False friends thread

[Raphael]

We also had an English-style breakfast on Sundays, with bacon & eggs and baked beans, which was also unusual at that time.

Sounds like it's still pretty unusual to me.

[Ryusenshi]

English pest (animal causing nuisance) and French peste (the plague)

English pestilence (a devastating infectious disease) and French pestilence (foul smell, stench)

[xxx]

the two are linked, hence the pointed masks used by doctors in times of plague, the distant ancestors of our flat FFP masks.

[WeepingElf]

German, BTW, has Pest 'plague' and Plage 'pest'

[WeepingElf]

A dangerous pitfall for Germans trying to speak English is the German word Fagott 'bassoon' (a loanword from Italian fagotto with the same meaning) which sounds very similar to an English homophobic slur.

[Travis B.]

A dangerous pitfall for Germans trying to speak English is the German word Fagott 'bassoon' (a loanword from Italian fagotto with the same meaning) which sounds very similar to an English homophobic slur.

Interestingly enough, faggot (not fag) in English was originally not a homophobic slur but rather referred to pieces of wood (for burning).

[WeepingElf]

A dangerous pitfall for Germans trying to speak English is the German word Fagott 'bassoon' (a loanword from Italian fagotto with the same meaning) which sounds very similar to an English homophobic slur.

Interestingly enough, faggot (not fag) in English was originally not a homophobic slur but rather referred to pieces of wood (for burning).

Yes. Italian fagotto originally meant 'bundle of twigs, reeds, etc.' and was later transferred to the musical instrument - the words are related.

[RichardFromMarple]

Or a meatball made mostly from offal!

[Lior_C]

Hebrew/Spanish:

מסיבה: Mesibah (Means party in Hebrew)

Masiva: Is the feminine singular for Massive, in Spanish.

I got this false friend from a song in Spanish. I thought it was about parties.

[Lior_C]

I have more in hebrew:

מים: maim, water
ma'am: english

קל: easy (kal)
EDIT: cal (Spanish for lime, the mineral)