# Any unrelated "words" have meaning in three or more languages? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 16, 2004, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-unrelated-words-have-meaning-in-three-or-more-languages/240375 "2004-04-16T15:46:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2004, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-unrelated-words-have-meaning-in-three-or-more-languages/240375/1 "2004-04-16T15:46:54Z")
In this thread, what I mean by “word” is specifically “a given set of Roman alphabet letters, not including diacritics on vowels”. Transliterations from non-Roman-alphabet languages (e.g. Arabic, Russian) are excluded. So anyway, the kind of words I’m thinking of are spelled the same in more than one language, but have different, unrelated meanings (IOW, are not cognates). Here are three examples that work across two languages: English **dove** “a kind of bird” Italian **dove** “where” English **chat** “a casual converstion” French **chat** “cat” English **also** “and, furthermore” German **also** “therefore” … I am wondering if there are similar examples that work across three or more Roman-alphabet languages. Vowel diacritics can be ignored, but not consonantal diacritics (i.e. English **canon** is not a match for Spanish **cañon** , but English **resume** “begin again” matches French **resumé** “summary”) What word would be the champ? Can anyone come up with matches among four, five, or more languages? To be clear: words that are clearly recent international borrowings do not count. Words like **taxi** and **fax** don’t qualify. Note also that for this reason, English **resumé** “C.V.” would _not_ match French **resumé**. Lastly, when I say “Roman-alphabet language”, I mean more than European languages. If you know of matches in Swahili, Turkish, Malagasy, Hawaiian, etc., feel free to include them. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2004, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-unrelated-words-have-meaning-in-three-or-more-languages/240375/2 "2004-04-16T15:52:02Z")
The first one that comes to mind is **leer** : In English, a lascivious gaze. In Spanish, to read. In German, empty. (Pronounced differently in each case.) ---
**Author:** ![Fish\_Cheer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fish_cheer/32/17179_2.png) [@Fish\_Cheer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fish_Cheer)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2004, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-unrelated-words-have-meaning-in-three-or-more-languages/240375/3 "2004-04-16T15:52:29Z")
English **ass** “donkey” German **Ass** “ace” ---
**Author:** ![Fish\_Cheer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fish_cheer/32/17179_2.png) [@Fish\_Cheer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fish_Cheer)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2004, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-unrelated-words-have-meaning-in-three-or-more-languages/240375/4 "2004-04-16T15:55:37Z")
Ah, and in German, **Kind** means “child”. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2004, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-unrelated-words-have-meaning-in-three-or-more-languages/240375/5 "2004-04-16T16:01:15Z")
In German, **gift** means “poison.” So beware of Germans bearing gifts. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2004, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-unrelated-words-have-meaning-in-three-or-more-languages/240375/6 "2004-04-16T16:04:32Z")
**Chuck, fishcheer** : you’ve found some doublets. Those are pretty abundant. Can you come up with any triplets? Do **ass** , **kind** , and \*\*gift \*\* mean anything in any additional languages (maybe Scandinavian languages?)? ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2004, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-unrelated-words-have-meaning-in-three-or-more-languages/240375/7 "2004-04-16T16:06:33Z")
> [@bordelond](#): > > I am wondering if there are similar examples that work across three or more Roman-alphabet languages. Quoting from my OP for clarification. **Biffy’s** example is perfect. Thanks, all! ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2004, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-unrelated-words-have-meaning-in-three-or-more-languages/240375/8 "2004-04-16T16:25:23Z")
Not that I have any to add, but words like that are called “false cognates” or “false friends”. Actually, here’s one…“trots”. In English, it’s a way a horse can run. Doesn’t it mean something like “stubborn” in Swedish and “proud” in Dutch? ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2004, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-unrelated-words-have-meaning-in-three-or-more-languages/240375/9 "2004-04-16T16:39:37Z")
> [@Captain Amazing](#): > > Not that I have any to add, but words like that are called “false cognates” or “false friends”. _Faux amis_, or “false friends”, also includes words that are spelled merely _approximately_ the same. While all examples in this thread would certainly be _faux amis_, not all \*faux amis \* would qualify under the conditions of the OP. ---
**Author:** ![zut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zut/32/2875_2.png) [@zut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zut)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2004, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-unrelated-words-have-meaning-in-three-or-more-languages/240375/10 "2004-04-16T17:00:21Z")
Seems like the answer ought to be some ulta-short word. Taking a guess and using Babelfish, I get: _do_ English: to perform Portugese: of Italian: I give (and BF translates “do” in French as “C”, presumably from the musical scale. Does that count?) _da_ English: father Spanish: it gives Portugese: of German: there ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2004, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-unrelated-words-have-meaning-in-three-or-more-languages/240375/11 "2004-04-16T17:08:50Z")
