# Words that make more sense in another language **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 10, 2009, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-make-more-sense-in-another-language/520695 "2009-12-10T04:44:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2009, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-make-more-sense-in-another-language/520695/21 "2009-12-10T17:55:57Z")
> [@Svejk\_1](#): > > For one thing, ‘zeug’ does not mean thing - in _Flugzeug_ it means something akin to ‘gear’ or ‘craft’. ‘Thing’ is what I was taught in all of my German classes. > [@Svejk\_1](#): > > Finally, to add to the strawberry issue: strawberries are best grown on a bed of straw to prevent them from rotting - hence: strawberries. [Snopes](http://www.snopes.com/language/notthink/strawberry.asp) says this is False. ---
**Author:** ![Svejk\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea666f/32.png) [@Svejk\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Svejk_1)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2009, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-make-more-sense-in-another-language/520695/22 "2009-12-10T18:06:17Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > ‘Thing’ is what I was taught in all of my German classes. Thing is _das Ding_. _Zeug_ can be used to mean ‘stuff’ or ‘things’ (quite like gear can be used to mean just whatever you have sitting in the trunk of your car), but it is a derived thing, and it is certainly not what it means in _Flugzeug_, which is more like fly-gear or fly-craft. > [@](#): > > [Snopes](http://www.snopes.com/language/notthink/strawberry.asp) says this is False. Interesting. Guess my dad was wrong. Who would have guessed. To add to the thread: words for refrigerator in Dutch (_koelkast_) and German (_Kühlschrank_) literally mean ‘Cooling closet’. ---
**Author:** ![DistantQuasar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DistantQuasar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DistantQuasar)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2009, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-make-more-sense-in-another-language/520695/23 "2009-12-11T04:21:17Z")
Something that makes MORE sense in English is “eggnog”-English “lait de poule” or “chicken milk” in French We come across a lot of these in Canada, since labelings are in both French and English. Words for things generally make more sense in the language they were created, since dialects change the word over time and also into other languages. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2009, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-make-more-sense-in-another-language/520695/24 "2009-12-11T04:45:24Z")
My favorite word in German is _handschuh_ (glove), literally “hand shoe.” ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2009, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-make-more-sense-in-another-language/520695/25 "2009-12-11T05:11:39Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > The etymology I favour for strawberry is the “Strewn berry” variant, in reference to how the plants and berries lie about on the ground. In which case it makes perfect sense. More so than the German, because I’d expect to find the berries _under_ground, like the erdnuss or the erdapfel. Whatever the case may be for _strawberry_, what’s the deal with _cranberry_? What’s the connection between the berry and _cran_? ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2009, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-make-more-sense-in-another-language/520695/26 "2009-12-11T05:20:03Z")
> [@Max\_Torque](#): > > German is a very to-the-point language. My favorite German word: **Büstenhalter**. Much more descriptive than the English word “bra”. However, the inverse is true in French, where it’s called a _soutien-gorge_, lit. throat support or throat holder. For that matter, the English word bra is short for the French word _brassière_, i.e. arm protector. Apparently, my country fails female anatomy something fierce 😛 ---
**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:** [December 11, 2009, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-make-more-sense-in-another-language/520695/27 "2009-12-11T05:38:01Z")
This thread reminds me of Tahitian words for livestock: pua’a = pig. pua’atoro = horned pig = cow. pua’atane = manly pig = wild boar. pua’ahorofenua = pig that runs on land = horse. punu pua’atoro = horned pig in metal = canned beef. And not livestock, but one of my favorite descriptive words: uri taata = dog resembling a person = monkey. ---
**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:** [December 11, 2009, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-make-more-sense-in-another-language/520695/28 "2009-12-11T15:30:42Z")
The Italian word for “to apply makeup to oneself” is “truccarsi,” which means “to trick oneself.” I don’t know if it’s better or makes more sense than English, but it certainly is funnier. ---
**Author:** ![MLS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MLS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MLS)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2009, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-make-more-sense-in-another-language/520695/29 "2009-12-11T18:37:51Z")
> [@guizot](#): > > Whatever the case may be for _strawberry_, what’s the deal with _cranberry_? What’s the connection between the berry and _cran_? Short for crane berry. The plant bends over so that it sort of resembles the bird. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2009, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-make-more-sense-in-another-language/520695/30 "2009-12-11T18:41:38Z")
Your origin seems to be correct, but not your explanation. > [@](#): > > \*\*cranberry \*\* > > 1647, Amer.Eng. adaptation of Low Ger. kraanbere, from kraan “crane” + M.L.G. bere “berry,” perhaps from a resemblance between the plants’ stamens and the beaks of cranes. Ger. and Du. settlers in the New World apparently recognized the similarity between the European berries (Vaccinium oxycoccos) and the larger N.Amer. variety (V. macrocarpum) and transferred the name. In England, they were marshwhort or fenberries, but the N.Amer. berries, and the name, were brought over late 17c. The native Algonquian name for the plant is represented by W.Abenai popokwa. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2009, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-make-more-sense-in-another-language/520695/31 "2009-12-11T19:20:50Z")
