# Foreign Words That Look Like English, But Don’t Mean The Same **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 27, 2010, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-words-that-look-like-english-but-don-t-mean-the-same/540902 "2010-05-27T02:04:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Noone\_Special](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/noone_special/32/2863_2.png) [@Noone\_Special](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Noone_Special)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2010, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-words-that-look-like-english-but-don-t-mean-the-same/540902/41 "2010-05-27T19:03:39Z")
> [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](#): > > … and your friend Ken is named “yes”. Which leads to the somewhat risque joke… “What does Israeli Barbie cry in the throes of passion?” "Ken, _Ken_, _ **KEN!!!** _ ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2010, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-words-that-look-like-english-but-don-t-mean-the-same/540902/42 "2010-05-27T19:04:07Z")
And one I noticed at the food store today… _Raisin_ in French is ‘grape’ in English. ---
**Author:** ![dhkendall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a9adbd/32.png) [@dhkendall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dhkendall)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2010, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-words-that-look-like-english-but-don-t-mean-the-same/540902/43 "2010-05-27T19:04:42Z")
> [@Colophon](#): > > And in French, I believe. In fact, French has a whole bunch of these pseudo-English gerunds masquerading as nouns that are almost, but not quite, the same as English. > > le parking = car park > le camping = campsite > le footing = jogging > le pressing = dry cleaners le shampooing = shampoo (yes, really) > [@MeanOldLady](#): > > “Smoking” means tuxedo in Italian for some reason. Perhaps from “smoking jacket”? ---
**Author:** ![Hypnagogic\_Jerk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hypnagogic_jerk/32/4252_2.png) [@Hypnagogic\_Jerk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypnagogic_Jerk)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2010, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-words-that-look-like-english-but-don-t-mean-the-same/540902/44 "2010-05-27T19:09:23Z")
Here’s an opposite example. My father’s English is as good as mine, but he still finds the phrase “for sale” funny. In French, “fort sale” (with an unpronounced ‘t’) means “very dirty”. ---
**Author:** ![Hypnagogic\_Jerk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hypnagogic_jerk/32/4252_2.png) [@Hypnagogic\_Jerk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypnagogic_Jerk)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2010, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-words-that-look-like-english-but-don-t-mean-the-same/540902/45 "2010-05-27T19:17:39Z")
> [@Colophon](#): > > le footing = jogging I haven’t heard that one, but to me jogging in French is “jogging” which I suppose fits as well. Also “zapping” which means channel surfing. > [@Cyningablod](#): > > What dialect is that? I’m absolutely fluent in Spanish (have a Master’s in Spanish linguistics), and I’ve never seen those words. Not saying they don’t exist…just that I’ve never seen or heard them. Not a single one appears in the [RAE dictionary](http://www.rae.es/rae.html). Don’t know about Spanish, but “store” does mean a window blind in French. And I have also heard “mobbing” for workplace bullying, but I don’t remember in which language it was. > [@Sunspace](#): > > _Raisin_ in French is ‘grape’ in English. And _prune_ means “plum”. ---
**Author:** ![robardin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/43a26b/32.png) [@robardin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robardin)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2010, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-words-that-look-like-english-but-don-t-mean-the-same/540902/46 "2010-05-27T20:00:13Z")
> [@Hypnagogic\_Jerk](#): > > Here’s an opposite example. My father’s English is as good as mine, but he still finds the phrase “for sale” funny. In French, “fort sale” (with an unpronounced ‘t’) means “very dirty”. And “Jeep/Eagle” (as in, radio or TV ads exhorting you to “visit your local Jeep/Eagle dealer NOW for incredible blah blah blah”) always struck my friend’s dad as funny because it kind of sounds like Mandarin Chinese for “chicken butt”. But only if you’re weird and perverted, because nobody else seemed to notice this until he pointed it out. ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2010, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-words-that-look-like-english-but-don-t-mean-the-same/540902/47 "2010-05-27T20:23:52Z")
> [@Hypnagogic\_Jerk](#): > > In French, “fort sale” (with an unpronounced ‘t’) means “very dirty”. That reminds me, in Italian the word “forte” means strong, which makes sense to most of us, but the expression “che forte” means “how cool.” The word “sale” means “salt.” ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2010, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-words-that-look-like-english-but-don-t-mean-the-same/540902/48 "2010-05-27T20:29:28Z")
> [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](#): > > To make up for your faux pas, your punishment is to visit the [kuntsmuseum](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kunstmuseum_Stuttgart). Awesome. And it is a big square building (box) with the word “dix” on it. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Negative\_Lite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Negative\_Lite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Negative_Lite)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2010, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-words-that-look-like-english-but-don-t-mean-the-same/540902/49 "2010-05-27T20:31:20Z")
> [@Cyningablod](#): > > What dialect is that? I’m absolutely fluent in Spanish (have a Master’s in Spanish linguistics), and I’ve never seen those words. Not saying they don’t exist…just that I’ve never seen or heard them. Not a single one appears in the [RAE dictionary](http://www.rae.es/rae.html). I stumbled across _apescollar_ flipping through my Collins Spanish-English dictionary and thought it looked funny - it’s listed as Cono Sur (i.e., Argentinian). With Argentina you just never know… The other two I have heard in common use here in Spain. _mobbing_ is an interesting story - a thoroughly pseudo-English word that was invented by the Swedish and has been incorporated into the lexis of many European languages, including Spanish. _store_ I’ve also seen spelled as _stor_ or _estor_ - not sure where the word comes from but it is in use here in Spain. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2010, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-words-that-look-like-english-but-don-t-mean-the-same/540902/50 "2010-05-27T20:32:04Z")
