fool! (Russian/Turkish)
Lucha - Tuna Can Hotel (English/Turkish)
Dilara - Yes is the new no (Turkish/Japanese)
Amr - Do you want to eat Egypt? (Turkish/English)

Norwegian

Malin - German speciality? (Norwegian/German)
Turid - Straightforward invitation (Norwegian/German)
Brita - A vehicle called lobster (English/Norwegian)

Finnish

Czech

Dana - Teachers in closets (English/Czech)
Vera - Attention, big disgrace! (Bulgarian/Czech)
Llyr ap Iwan - Yes, difficult (Welsh/Czech)

Other

Sundeep A - Cut - real friends (Hindi/English)
Ali - Causing quite a fuss (Arabic/English)
Vera - Attention, big disgrace! (Bulgarian/Czech)
Llyr ap Iwan - Yes, difficult (Welsh/Czech)
Paul - Not the mama (English/Georgian)
Brita - A vehicle called lobster (English/Danish)
Simona - Cheers, stupid! (Romanian/German)
Drew - Beer? Beer! (Hungarian/English)
Ben - Llama, what's your name? (Spanish/Quechuan)
Alan - Male? Female? (Irish/English)

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