> [@guizot](#): > > Whatever the case may be for _strawberry_, what’s the deal with _cranberry_? What’s the connection between the berry and _cran_? You may well ask - actually, it gives its name to an [entire linguistic morpheme](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cranberry_morpheme) ---
**Author:** ![shantih](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f6c823/32.png) [@shantih](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shantih)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2009, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-make-more-sense-in-another-language/520695/32 "2009-12-11T20:29:52Z")
My favorite German word (after _Handschuh_, actually; good call, **Colibri**!) is _nasskalt_, literally ‘wet cold,’ which describes these dreary late Fall days just perfectly, unfortunately. ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2009, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-make-more-sense-in-another-language/520695/33 "2009-12-12T03:59:49Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > One I always find curious is words which get acquired from a language and end up meaning something very different or even opposite in the new language. In Spanish _plaza_ is an open space (same as _piazza_ in Italian); in English it got to mean several buildings around an open space and has ended up meaning a building. Huh, I don’t think of it meaning a building at all. To me an unmodified plaza is an open, paved square, same as its cognates in Spanish, French, or Italian. The building usage I only think of in the phrase “shopping plaza” (which I call a mall, anyway) or in proper names of individual buildings (same as calling a building complex Square, Park, or Gardens). ---
**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:** [December 12, 2009, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-make-more-sense-in-another-language/520695/34 "2009-12-12T04:20:29Z")
> [@Svejk\_1](#): > > To add to the thread: words for refrigerator in Dutch (_koelkast_) and German (_Kühlschrank_) literally mean ‘Cooling closet’. Welsh has: Oergell (cold cell, w/ cell in the sense of “small room”) = Refrigerator Rhewgell (frost cell) = Freezer Llyfrgell (book cell) = Library A newer word is “popty ping” for microwave. Popty = oven (from _pobi_, to bake, and _ty^_, house) Ping = ping (the noise) (You can also say “meicrodon,” a literal calque.) Breton has _marc’h houarn_, “iron horse,” for bicycle. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2009, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-make-more-sense-in-another-language/520695/35 "2009-12-12T12:28:20Z")
The Malay word for “nature” is _semulajadi_– a compound of the prefix _se-_ ‘one, entirely’; _mula_, a word of Tamil origin meaning ‘root, origin’; and _jadi_, of Sanskrit origin, meaning ‘birth, coming into existence’. It’s an etymology of rare metaphysical poetry that gives insight into the meaning of nature. It might have been a coinage by a philosopher. ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2009, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-make-more-sense-in-another-language/520695/36 "2009-12-12T13:20:15Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > ‘Thing’ is what I was taught in all of my German classes. > [Snopes](http://www.snopes.com/language/notthink/strawberry.asp) says this is False. You need better teachers and a better online translator. I’ve found this one to be quite useful with lots of different options and suggestions: > **[dict.cc | Schraube | English Dictionary](https://www.dict.cc/?s=Schraube)** > > English Translation for Schraube - dict.cc German-English Dictionary ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2009, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-make-more-sense-in-another-language/520695/37 "2009-12-12T16:47:55Z")
> [@matt\_mcl](#): > > Huh, I don’t think of it meaning a building at all. To me an unmodified plaza is an open, paved square, same as its cognates in Spanish, French, or Italian. The building usage I only think of in the phrase “shopping plaza” (which I call a mall, anyway) or in proper names of individual buildings (same as calling a building complex Square, Park, or Gardens). Underline mine. A building should not be called a plaza, if you stick to the original meaning. And many of those “individual buildings” called Plaza are nowhere near an open space. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2009, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-make-more-sense-in-another-language/520695/38 "2009-12-12T17:26:03Z")
The Spanish word for umbrella is _paraguas_. Literally, ‘‘for water.’’ Makes much more sense to me! ---
**Author:** ![Gala\_Matrix\_Fire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/4da419/32.png) [@Gala\_Matrix\_Fire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gala_Matrix_Fire)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2009, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-make-more-sense-in-another-language/520695/39 "2009-12-12T17:47:20Z")
Are there any words in this thread yet that aren’t compound words? Because it’d be interesting to argue that #$% is actually a more accurate word for %^& than \*^%. Here’s my contribution: alphabet. Based on the first two letters not in our alphabet, but the Greek alphabet. Some languages word for “alphabet” actually use their own language. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2009, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-make-more-sense-in-another-language/520695/40 "2009-12-12T18:04:51Z")
> [@olivesmarch4th](#): > > The Spanish word for umbrella is _paraguas_. > > Literally, ‘‘for water.’’ Makes much more sense to me! Another option for the meaning is “stops the water”. Umbrella comes from Italian, “little shadow” and is equivalent to the Spanish “sombrilla” (little shadow) or “parasol” (for the sun/stops the sun), which is the same implement minus the waterproofing. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-make-more-sense-in-another-language/520695.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-make-more-sense-in-another-language/520695.md?page=3)