In Indonesian, water = air. ---
**Author:** ![Cyningablod](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9fc29f/32.png) [@Cyningablod](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cyningablod)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2010, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-words-that-look-like-english-but-don-t-mean-the-same/540902/51 "2010-05-27T21:24:54Z")
> [@Negative\_Lite](#): > > _store_ I’ve also seen spelled as _stor_ or _estor_ - not sure where the word comes from but it is in use here in Spain. Ah, now I know what you meant. It’s not “store”. It’s _estor_ (pl. _estores_). _Stor_ or _store_ would be horrific misspellings. Interestingly, Castilian (Euro) Spanish is the dialect I speak. But it’s been years since I’ve been to Spain, and I never heard _mobbing_. ---
**Author:** ![Hyperelastic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Hyperelastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hyperelastic)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2010, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-words-that-look-like-english-but-don-t-mean-the-same/540902/52 "2010-05-27T21:27:38Z")
Doesn’t _insupportable_ basically mean “big pain in the ass” in French, i.e. insufferable? In English it sounds like some sort of legal term. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2010, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-words-that-look-like-english-but-don-t-mean-the-same/540902/53 "2010-05-27T21:37:05Z")
Cantonese: méi is pronounced may, but means have/did/may _not_. Japanese: Hai is pronounced ‘hi’ but means ‘yes.’ I’ve overheard phone conversations where it sounds like the person’s constantly greeting the caller. Czech: ‘Ano,’ pronounced with the stress on the ‘no,’ means ‘yes.’ Finnish: ‘Ei,’ pronounced like ‘aye,’ means no. ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2010, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-words-that-look-like-english-but-don-t-mean-the-same/540902/54 "2010-05-27T21:37:56Z")
_Also_ in German roughly translates as “thus.” The word is used a lot in conversation as a verbal pause where English speakers often say “umm.” ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2010, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-words-that-look-like-english-but-don-t-mean-the-same/540902/55 "2010-05-27T22:42:32Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > It’s [slutspurt](http://powrightbetweentheeyes.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/2007/04/13/slutspurt.jpg). The Danes are also big on [fart kontrol](http://www.guzer.com/pictures/speed_kontrol.php). Then again, over in Holland, they have [Elektro Faarts](http://www.faarts.nl). :eek: Fart kontrol = Danish, “speed limit” Elektro Faarts = appliance business; owner’s name is Richard Faarts ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2010, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-words-that-look-like-english-but-don-t-mean-the-same/540902/56 "2010-05-27T22:42:43Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Bimbó - A pretty young thing? > > “(flower) bud” > This one, without the accent, is also a popular brand of Mexican bakery products. I hesitate to reveal what _Bimbo_ means in German, but sadly it’s our n-word ---
**Author:** ![Negative\_Lite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Negative\_Lite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Negative_Lite)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2010, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-words-that-look-like-english-but-don-t-mean-the-same/540902/57 "2010-05-27T23:15:19Z")
> [@Cyningablod](#): > > Ah, now I know what you meant. It’s not “store”. It’s _estor_ (pl. _estores_). _Stor_ or _store_ would be horrific misspellings. It’s spelled that way in the dictionary. Not just in my Collins but in the [Diccionario de la lengua española](http://www.wordreference.com/definicion/store). Anyway, in the spirit of the thread I was trying to come up with words that scan orthographically as English. That’s why I chose the less common alternate spelling _store_ rather than _estor_, which couldn’t pass as English. ---
**Author:** ![Duke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e8c25b/32.png) [@Duke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2010, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-words-that-look-like-english-but-don-t-mean-the-same/540902/58 "2010-05-27T23:31:35Z")
A little off topic, but my ex-wife, who was fluent in nine or ten languages, managed to come up with a rare French-to-Modern Icelandic false friend. She excitedly told her friend from France about the beautiful “foss” she saw in Iceland. While “foss” is Icelandic for “waterfall”, her friend thought she had said “fossé”, which in French is the rather less elegant “ditch”. ---
**Author:** ![Drain\_Bead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47774/32.png) [@Drain\_Bead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drain_Bead)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2010, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-words-that-look-like-english-but-don-t-mean-the-same/540902/59 "2010-05-27T23:36:54Z")
Spanish for “to bother” is “molestar.” Which sounds a lot more than a bother, if you ask me. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2010, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-words-that-look-like-english-but-don-t-mean-the-same/540902/60 "2010-05-28T00:53:17Z")
> [@Drain\_Bead](#): > > Spanish for “to bother” is “molestar.” Which sounds a lot more than a bother, if you ask me. Yes. When I visited Mexico with Mrs. Map, where I had lived but she had not, and she asked me what the “No Molestar” sign on the hotel room meant, I kiddingly told her it meant “Please Do Not Have Sex with Children”! Okay…my contribution is purely aural/oral: many Spanish speakers pronounce _caos_ (“chaos”) exactly like the English word “cows”. There has to be a Far Side cartoon in there somewhere! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-words-that-look-like-english-but-don-t-mean-the-same/540902.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-words-that-look-like-english-but-don-t-mean-the-same/540902.md?page=4)