One example:
Any non Catalan speaker, when hearing the word **paella** will think of this [dish](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ed/01_Paella_Valenciana_original.jpg/1200px-01_Paella_Valenciana_original.jpg), isn’t eat? Well, any native speaker, in any normal day, when using the word *paella* will most probably be talking about this [implement](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3f/Castiron-skillets.jpg). Because *paella*, literally, means frying pan. And, in a *paella* you can cook rice, which is called *arròs a la paella*, or «paella d’arròs». In short, «paella».
Anyway, as you use the pan (*paella*) for a lot of things but you’ll only cook a paella (*arròs a la paella*) once in a while, most of the time paella just means pan.
What about your languages?
Is «robot» the same for Czech speakers, for example?
42 comments
Not a native speaker, but German has some prominent faux anglisms, most notable being ‘Handy’ meaning a phone and ‘Beamer’ meaning a projector
As for Czech, I am a fellow Slavic speaker so I have some insight, but feel free to correct me fellow Czechs
In Czech, ‘robota’ means work, and robot is just that, a made-up word for a (slave worker), although I am not sure what’s a worker in Czech
Fun fact: In Croatian we have ‘rabota’, an archaism meaning (also) (slave) work
It is quite common in the UK (and I believe the US) to call a German beer glass a “stein” even though in Germany it would be called a Maß.
Stein, of course means “stone” not beer glass. I believe in the past German beer was sometimes served in a Steinkrug and the word “stein” seems to have crossed the Atlantic and the Channel around then and never been corrected.
Most of internet related vocabulary has only one meaning eg. mail in polish means exclusively email, chat will mean to write, link is the URL etc
as for robot it’s same as in english, but we also got a related noun – robota that means work like in most slavic langs. It doesn’t have the slave context in polish though
In Welsh:
Moron = carrot
Hen = old
Pen = head
Brain = crows (as in the bird)
My mind goes to marmelade. This word comes from marmelada, which is the fruit preserve of marmelo (quince). It makes no sense in portuguese for marmelade to be the jam of any other fruit. But the word has obviously travelled.
One of the many words taken from italian that are used for a totally different food is *pepperoni*. In english it is a kind of salame. But in italian the word mean “bell peppers” (plural).
One thing that seems to confuse some English speakers is that in French, “un brushing” means the act of straightening your hair with one of those electric things. Not actually brushing your hair.
also “un jogging” is sweatpants, and we say “sweat” for a sweatshirt but prononce it “sweet”.
So close.
Fart means speed in Danish…
At old elevators, there might be an indicator like this, when the elevator is moving.
https://img.nordjyske.dk/s3/nj-prod-public-images/u-eKHnYt0nzEFZE50lCjd6AayjY.jpg
>Is «robot» the same for Czech speakers, for example?
no it is not, it is made up word from sci-fi play (the word should be labor but author didn’t like it and his brother came up with robot)
Fjord. Which in English only means saltwater inlet while in Norwegian it means both saltwater inlet and large lake.
Maybe not the most common, but a word that comes to mind is **empathy**, or similar forms in other languages.
According to Marriam-Webster, the definition of “empathy” would be: “*the action of understanding, being aware of, being sensitive to, and vicariously experiencing the feelings, thoughts and experience of another of either the past or present without having the feelings, thoughts and experience fully communicated in an objectively explicit manner”.*
In **modern** Greek, the transliteration of “empathy” is “εμπάθεια”, which actually refers to “*being overtaken by strong feelings of hostility, malice, or hatred*”. “Empathy” should rather be translated as “ενσυναίσθηση” (εν+συν+αισθάνομαι = “internalizing” shared feelings).
Idiot is another one, but I won’t elaborate on it because I’m tired of hearing about its history.