> [@zut](#): > > Seems like the answer ought to be some ulta-short word. Taking a guess and using Babelfish, I get: > > _do_ > English: to perform > Portugese: of > Italian: I give > (and BF translates “do” in French as “C”, presumably from the musical scale. Does that count?) > > _da_ > English: father > Spanish: it gives > Portugese: of > German: there _Da_ an English word? Wish I had my Scrabble dictionary. As for translating “do” in French as “C” – that doesn’t quite pass. ---
**Author:** ![Gest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9d8465/32.png) [@Gest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gest)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2004, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-unrelated-words-have-meaning-in-three-or-more-languages/240375/12 "2004-04-16T17:33:19Z")
_con_ idiot in French with in Spanish and Italian to trick or a criminal in English _tut_ concealed in French does in German an expression of disapproval in English _mag_ an ammunition container, periodical or alloy wheel in English can in Dutch (??? I’m sure can is kan in Dutch but Systrans gives both) like in German The German and English meanings are the only ones I’m confident in though. Systrans, schoolboy language classes and drunken nights with tourists are responsible for the rest. 😃 Do German/Englisch/Dutch cognates count or only the false cognates? I can think of loads more if all cognates are allowed. I can also think of a few in Russian although some of my transliterations are often not the received ones. All I know is how they are pronounced and spelt in Russian. Why have the proscription against non-Roman alphabets? _J_’s pronunciation varies as much between French, German and English as _P_’s does between Russian and English. They might as well be different scripts for all the help they sometimes are when pronouncing foreign words with Roman script. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2004, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-unrelated-words-have-meaning-in-three-or-more-languages/240375/13 "2004-04-16T18:16:13Z")
> [@Gest](#): > > Do German/Englisch/Dutch cognates count or only the false cognates? False cognates only. > [@Gest](#): > > Why have the proscription against non-Roman alphabets? _J_’s pronunciation varies as much between French, German and English as _P_’s does between Russian and English. They might as well be different scripts for all the help they sometimes are when pronouncing foreign words with Roman script. The pronunciation variations don’t concern me. The proscription against non-Roman alphabets is to avoid competing standards of transliteration. ---
**Author:** ![Olentzero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/90ced4/32.png) [@Olentzero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Olentzero)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2004, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-unrelated-words-have-meaning-in-three-or-more-languages/240375/14 "2004-04-16T18:46:28Z")
> [@fishcheer15](#): > > Ah, and in German, **Kind** means “child”. And in Swedish it means “cheek” - the one on your face, at least. As far as I can tell, according to the rules set forth in the OP, that qualifies. ---
**Author:** ![Kizarvexius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/da6949/32.png) [@Kizarvexius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kizarvexius)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2004, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-unrelated-words-have-meaning-in-three-or-more-languages/240375/15 "2004-04-16T18:52:12Z")
Some of my favorite doubles: **gift** - English, a present - German, poison **mensa** - Latin, a table - Spanish, stupid (adj) – brings new meaning to the name of the genius society… ---
**Author:** ![I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/i_love_me_vol.i/32/521_2.png) [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2004, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-unrelated-words-have-meaning-in-three-or-more-languages/240375/16 "2004-04-16T19:13:21Z")
It have a four-way, I believe… but most of the credit should go to \*\*Biffy the Elephant Shrew \*\* **leer:** In English, a lascivious gaze. In Spanish, to read. In German, empty. In Dutch, leather. ---
**Author:** ![I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/i_love_me_vol.i/32/521_2.png) [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2004, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-unrelated-words-have-meaning-in-three-or-more-languages/240375/17 "2004-04-16T19:14:45Z")
‘it’ should be ‘I’ ---
**Author:** ![I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/i_love_me_vol.i/32/521_2.png) [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2004, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-unrelated-words-have-meaning-in-three-or-more-languages/240375/18 "2004-04-16T19:18:22Z")
> [@fishcheer15](#): > > English **ass** “donkey” > German **Ass** “ace” I think ‘ass’ in German means ‘ate’ The German word for ‘ace’ is ‘as’. ---
**Author:** ![I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/i_love_me_vol.i/32/521_2.png) [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2004, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-unrelated-words-have-meaning-in-three-or-more-languages/240375/19 "2004-04-16T19:25:14Z")
> [@Gest](#): > > _mag_ > an ammunition container, periodical or alloy wheel in English > can in Dutch (??? I’m sure can is kan in Dutch but Systrans gives both) > like in German _mag_ in Dutch means ‘may’ I believe, not ‘can’ I’m sorry about all the little posts. I’m not trying to pad my post count, I just noticed all this stuff one item at a time. ---
**Author:** ![AwSnappity](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a3d4f5/32.png) [@AwSnappity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AwSnappity)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2004, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-unrelated-words-have-meaning-in-three-or-more-languages/240375/20 "2004-04-16T19:33:15Z")
> [@Kizarvexius](#): > > Some of my favorite doubles: > **mensa** > > - Latin, a table > - Spanish, stupid (adj) – brings new meaning to the name of the genius society… I believe in German, Mensa means cafeteria. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-unrelated-words-have-meaning-in-three-or-more-languages/240375.md?page=2)