False friends, or to give them their proper name, false cognates, are words which sound or look similar in two different languages, but actually mean very different things. These words can cause harmless misunderstandings and sometimes they can be really funny.
Gil the Travelling Gecko almost always seems to run into these words. Occasionally this means that he doesn’t understand as much as he thought that he did. These ‘errors’ can be great ways to have some fun when learning a new language and will often make you laugh. Best of all, you will probably remember them!
Highlights from Gil the Travelling Gecko Books
In the Gil book series, we use these false friends in each story where Gil is in a country where English isn’t the first language. Sometimes we use common ‘street’ terms to highlight how different people speak in other English speaking countries.
Below are some examples of False Friends and their alternate meanings, plus a few funny words from other countries.
In South Africa, traffic lights are called ‘robots’.
This is because for many years, humans would stand on the street corners to direct the traffic.
When traffic lights arrived, the locals decided that it was these machines that had taken away their jobs, so they called them robots
When Danish people say the word ‘fart’ they are talking about speed and not a little bubble of gas.
If you hear them say ‘full fart’, they actually saying ‘fuldt fart’ which sounds just the same but means top speed.
A fart in Danish is a ‘prut’
In Germany, a ‘handy’ is not on the end of your arm, It is a common name for a cell phone or mobile
Australia has lots of words that can confuse you. Boogers are boogie-boarders and not green yuck from out of your nose. Boogers are also sometimes called shark biscuits
In the southwest of England there is a place called Dartmoor where they have some funny words for everyday things.
In Dartmoor, bees are called ‘drumbledrones’.
Florida Crackers are not crazy people in Florida. Only someone who is born and bred in Florida, is called a ‘Florida cracker’. Many Floridians take great pride in being called a Florida Cracker.
In Denmark it looks like God has his own transport and delivery company.
‘Gods Transport’ means goods transport. It is funny when they are parked outside of a church.
Australia has lots of funny words that are regularly used by people of all ages.
The word ‘chunder’ in Australia means to be sick.
Costa Rican False Friends
A soda in Costa Rica is not a soda.
When you visit Costa Rica, you will find that a soda is not a drink. It is a place they go to to eat. These are family run businesses which serve great local food.
You can still get a soda to drink, but you will probably have to ask for it by name!
My friend Big Major lives in the Bahamas and likes to swim in the sea,
If you ask him “What da wybe?” It means ‘what’s up!’
He will answer “Een nothin’.” which means ‘nothing much.’
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Danish False Friends (kind of)
Lars lives in Denmark, close to Lego Land. Lego is short for “Leg Godt” which means ‘Play well” in Danish.
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Cuban False Friends
My friend Pancho lives in Cuba.
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French False Friends
When visiting France you will hear a lot of people saying wee. They do not need to go to the toilet they mean ‘yes’. Oui in French just sounds like wee!
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Australian False Friends
My friend Mick lives in Australia. In Australia toilet paper is called ‘poo tickets’ and ‘goona pains’ are when you really, really need to poo.
Canadian False Friends
My friend Laurent lives in Canada and he likes to eat poutine. I think it sounds like ‘poo tin’ uuurgh!
South African False Friends
One of the tastiest foods in south Africa is known as ‘Bunny Chow’.
It may not sound very pleasant but it is. Bunny Chow is a loaf of bead filled with curry. Yum!
Portuguese False Cognates
The word ‘fantasia’ in Portuguese doesn’t mean a fantasy, it means a costume.
Make sure that you do not give any secrets away by misunderstanding what someone has asked you.
Australian False Friends
We all know that boogers live in your nose, but in parts of Australia, young boogie boarders are also called boogers!
South African False Cognates
In South Africa a pick-up truck is called a ‘Bakkie’. You will often see groups of people riding in the back of these bakkies, even though it can be dangerous.
Greek False Cognates
My friend Pavlos lives on the island of Corfu in Greece. When you are travelling in Greece you may hear lots of people sneezing a lot. But they are actually saying ‘Ya su’ which means hello.
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Arabic False Cognates
In Arabic the word ‘La’ means no.
If you say it twice, ‘La La’ it does not mean a Teletubby
More examples of false friends will be added in the near future. If you can think of some, get in contact and let is know. We are always looking for new ideas for new stories.
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