Archive for: "False Friends"

Learn everything about false friends between German and English. Why are they false, what is the proper translation and how did the words end up being so not the same.

False Friends Explained – “spenden vs to spend”

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Hello everyone,

and welcome to a new episode of False Friends Explained, this time with a look at

spenden vs to spend

And those two are actually not THAT far apart. Still, there’s a lot of room for confusion.

  • I spend 150 Dollars on Sushi every day.
  • Ich spende jeden Tag 150 Dollar für Sushi.

Because while the English sentence makes you sound like a rich snob who is completely out of touch with the reality of the common man, the German sentence makes you sound like… uhm… a generous rich snob. Who is totally out of touch with the reality of the common man. I mean, seriously… donating 150 bucks for Sushi. Come on.
But yeah, that’s what spenden is…

Continue reading →

28 Comments

Posted on October 26, 2017 by

Posted in Audio Examples, Broad Vocabulary, False Friends, Quick Reads

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False Friends Explained – “sensibel vs sensible”

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Hello everyone,

and welcome to a new episode of False Friends Explained, this time with a look at the words

sensible and sensibel

 

This pair can lead to serious misunderstandings when it comes to describing people and their character.
If your coworker tells you your new boss is extremely sensible, that’s great news. I mean… who wouldn’t want a sensible boss. This is great news, right?
If your German coworker tells you the new boss is “extrem sensibel” … well… you might want to bring some tissues to the meeting.

Continue reading →

45 Comments

Posted on March 1, 2017 by

Posted in Audio Examples, Broad Vocabulary, False Friends, Quick Reads

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False Friends Explained – “art vs Art”

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art-false-friends-german-enHello everyone,

and welcome to a new episode of False Friends Explained. As usual, we’ll take a pair of false friends, see  what went wrong with their friendship and then, in an epic, tear-ridden finale we’ll reconcile them.
Meh… okay, I guess we can’t make them friends again. But it’s definitely gonna be super epic because today, we’ll look art, old and contemporary, English and German. Ladies and gentlemen, get ready for

art vs (die) Art

A famous man once said

A poem, a fart, 
everything is art.

In  English, this statement is controversial.  In German not so much.  Continue reading →

27 Comments

Posted on November 16, 2016 by

Posted in A -Level, Audio Examples, False Friends, Must have words, Quick Reads

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False Friends Explained – “craft vs Kraft”

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kraft-craft-meaningsHello everyone,

and welcome to a new episode of False Friends Explained – the series that’s all about false friends. Like Steve. Come on man, I thought we were buds!! You freaking knew I had a crush on her and yet you couldn’t help it but, … anyway, sorry guys… I just feel a bit lonely right now.
So, false friends special. And today we’ll talk about

craft vs. die Kraft

 

Craft is at its heart about skill.  Carpentry can be a craft, or pottery, or writing. A craft beer is a beer that was brewed using hand work, skill and experience, and a crafty person is someone who is very smart and cunning.
Kraft on the other hand is not as refined.

Continue reading →

24 Comments

Posted on September 27, 2016 by

Posted in Audio Examples, Broad Vocabulary, False Friends

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