{"id":2460,"date":"2014-09-18T13:10:45","date_gmt":"2014-09-18T13:10:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/?p=2460"},"modified":"2014-09-22T13:13:35","modified_gmt":"2014-09-22T13:13:35","slug":"different-meanings-languages","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/different-meanings-languages\/","title":{"rendered":"15 Words That Have Very Different Meanings Across Languages"},"content":{"rendered":"<h4><em>Watch your language abroad: If you use any of these 15 words, people might think you\u2019re a bit rude, or worse!<\/em> <!--more--><\/h4>\n<p>Some of these words are known as false friends, and are either spelled or pronounced the same as words in other languages, but they can have very different meanings: they might be harmless in one language but quite insulting in another.<\/p>\n<h3>1. Ne ga: Korean\/English<\/h3>\n<p>\u201cNe ga\u201d (pronounced nee-gaa) means \u201cyou\u201d in Korean. Avoid singing Korean pop in public in English-speaking countries!<\/p>\n<p><iframe class=\"vine-embed\" src=\"https:\/\/vine.co\/v\/hVAgIUlP9z5\/embed\/postcard\" width=\"480\" height=\"480\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe><script src=\"\/\/platform.vine.co\/static\/scripts\/embed.js\" async=\"\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><br \/>\nChinese also has a similar sounding phrase meaning \u201cthis is.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3>2. Gaae: Thai\/English<\/h3>\n<p>If you\u2019re new to the Thai language you might want to check up on your pronunciations before embarrassing yourself. The word for \u201cold\u201d in Thai is \u201cgaae\u201d but many students of the language end up pronouncing it as \u201cgay\u201d which means the same in Thai as it does in English.<\/p>\n<p>So, if you ask someone how old they are and you aren't clear with your pronunciation, you might not get you the answer\u00a0you expected!<\/p>\n<h3>3. Moron: Welsh\/English<\/h3>\n<p>\u201cMoron\u201d is Welsh for \u201ccarrots.\u201d And also \u201cmoron,\u201d unfortunately.<br \/>\n<em>Ydych chi'n hoffi moron?<\/em> (Do you like morons\/carrots?)<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/2024208333_50b7a952cb_z.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-2508 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/2024208333_50b7a952cb_z.jpg\" alt=\"2024208333_50b7a952cb_z\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/2024208333_50b7a952cb_z.jpg 640w, https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/2024208333_50b7a952cb_z-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/2024208333_50b7a952cb_z-624x416.jpg 624w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a>\u00a0Nicholas Noyes \/ Flickr<\/p>\n<h3>4. Won: Polish\/Russian<\/h3>\n<p>In Poland you\u2019d be welcomed for describing someone\u2019s house as \u201cwon\u201d (nice smelling), but in Russia you might not be so well received: in Russian it means \u201cstink.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3>5. Oficina: Spanish\/Portuguese<\/h3>\n<p>A Spanish mechanic might be unduly flattered when asked about his \u201coficina\u201d by a Portuguese speaker, since \u201coficina\u201d means \u201cworkshop\u201d in Portuguese, but \u201coffice\u201d in Spain.<\/p>\n<h3>6. Schlimm: Dutch\/German<\/h3>\n<p>Being \u201cschlimm\u201d (smart\/successful) is something to be proud of in the Netherlands, but not so much in Germany where it\u2019s used to describe someone who is dim-witted and unsuccessful.<\/p>\n<h3>7. Fag: US\/UK English<\/h3>\n<p>If you\u2019re British, don\u2019t use the word \u201cfag\u201d to ask for a cigarette in other English speaking countries \u2013 it's not the most common usage, and is often considered derogatory.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/4761768988_09958afa9b_o.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-2510 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/4761768988_09958afa9b_o.jpg\" alt=\"4761768988_09958afa9b_o\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/4761768988_09958afa9b_o.jpg 640w, https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/4761768988_09958afa9b_o-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/4761768988_09958afa9b_o-624x416.jpg 624w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a>Brice Ambrosiak \/ Flickr<\/p>\n<h3>8. Slut: Swedish\/English<\/h3>\n<p>In Swedish \u201cslut\u201d means \u201cend\/finished,\u201d along with its\u00a0many variations. Try not to use this word when telling your girlfriend it\u2019s over between you.<\/p>\n<h3>9. Air: English\/Malay<\/h3>\n<p>In Singapore, where Malay is one of the four official languages, the air is cause for\u00a0much frustration and debate because of the high levels of pollution. Speaking of air, the Malay word \u201cair\u201d means \u201cwater\u201d in English, where the word for air is \u201cudara.