# 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:** 5
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2022, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/longest-false-bilingual-word/957168/81 "2022-01-05T02:35:34Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > 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!” In the live-action version of _Sailor Moon_, there is a pop star with a hit song _[C’est la vie](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ib30SyX3QLw)_. Secretly, she is the Magical Girl hero Sailor V… ---
**Author:** ![Chessic\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7c8e57/32.png) [@Chessic\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chessic_Sense)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2022, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/longest-false-bilingual-word/957168/82 "2022-01-05T02:58:04Z")
Hallitus means government in Finnish but mold in Estonian. That’s 9 letters and even used the Roman alphabet. Am I winning so far? ---
**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 5, 2022, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/longest-false-bilingual-word/957168/83 "2022-01-05T03:15:46Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > In the live-action version of _Sailor Moon_ , there is a pop star with a hit song _[C’est la vie](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ib30SyX3QLw)_ . Secretly, she is the Magical Girl hero Sailor V… Of course. 🤦‍♂️ ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2022, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/longest-false-bilingual-word/957168/84 "2022-01-05T05:23:21Z")
> [@Chessic\_Sense](#): > > Hallitus means government in Finnish but mold in Estonian. That’s 9 letters and even used the Roman alphabet. Am I winning so far? Pretty sure that’s the longest so far. However, Finnish and Estonian are closely related languages, so there’s the possibility those words are related. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2022, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/longest-false-bilingual-word/957168/85 "2022-01-05T05:48:50Z")
Let’s see - in Hebrew, the only one that comes to mind is the word for oak tree, אלון, which is pronounced “Alone”. ---
**Author:** ![alovem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@alovem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alovem)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2022, 8:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/longest-false-bilingual-word/957168/86 "2022-01-05T08:19:01Z")
I thought about this for a while last night, and my conclusion is that there are two meanings in both languages and one is more prevalent in each. In English, condescension is more often associated with snark and less with “putting aside one’s pride,” and it’s the other way around in Spanish. This is clearly seen in the order in which the entries appear in the dictionaries of each language. Your post mentions the second meaning of the Spanish word, which is less common but valid nonetheless (read on). The María Moliner dictionary is another core reference to Spanish. I’ve never owned one but its second entry for _condescender_ appears in [this post](https://www.fundeu.es/consulta/condescendiente-3/) on the FundéuRAE website (also a good reference): > _‘convivir o participar en algo con persona de condición más modesta’, y más específicamente en el uso irónico que ejemplifica con «¡Condesciende a darnos los buenos días!»._ The foundation’s response to the post ends with this: _Por lo explicado, es un uso que se puede considerar válido._ (“For the reasons given, this use of the word may be considered valid.”) Merriam Webster’s [distinction](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/condescend) between condescending and patronizing is also of interest (scroll all the way down). ---
**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 5, 2022, 8:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/longest-false-bilingual-word/957168/87 "2022-01-05T08:57:35Z")
I see you have given this a lot more thought than I have, and better researched too. Interesting to read that I have been using the secondary meaning as the primary one all my life: for me, _condescendiente_ was the same as _herablassend_ (where you aso have the literally descending component in _herab_). Thanks for the clarification. ---
**Author:** ![hibernicus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hibernicus/32/2802_2.png) [@hibernicus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hibernicus)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2022, 10:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/longest-false-bilingual-word/957168/88 "2022-01-05T10:22:01Z")
It’s the winner so far, but it’s 8 letters, not 9! ---
**Author:** ![alovem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@alovem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alovem)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2022, 11:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/longest-false-bilingual-word/957168/89 "2022-01-05T11:02:09Z")
Likewise! I thought the words were completely unrelated. Ignorance fought. 😀 ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2022, 11:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/longest-false-bilingual-word/957168/90 "2022-01-05T11:28:27Z")
