How about starting another thread on translation issues referring to underlying meanings, i.e. words or phrases you can easily put your foot in (Fettnäpfchen), such as asking to people who are about to leave the room to catch some fresh air whether they are going out with each other only to be told this is none of your business. Or asking your landlord who rented out a furnished room with a wobbly desk whether he would mind screwing the table to get a horrified stare. (Happened to me. Had to learn second meanings the hard way).
I enjoy your blog a lot. More of this, please.

ample (adj. ~big) does not equal die Ampel (traffic light)

(sorry, but i figured a link might be helpful – wikipedia entry is in german though)

VASISTAS is not equal to WAS IST DAS (as in what is that in german) – vasistas is a term used for a special kind of windows that only existed in France. during world war two german soldiers didn’t know what that was or what it served and asked wasistdas (or vasistas in french pronunciation) and thus the french adopted it because there wasn’t a real word for that in their language. funny, huh?

i can’t believe I forget about this. we learned about it in school. seems like my french is getting rustier very day!

cu ph

Reading US military news I came to think that a “cutter” and a “Kutter” might differ in meaning. A “Kutter” in German means a rather small boat, often for catching fish, whereas the US Coast Guard’s newest cutter is “a 418-foot vessel” worth half a billion dollars…

(Sorry for the double post)

sensible (adjective):

1. Showing reason or sound judgment

2. Able to feel or perceive

3. Acting with or showing thought and good sense

4. Marked by the exercise of good judgment or common sense in practical matters

5. Readily perceived by the senses

6. Aware intuitively or intellectually of something sensed

7. Proceeding from good sense or judgment

sensitive (adjective):

1. Responsive to physical stimuli

2. Having acute mental or emotional sensibility

3. Able to feel or perceive

4. Hurting

5. Used officially of classified information or matters affecting national security

Looks like there’s a good deal of similarities. That makes the “great difference” being taught in English lessons more or less a myth.

About false friends between English and French: It would be logical that there are false friends, which are unrelated to pronunciation. French has added many words to the English language following the Norman conquest and it would be only natural that the meaning of some French loanwords, being separareted from their origin, has taken a different path. Chaucer already punned on differences. Language change is a funny thing.

But my French is a bit rusted and does not reach far beyond the necessities in a bakery or supermarket, so the question must be answered by someone else.

@42317: Hilarious joke. The funniest part is that it probably happened in real life.

@Bob: Thanks for the correction. I kicked myself after I uploaded the video! But yes I know the grammar makes it tricky – if ‘die See’ is Dativ it becomes ‘der See’. So ‘Ich schwimme in der See’, but then ‘Ich gehe in die See’ (because it’s Akkusativ if there’s movement). Ah German grammar.

My very false friend is “sensible”, which is very close to the German word “sensibel” (being sensitive).

Keep up the funny blogging!