# Longest false "bilingual" word **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 4, 2022, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/longest-false-bilingual-word/957168 "2022-01-04T00:00:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2022, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/longest-false-bilingual-word/957168/61 "2022-01-04T15:34:26Z")
> [@HMS\_Irruncible](#): > > _pretend_ in Portuguese means “intend” in English. Can be a rich source of comedic irony when the speaker is not an especially reliable person. The French verb “pretend” (to claim something is true) can be different from the English verb “pretend” (to act like something is true even though it’s false), but I think that’s because the English meaning has diverged over time. ---
**Author:** ![Schnitte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/schnitte/32/9033_2.png) [@Schnitte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schnitte)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2022, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/longest-false-bilingual-word/957168/62 "2022-01-04T15:40:20Z")
I can’t believe I’m the first to quote the classic “_Inflammable_ means _flammable_?!?” line from the Simpsons. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2022, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/longest-false-bilingual-word/957168/63 "2022-01-04T16:11:35Z")
Speaking of “poison”, _poisson_ is French for “fish”. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2022, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/longest-false-bilingual-word/957168/64 "2022-01-04T16:45:27Z")
It doesn’t totally work, but as a young twenty something living in Hungary, I was curious what “a legjobb” was and why they seemed to show up on signs everywhere. Sounded a bit kinky. No, it’s just Hungarian for “the best.” ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2022, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/longest-false-bilingual-word/957168/65 "2022-01-04T17:10:49Z")
Reminds me of the joke about the guy who got lost in Germany - he was very confused because everywhere he went he ended up on Einbahnstraße (“one-way street”) ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2022, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/longest-false-bilingual-word/957168/66 "2022-01-04T17:23:25Z")
> [@JKellyMap](#): > > Correcting myself: The semantic link from PIE “to cook or burn” to English “brood” is through hens sitting on eggs (“progeny”), keeping them warm (and “muttering to themselves mournfully”): And the Dutch toast their bread with a **broodrooster**. ---
**Author:** ![alovem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@alovem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alovem)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2022, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/longest-false-bilingual-word/957168/67 "2022-01-04T17:39:58Z")
The Spanish word _condescendiente_ describes someone who (1) submits with sincere or sarcastic graciousness to the will of others or (2) accepts doing something that they feel is beneath them. So it’s kind of the opposite of condescending. I’ve just checked two dictionaries of Spain’s Real Academia and another comprehensive and authoritative dictionary named after author Manuel Seco (who died 20 days ago at 93 years of age, I’ve just learned). They don’t include the meaning “talk down to someone” (that would be _paternalista_), but you’ll sometimes see it used that way in books and newspapers. My best guess is that it happens because there’s a similar word in French that has the same meaning as condescending. ---
**Author:** ![Rhodes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhodes/32/273_2.png) [@Rhodes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhodes)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2022, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/longest-false-bilingual-word/957168/68 "2022-01-04T17:46:56Z")
\* deleted \* Oops. edit: > [@dtilque](#): > > Lets not do proper names. sorry. ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2022, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/longest-false-bilingual-word/957168/69 "2022-01-04T18:08:30Z")
No sure I am getting you right. Condescending, writes Merriam Webster’s, is > showing or characterized by a patronizing or superior attitude toward others. While condescendiente refers to [condescender](https://dle.rae.es/condescender#ABa92po), which means > […] > _2. intr. Aceptar o tolerar con suficiencia o desdén,_ that is, accepting or tolerating (others) with arrogance (sufficiency is another false friend) and disdain I did not find the meanings you wrote, nor are they familiar to me. But arrogance and patronizing on one side, and superior attitude and disdain on the other seem closely related to me. As a matter of fact I have always used the word in Spanish with the “English” meaning and have never been corrected. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2022, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/longest-false-bilingual-word/957168/70 "2022-01-04T18:15:14Z")
If you read older books, “condescending” is sometimes used in a complimentary way: “The Queen condescended to talk to me, a humble maid - isn’t she great?” - but it’s obviously a very fine line between that and “The customer condescended while talking to me - as if she was the Queen and I was a humble maid. What a jerk” ---
**Author:** ![Gorsnak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gorsnak/32/7587_2.png) [@Gorsnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorsnak)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2022, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/longest-false-bilingual-word/957168/71 "2022-01-04T18:36:30Z")
> [@Tabco](#): > > The Spanish word for library is _biblioteca_ , as it happens. What?!? Then how can ‘¿Donde esta la bibioteca?’ translate to 'I don’t bargain, pumpkinfucker." ---