In my part of Europe, it’s common to see French-language announcements, posters, etc. for family and child-friendly events that state “animations” will be included. The first time I saw this, I was mildly perplexed. I interpreted it to mean there would be a screen off to the side displaying cartoons, giving parents somewhere to stash a bored child. The problem was, the event was a classic-auto show. It seemed a little odd to set up something like that at such an event, and stranger still that it would warrant prominent mention on the poster. Turns out, when you see “animations” in this context, it refers broadly to interactive children’s activities — puppet shows and kid-friendly theatrical presentations, costumed characters walking around, hands-on participatory demonstrations by experts, maybe a clown making balloon animals. It does not mean there will be a TV cart or a projector showing cartoons. That’s ten letters, but it’s probably also a borderline case. I’m sure there’s a connection in the root, prior to divergence in meaning. Also, if you say “animation” (without the S), a French speaker will know you mean animated film. Nevertheless, the intended sense of “animations” is sufficiently different to cause mild confusion (as it did with me). Plus, I find it interesting. So there. ---
**Author:** ![JacobSwan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@JacobSwan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JacobSwan)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2022, 11:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/longest-false-bilingual-word/957168/91 "2022-01-05T11:35:06Z")
In Czech an ambulance is a Doctors office/examination room. What in the UK would be called a surgery. Not a true false friend as it’s just a different interpretation of the same loan word from French. In English it came to mean the vehicle used to evacuate the walking wounded. In Czech it’s the place the walking wounded go to be treated. But very confusing when the hospital reception tells you to go to the ambulance. I’m already at the hospital, why do I need an ambulance? ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2022, 11:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/longest-false-bilingual-word/957168/92 "2022-01-05T11:46:43Z")
I don’t know if you’d want to count this or not, but “semen” in Indonesian means “cement.” So it’s a cognate, but one that incidentally has a completely different meaning in English. ---
**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 5, 2022, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/longest-false-bilingual-word/957168/93 "2022-01-05T14:36:02Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Let’s see - in Hebrew, the only one that comes to mind is the word for oak tree, אלון, which is pronounced “Alone”. Another example is the word for “general officer,” אלוף, pronounced “aloof.” ---
**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 5, 2022, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/longest-false-bilingual-word/957168/94 "2022-01-05T14:49:38Z")
Speaking of “surgery” - in British politics, it apparently means “private meetings between an MP and constituents” - when David Amess was killed at a surgery, he was not a doctor or a patient (he was murdered by a constituent). ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2022, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/longest-false-bilingual-word/957168/95 "2022-01-05T15:03:50Z")
> [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](#): > > Another example is the word for “general officer,” אלוף, pronounced “aloof.” That’s a good one - it also means “champion”. ---
**Author:** ![abcdefghij](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/43a26b/32.png) [@abcdefghij](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/abcdefghij)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2022, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/longest-false-bilingual-word/957168/96 "2022-01-05T16:44:57Z")
> [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](#): > > Another example is the word for “general officer,” אלוף, pronounced “aloof.” So that one means the same thing, then? ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2022, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/longest-false-bilingual-word/957168/97 "2022-01-05T17:05:37Z")
I’d be surprised if that was a mistake commonly made by native Spanish speakers - I’m neither a native speaker nor even fluent in either Italian or Spanish but have noticed that the ending _-eria_ or _ería_ in those languages often refers to a place where something is sold ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2022, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/longest-false-bilingual-word/957168/98 "2022-01-05T17:12:29Z")
> [@dtilque](#): > > _Gift_ (German) means “poison” Back in the 70s I saw a roll of gift wrap that had little presents and the word ‘gift’ printed all over it - like maybe in a hallmark store? I always wanted a roll of it for when I sent my German bestie presents =) He would have enjoyed the joke ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2022, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/longest-false-bilingual-word/957168/99 "2022-01-05T18:20:48Z")
> [@CairoCarol](#): > > I don’t know if you’d want to count this or not, but “semen” in Indonesian means “cement.” So it’s a cognate, but one that incidentally has a completely different meaning in English. That’s a good one. It’s a cognate to a word that’s completely different than the word it’s coincidently spelled the same as. In other words, there’s no relationship between the English “semen” and the Indonesian “semen” except the coincidental spelling. The fact that it’s cognate to a different, unrelated English word is irrelevant. The same thing applies to one of the examples I gave in the OP. French “rang” is related to English “rank”. ---
**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 5, 2022, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/longest-false-bilingual-word/957168/100 "2022-01-05T18:27:30Z")
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