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3>10. Dick: English\/German<\/h3>\n<p>\u201cDick\u201d is rude to call someone in both the German and English languages, in case you were even thinking of using it. \"Dick\" means \u201cthick\u201d or \u201cfat\u201d in German.<\/p>\n<h3>11. Gift: German\/Danish\/Swedish\/Norwegian\/English<\/h3>\n<p>\u201cGift\u201d means \u201cpoison\u201d in German, Danish, Swedish and Norwegian. Aptly, it also means \u201cto get married\u201d in Swedish, Danish and Norwegian.<\/p>\n<h3>12. P\u0304h\u1ea1k: Thai\/English<\/h3>\n<p>If you\u2019re in the habit of speaking a mix of Thai and English, you should be careful when you have guests who only speak English over for a meal.<\/p>\n<p>Definitely do not ask them, \u201cWould you like some p\u0304h\u1ea1k soup?\u201d because they might just say yes and expect something completely different. In Thai, p\u0304h\u1ea1k is pronounced \/f\u028ck\/, like the vulgar English word, and means \u201cvegetable.\u201d<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_2514\" style=\"width: 650px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/3352302825_61efded514_z.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2514\" class=\"wp-image-2514 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/3352302825_61efded514_z.jpg\" alt=\"3352302825_61efded514_z\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/3352302825_61efded514_z.jpg 640w, https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/3352302825_61efded514_z-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/3352302825_61efded514_z-624x468.jpg 624w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-2514\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Cristen Andrews \/ Flickr<\/p><\/div>\n<h3>13. Tapas: Brazilian\/Spanish<\/h3>\n<p>You could easily land yourself a rosy cheek when asking your waiter for some \u201ctapa(s)\u201d in Brazil, which means \u201cslap,\u201d as opposed to the dish served in mainland Spain. \u201cBocas\u201d would be the more appropriate word to use in Brazil if you\u2019d like a snack (which actually means \"mouths\" in Spanish!) \u2013 keeping up?<\/p>\n<h3>14. Habla: Filipino\/Spanish<\/h3>\n<p>\u201cHabla\u201d in Spanish means \u201cto say\u201d; in Filipino it means 'a lawsuit\/to sue'.<br \/>\nSpanish tourist: \u201cHablas Espanol?\u201d<br \/>\nFilipino lawyer: \u201cIsn\u2019t that a bit racist?\u201d<br \/>\nAn unlikely scenario.<\/p>\n<h3>15. Fart: Danish\/English<\/h3>\n<p>\u201cFart\u201d is Danish for \u201cspeed,\u201d so keep that in mind when you see a road sign saying \u201cFart Kontrol\u201d (Speed Control).<\/p>\n<p>If you see the words \u201cI Fart\u201d displayed on an elevator in Denmark, don\u2019t panic, it just means \u201cIn Use.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Keep the above words and phrases in mind when you need a quick language-related joke, or when trying to avoid embarrassing yourself in a foreign land.\u00a0And if you're especially worried about making a slip-up,\u00a0<a title=\"Contact Us\" href=\"http:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/\/contact.php\">contact us<\/a> to find the right language course for you.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Watch your language abroad: If you use any of these 15 words, people might think you\u2019re a bit rude, or worse!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":2462,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[236,27],"tags":[59,40,66,37,72,44,31],"class_list":["post-2460","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-must-know","category-humour-offbeat","tag-english","tag-german","tag-language","tag-spanish","tag-tourist","tag-travel","tag-words"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>15 Words That Have Very Different Meanings Across Languages<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Watch your language abroad: If you use any of these 15 words, people might think you\u2019re a bit rude, or worse!\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/different-meanings-languages\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"15 Words That Have Very Different Meanings Across Languages\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Watch your language abroad: If you use any of these 15 words, people might think you\u2019re a bit rude, or worse!\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/different-meanings-languages\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Listen &amp; 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