Confetti, in english and a lot of other languages this word means [this](https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=confetti+english&prmd=isvxn&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjPg4yK7oP1AhUDy6QKHcOQBrQQ_AUoAXoECAIQAQ&biw=360&bih=678&dpr=3#imgrc=-gt5v9dW-wCu4M) but in italian confetti are sugar coated almonds/cereals/chocolate like [this](https://www.google.com/search?q=confetti&client=ms-android-google&source=android-browser&prmd=simxvn&sxsrf=AOaemvLUFIgIfdhASFNfFmpMVaMUFq3RTg:1640604198504&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjstd_z7oP1AhUg_bsIHZUlB3UQ_AUoAnoECAMQAg&biw=360&bih=678&dpr=3#imgrc=xMGnT-SwAAWGOM) that guests usually get at weddings, at graduation parties, at 18th birthday parties etc.
The word ‘bimbo’ comes to mind, in English it is used to indicate a beautiful but not very intelligent woman, in Italian it only indicates a child or a baby, often in an affectionate tone.
Example: “Bacioni al bimbo”, kisses to the baby.
In Swedish when we want to go for a drink with our coworkers we call it “After Work”.
This is me just being picky, but ciao doesn’t mean goodbye/see you later, or at least it does but it also means hi, you can use it both when you meet someone and when you leave them, but in every other country it’s only used as it meant goodbye
Throwing confetti would be a waste of a nice [almond sweet](https://confettitaly.com/prodotto/confetti-al-cioccolato-al-latte-fantasia/) and could give someone a black eye considering how hard they are.
The two most famous that come to mind are Handy (for cell phone) and Public Viewing for a party setup around a sporting event (having a giant screen on a plaza). Another one would be a beamer (modern digital projectors). The word is strangely used to differentiate between Projektoren (old type film or overhead projectors) and modern digital projectors. No idea how that came to be, probably a marketing poly to set them apart.
Cajones. Americans keep using it to mean “cojones” (testicles) but it really means drawers…
Eventually means “at a certain point, in the end” in English.
Eventualno means “perhaps, under certain conditions” in Croatian.
Pathetic means “weak, miserable” in English
Patetika means “overly passionate, fake emotion” in Croatian
Recently people started using them with English meaning because they know English better than their language.
the word *lol* literally means *fun* in Dutch, also *lul* means *dick*.
So doing it for the *lulz* is really weird in Dutch.
A platonic relationship means a relationship that is intimate and loving but not sexual, normally. In Turkish, somehow, it is used to depict unrequited/one-sided love.
Another word for coup d’état is Putsch (at least in High German and apparently in Serbocroatian well) but to us, any clash or bumping together is a Putsch. It’s also a rather ‘cute’ word. When two cars putsch together it’s not a total collision with five victims, but just some Blechschaden.
A Müesli in its form in Switzerland is oats and other grains/cereals, dried fruit, shredded apples joghurt and milk soaked overnight. Etymologically, a Müesli is a little Mues, i.e. a purée.
Note: Swiss German makes a difference between the long /u:/ and the diphthong /ue/. These two give /au/ and /u:/ in High German. A Muus is a High German Maus; a Mues is a High German Mus. So, a Müsli is a little mouse, but the breakfast is a Müesli.
Unless you’re a cat.
This one is slightly obscure but it’s a word – or more so a term – I love.
In America the term ‘Donnybrook’ or Donnybrook Fair’ is used to describe a free for all brawl. Kinda like the bar fights in an old cowboy movie.
Donnybrook is however a somewhat posh suburb of Dublin. Couple of hundred years ago it used to host the annual Donnybrook Fair that, unsurprisingly, would turn very rowdy as the day wore on and the booze kicked in.
Most folks in the US would not even be aware That Donnybrook is a Dublin suburb and many Irish people would not be aware of its use as a term for a scrap!
“Home Office” does not only mean an office room at home but also working from home. So “doing home office” means working from home.
The German “Ventilator” is a fan.
We call email just “mail”. Mail is “Post”.
A mobile phone is a “Handy”.
A “Body” is a bodysuit.
A “Box” is a speaker.
“Gymnasium” is a sort of middle/high school.
“Public Viewing” is an (often outdoor) event in a public space for people to watch usually a sports broadcast together.
“Chef” is the boss, not a cook.
Several English -ing words that are part of a phrase become standalone nouns in other languages. In France, a parking is a parking lot, and in Brazil, a shopping is a mall (shopping center).