**Author:** ![FlikTheBlue](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fliktheblue/32/10972_2.png) [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2022, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/longest-false-bilingual-word/957168/72 "2022-01-04T18:40:10Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > Not the exact spelling, but in Japanese “tako” means octopus. If you go into a Japanese restaurant to order “a taco” you’ll be eating tentacles. (And yes, I realize this is only 4 letters.) Even shorter is “pan” which is bread in both Spanish and Japanese. In that case the Japanese borrowed the word pao from the Portuguese when they introduced it to Japan back in the 16th century. Somehow they ended up changing it to match the Spanish word, presumably because it sounded better that way with the native Japanese syllabary. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2022, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/longest-false-bilingual-word/957168/73 "2022-01-04T18:58:08Z")
> [@FlikTheBlue](#): > > Even shorter is “pan” which is bread in both Spanish and Japanese. In that case the Japanese borrowed the word pao from the Portuguese when they introduced it to Japan back in the 16th century. Somehow they ended up changing it to match the Spanish word, presumably because it sounded better that way with the native Japanese syllabary. I thought about “pan”, though at least in Japanese it is pronounced to rhyme with “dawn” so it’s not phonetically identical to “pan” in English. But written down, yes it’s identical (the Romanized form of the word at least). Something else that occurred to me is an intentional pun built around a “false friend”. In Japan, the basic word for the number 5 is “go”. (I say “basic” because in Japanese there are different number systems depending on what the numbers are used for; it can be a bit confusing.) The Japanese comic book turned cartoon and general media phenomenon [Speed Racer](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speed_Racer) is also known as “Mach (or ‘Mahha’ in Katakana) GoGoGo”. The pun is that the car he drives is called the “Mach 5” (and again the number 5 in Japanese is “go”), the character’s name in the Japanese stories is Goo Mifune (“Go” pronounced with an extended “O” vowel), and the third “Go” is just referencing the English word “go” which means to move (because he drives a race car). So it’s basically saying, “You go Go in the Mach 5!” A bit clumsy when explained in English but interesting how they embrace and use the “false friend” phenomenon. ---
**Author:** ![Schnitte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/schnitte/32/9033_2.png) [@Schnitte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schnitte)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2022, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/longest-false-bilingual-word/957168/74 "2022-01-04T19:31:26Z")
The homophony between “go” and “five” in Japanese is often alluded to in “Hikaru no Go”, a Japanese manga (and later anime series) about a teenager who gets drawn into the world of go (the strategy board game). ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2022, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/longest-false-bilingual-word/957168/75 "2022-01-04T19:57:54Z")
> [@FlikTheBlue](#): > > Even shorter is “pan” which is bread in both Spanish and Japanese. In that case the Japanese borrowed the word pao from the Portuguese when they introduced it to Japan back in the 16th century. Somehow they ended up changing it to match the Spanish word, presumably because it sounded better that way with the native Japanese syllabary. More precisely, the Portuguese word is “pão”. The tilde indicates nasalization which can be interpreted as /n/ by listeners who don’t commonly distinguish nasalized vowels from unnasalized ones. So it’s not that surprising that Japanese speakers reintroduced the /n/ explicitly. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2022, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/longest-false-bilingual-word/957168/76 "2022-01-04T20:00:21Z")
Since we’re talking about “five,” the Welsh for five is _pump_, but it is pronounced (in South Wales, anyway) as the homophone of English _pimp._ A couple of others from Welsh: _plant_, “children” _union_, “straight, direct; precise” (this is based on the same _un_- “one” as in English _union_, but the suffix is different) _march_, “horse” _dull_, “manner, mode, method” _grill_, “chirping” _hurt_, “stupid, foolish” _math_, “sort, kind, type” Most of these are pronounced quite differently, but “plant” and “math” are pretty close. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2022, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/longest-false-bilingual-word/957168/77 "2022-01-04T20:42:00Z")
For an entire book of examples, using French & English, read _Mots d’Heures: Gousses, Rames_ if you can find it. (Say the title out loud, pronouncing as if reading in French.) If you are bilingual in both languages, this book is a baril de laughs. > **[Amazon.com: Mots d'Heures: Gousses, Rames, The d'Antin Manuscript:...](https://www.amazon.com/Mots-dHeures-Gousses-dAntin-Manuscript/dp/0140057307)** > > Amazon.com: Mots d'Heures: Gousses, Rames, The d'Antin Manuscript: 9780140057300: van Rooten, Luis d'Antin: Books One example (think heavy French accent): > Lit-elle messe, moffette, > Satan ne te fête, > Et digne somme coeurs et nouez. > > A longue qu’aime est-ce pailles d’Eure > Et ne Satan bise ailleurs > Et ne fredonne messe, Moffette, ah, ouais! ---
**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:** [January 4, 2022, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/longest-false-bilingual-word/957168/78 "2022-01-04T22:48:29Z")
Datisse relais fonnaît! ---
**Author:** ![alovem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@alovem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alovem)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2022, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/longest-false-bilingual-word/957168/79 "2022-01-04T23:19:21Z")
Yeah, I can see your point, but I think the difference is the implicit ill will in the English word. Intentionally being shitty to someone, whereas the Spanish word is more like the example Andy\_L posted and another I saw earlier today about a parent asking their child to explain something to them. More like “putting aside your pride,” without any snark. Slight overlap but clearly different meanings. ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2022, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/longest-false-bilingual-word/957168/80 "2022-01-04T23:31:05Z")
Never thought about it before, but they seem rare between English and Chinese. Only one that came to mind was 批评 written in pinyin as _piping_ and meaning “a criticism”. It’s pronounced “peeping” but of course that’s an English word too. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/longest-false-bilingual-word/957168.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/longest-false-bilingual-word/957168.md?page=5)