20 English words that are easy to translate wrong

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Canal, heroine, preservative, list and other words that do not mean at all what you might think.

There are a lot of similar words in English and Russian, which are translated the same way. You are unlikely to be mistaken in translating the words text, information, secret into Russian - everything is clear here and so. But there are also many insidious words in English that don't translate exactly the way you think they are. They are called the translator's false friends.

Absent

Not "absinthe", but "to be absent, to be absent." If you want to order a drink, use absinthe.

I was absent at that moment when she drank some absinthe and started to dance strip.

I was not there at the moment when she drank absinthe and began to dance striptease.

Bar

This is some kind of block, board. Maybe even a bar counter. For a drink, go to the pub.

The bartender wiped the bar counter and helped the guard get the drunk one from the pub.

The bartender wiped the bar off and helped the guard carry the drunk out of the bar.

Brilliant

Bright, shiny. "Diamond" in English is diamond.

These diamonds would look brilliant on my wife’s ears.

These diamonds would look brilliant on my wife's ears.

Cabinet

A wardrobe with drawers, a wardrobe, a sideboard, but definitely not a workspace. Better say office.

Put the vase on the cabinet in my office.

Put the vase on the sideboard in my office.

Canal

It is a channel, but only in the sense of "artificial channel". If you want to talk about a TV or radio channel, use channel.

I turned on the travel channel. They showed a program about the Panama Canal.

I turned on the travel channel. They showed a program about the Panama Canal.

Chef

Chef. It is used precisely as the name of the profession. If you want to compliment someone's culinary skills at a party, say cook. The word "chief" in the meaning of "chief" will be spelled differently - chief or boss.

The restaurant chef was fired by his own boss because customers complained about his soup.

The restaurant's chef was fired by his boss for complaining about his soup.

Detective

This is only a man, a detective. The book genre will be called crime story or detective story.

A police detective does not like detective stories because there are a lot of lies.

The police detective doesn't like detective novels, there are a lot of lies.

Dynamic

Dynamics, dynamic. "Speaker" (column) will be speaker.

Young people love dynamic music and buy Bluetooth speakers to take music with them.

Young people love dynamic music and buy Bluetooth speakers to take their music with them.

Heroine

The heroine of a film or book. "Heroin" in English is heroin or snow.

The main heroine of the film is a heroin addicted.

The main character of the film is a heroin addict.

Intelligent

Smart, smart. An "intellectual" as a representative of a social group will be intellectual.

Intelligency isn’t loved in this country because they are too intelligent.

In this country, the intelligentsia is not liked because they are too smart.

Jest

This is a joke, a prank, a mockery, but not a "gesture".

I gestured to him that my middle finger was sore, but he decided that it was a jest.

I gestured to him that my middle finger hurt, but he thought it was a joke.

List

A list, such as shopping or to-do items.

I wrote a shopping list on this yellow piece of paper.

I wrote my shopping list on this yellow sheet.

Officiant

The host of the wedding ceremony. This is a registry office employee with us or a priest in the United States. "Waiter" in English is waiter.

At the marriage ceremony the officiant told the story of the acquaintance of the newlyweds. He was a waiter and she was a guest.

During the wedding, the host of the ceremony told the story of the newlyweds' acquaintance. He was a waiter and she was a guest.

Paragraph

A paragraph, not a paragraph (article, section).

At this paragraph, someone drew an article mark.

In this paragraph, someone drew a paragraph mark.

Preservative

A preservative for the preservation of food, not what you think. "Condom" is simply condom.

We use natural flavors in our condoms and natural preservatives to keep the fresh smell.

We use natural flavors in our condoms and natural preservatives to keep the smell fresh.

Series

The series is basically. A certain episode will be episode.

The Game of Thrones series is very boring. Especially the episode, where everyone is killed at the wedding.

Game of Thrones is very boring. Especially the episode where everyone is killed at a wedding.

Silicon

Silicon. Some people mistakenly call Silicon Valley, the high-tech region of the United States, Silicon Valley, although it is correct - Silicon. "Silicone" in English is silicone, with an e at the end.

Chemistry teacher with silicone breasts implants showed the silicon experiments.

A silicone-breasted chemistry teacher showed experiments with silicon.

Surrogate

A proxy, for example in an election campaign. It is rarely used in the meaning of "surrogate".

I am a surrogate of the company producing coffee substitutes.

I am a representative of a coffee surrogate company.

Tourniquet

A tourniquet with which to stop bleeding. A metro turnstile is called a ticket barrier or turnstile in English.

He was injured when he jumped over the turnstile. I had to put a tourniquet to stop the blood.

He was injured while jumping over the turnstile. I had to put on a tourniquet to stop the bleeding.

Utilize

Use. This is where the word "utility" comes from. It is also used in the meaning of "recycle", but less often, it is better to use reclaim or recycle.

Utilize this acid for recycling organic waste.

Use this acid for organic waste disposal.

These are not all such words, there are a lot of them. But you don't have to memorize them all, look at the context. If the article is about Leonardo da Vinci, it is unlikely that the word artist will be used in the text as "artist" and not "artist". Therefore, be sure to determine the topic of the text before reading - knowing it, you will no longer get confused. And if anything, it is always not a shame to look into the dictionary.