I have seen people on the Internet use the word *babushka* as a name of a matryoshka doll or, more commonly, a piece of clothing. In Russian it means “grandma” and can be used to refer to an old woman in general, but never for these two.
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Kind of the opposite of your question I guess, but we use the word ‘sandwich’ to refer to a [specific type of small, soft, bread](https://www.bakersathome.be//assets/uploads/content/_1920xAUTO_fit_center-center_80_none/Sandwichs1000x1000.jpg) and not in its original meaning.
“rendez-vous” in french is just a simple meeting, whereas it seem to be romantic everywhere else.
Actually, I always had a suspicion that this is what **paella** means, because it sounds somewhat similar to Polish “**patelnia**” both words come from Latin “patella”.
Quite a few, at least in English.
For example to eat “al fresco” is used in English to mean “outdoors”, when we actually use it to mean “somewhere cool” (fresco means fresh).
Confetti means something entirely different. In English the term is used to refer to something we call coriandoli. In Italian the word refers to a kind of [sugar coated almonds](https://i.lmnstatic.com/articoli/bomboniera_2.jpg) we gift to people to mark a special occasion such as weddings, christenings, graduation ceremonies, etc. It even gives its name to a shade of pink called rosa confetto.
Latte is just the Italian for milk, so ordering a latte in Italy won’t get you what you think. That would be a Caffè Latte.
Pepperoni doesn’t exist in Italy. It’s either peperoni (meaning bell peppers) or salame piccante (spicy salami).
Stiletto doesn’t mean high heeled shoe. That would be tacchi a spillo. Stiletto is a rather rare term for dagger.
The most famous Polish word is probably “kurwa”. Foreigners think that it means “fuck” which is correct, but it can also mean “a prostitute”. And in some languages it means “a curve” but that’s just a coincidence.
And there is also “kielbasa”. In English it means specificaly a Polish sausage, while in Polish it’s any sausage. It’s funny when people say “kielbasa sausage” because for Poles it means “sausage sausage”.
Gouda. In Dutch it’s a city in South-Holland and *Goudse* Kaas is cheese specifically from that city. In other languages it refers to all Dutch cheeses, even if they’re not actually Dutch.
Risqué doesn’t mean racy, it means, well, risky.
Oh là là doesn’t mean racy either, it’s an expression of mild shock (either a positive or a negative one, but it often indicates annoyance).
Entrée means appetizer / first course (also entry / entrance), not main course.
Maître d doesn’t make sense (it would mean master of); the complete phrase is maître d’hôtel.
Un rendez-vous is an appointment, not specifically a date. You’d say you have a “rendez-vous” at your doctor’s for example.
The French like to use “nickel” to mean “cool” or “awesome!” As an anglophone, it drives me bonkers!
I know that a lot of long term expats here mess up when they want to refer to a food/CPG Organic in their native language. They will use organique/orgánico/organico/etc instead of the correct bio-based terms. Organic in euro context is a chemistry term, but one of those false friends that makes the user look stupid.
Bonus: Cantonese. When someone say “cheap” in Hong Kong Cantonese it doesn’t mean something is a bargain. Or even socially of little worth, or stingy. But rather cheap was given a new meaning that implies socially bogan/chav/social trash in tastes – and in a bad way not the “I’m proud of it!” Kind. So someone dressing with giant LV logo shirt, tacky, people call it cheap.
I was really confused when I heard how people call ero anime (erotic anime) outside Japan.
Everyone seems to call it hentai which means ‘perverse’ in Japanese.
*Encore* which just means again in French.
*Filet mignon* is never used for beef in France, only pork. Beef is just *filet*.
A *coup* is just a blow if you don’t put *d’état* after it.
*Maitre d’* is never used in short form, if you want to use it is *maître d’hôtel*.
People in the US use the world ‘paprika’ for a spice made from for example red bell peppers. I’m Hungary, paprika is never made from bell peppers but from red peppers which are usually mild but there’s also a hot variety.
So in most languages I’m aware of, “versatile” means something that has multiple uses or applications. In Romanian “versatil” means a person who is undecided and easy to sway.