Another 25 False Friends in English and Slovene

February 19, 2018

As noted in an earlier post, “False friends are those words that appear to be the same in two languages, but in fact have quite different meanings, and thus are easy to mistake but also easy to learn when you know where the trick is.” One example from the list given then was motorist, which in Slovene means someone who rides a motorcycle, and not someone, as in English, who drives a car.

What follows is thus a second list of false friends for you to marvel at, learn or dispute.

Images from Wikimedia

1. A word with plenty of clues but no direct meaning, a bankomat is an ATM.
2. Bencin looks and sounds like it must mean benzene, and it almost does, but instead refers to gasoline or petrol.
3. A boks isn’t a box per se, but instead refers to a parking or exhibition space.
4. A dispenser is usually a device that gives something out, like a liquid soap dispenser, but a dispanzer is a clinic in Slovene.
5. An ekonom is indirectly related to economy, or economising on your cooking expenses, as it means a pressure cooker.

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6. The word evidenca means a record or file.
7. In English a harmonica is also known as a mouth organ, but in Slovene a harmonika is an accordian
8. Hipoteka appears to have nothing to do with a hypothesis, as it means a mortgage
9. An inskripcija isn’t really an inscription, but it does involve writing your name and making a commitment, as it refers to registration, like when you sign up to start a university course.
10. Konkreten is so close to concrete but a little off, as it means specific, with konkretno meaning "in fact, actually".

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11. A kriminalist is not a criminal, but a police detective.
12. A list is a sheet of paper, like a page in a book, but also an official document, like an  uradni list (official gazette of laws), poročni list (marriage certificate), and potni list (passport).
13. A mapa isn’t a map, but a folder.
14. Mit means legend rather than myth, and so something that’s true, or based on truth, rather than wholly invented.
15. An old timer isn’t an older person, but instead a vintage car.

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16. A preservative is a condom.
17. While in English prospect refers to a possible future, or perhaps a potential client, in Slovene it means a brochure.
18. A rampa isn’t a ramp, but a barrier.
19. At first glance it would seem that a redukcija is obviously a reduction, but in fact it means a power cut or blackout.
20. A reflector in English is something that reflects light, as you might have on a bicycle or on the back or a running jacket, but in Slovene it means a spotlight or floodlight.

Images from Wikimedia

21. If you reclaim something in English then you take it back, as in reclaiming lost property, or, in some instance, reclaiming land from the sea. In Slovene, however, a reklamacija is a complaint, or the place where you can make a complaint (from the verb reklamirati).
22. A replika is not an exact copy of something, but instead a reply or response.
23. This one is almost the same, just a different specific use, with sifon in Slovene referring to the u-bend under your sink or toilet.
24. If someone calls you simpatičen this doesn’t mean you’re sympathetic, but instead likable.
25. A trajekt is not a trajectory, but a ferry.

And if you’d to see more of these, then you can find the first list of 25 false friends here.