Does anybody know of a list of Polish-English False Friends and True Friends?

Well, it doesn't really matter; I'm never gonna make a kwadrillion anyway during my lifetime :)

>^..^<

M-G (tiens)

You never know:

Back to the topic:

Actual ≠ aktualny ('current' in Polish)
Glut ≠ glut(y) (informally: the slime from your nose or substance of similar consistence)

So you mean it is not an American originated concept but a European one?! Then I think you gotta take a look at this fella:

jimloy.com/math/billion.htm

He does not suggest that it originated in North America.



en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_and_short_scales#Timeline


en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_and_short_scales#US_usage

Ok now I get you. You got me misunderstandingly. I wrote this:

"It is an American, to my knowledge, phenomenon in which "milliard" gave way to "billion". But its true and logical concept is still remained in British English as well as in the other languages."

I didn't talk abt the origin of scaling, but only abt the phenomenon in which "milliard" gives way to "billion". And for sure it is an American phenomenon which is logically and historically not true, but apparently accepted, according to my given source, amongst scientists.

What's the difference? That is what the scaling is all about, isn't it?

lol are you kidding me bro? There is difference for sure. In origination of scaling "billion" is something and in its modern American concept it is something else. As you mentioned scaling itself is originated from somewhere else but America. Nonetheless that using "billion" instead of "milliard" is originated from America. This is the difference, however they both regard scaling overally.

The "billion" instead of "milliard" is the difference between the 'Short Scale' and 'Long Scale'.
It didn't originate in North America.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_and_short_scales#Comparison


How many is a billion?
askoxford.com/asktheexperts/faq/aboutwords/billion

I see, I thought it is used for the first time in America, this way. Thanks for your illumination.

Pies.

English: filled pastries.

Polish: dog.

Not a "Polish Dog" btw, that's something they eat in the USA, haha :)

We'll eat it but only if it's a gorący pies... ;)

Cockers are the best! Yummy... lol

Whic proves that when a woman says 'no', she means 'yes'.

What about :
do - do

Polish do - to, for................ English do - robić

to - to

Polish to this, that ,it............ Englishto - do

Yes, some of my friends are very relieved to hear their food has 'no added preservatives'.

I suppose one false friend is 'queue'. In Britain it is something you join the back of, in Polish it is something you walk to the front of and say, "excuse me, I just have a question!"

wyrafinowany means sophisticated. what does it mean "cleaver"???


wino? like wine?? Lump means a trump, bum... someone who is drunk, dirty, often homeless. Menel is smilar word.


;DD

Thread attached on merging:
English/Polish false friends - can anyone help?

Haven't come across that many yet but one that sticks out is the English sympathetic - which of course doesn't mean the same as the Polish word with a similar spelling.

Can anyone advise on a few? They can be useful to go through with students - especially if there isn't the endless list like you might get with French/English

dzięki !

actual adj - aktualny adj (current, topical)
concurrence noun - konkurencja noun (competition)
divan noun - dywan noun (carpet)
eventual adj - ewentualny adj (possible)
feral adj - feralny adj (disastrous, fatal)
hazard noun - hazard noun (gambling)
knot noun - knot noun (wick)
rumo(u)r noun - rumor noun (uproar, clamour)
confection noun - konfekcja noun (ready-made clothes)
lecture noun - lektura noun (reading or set book)

antics - antyki pl (antiques)
angina - angina (throat infection/tonsilitis)
beckon verb - bekon (bacon)
caravan - karawan (hearse)
complement - komplement (compliment)
direction - dyrekcja (management)
dress - dres (tracksuit)
fabric - fabryka (factory)
gnat - gnat (bone inf)
gymnasium - gimnazjum (junior secondary school)
helm - hełm (helmet)
local - lokal (dwelling, apartment or restaurant)
lot - lot (flight)
lump - lump (wino, lush)
lunatic - lunatyk (sleepwalker)
novel - nowela (short story)
ordinary - ordynarny (coarse, boorish)
pension - pensja (salary)
probe - próba (attempt, trial)
rate - rata (installment)
receipt - recepta (prescription)
rent - renta (pension)
vagaries - wagary pl (playing truant)

Im not sure if it ll helps u but i tried :)

That is fantastic Mara exactly what I want - thanks very much!


Well a "cleaver" is a heavy duty butchers chopping knife type thing but they probably meant
"clever" in the smart ass way.


Yeah, wino is one of these and yes, derived from wine.

Careful though, in the US a "bum" is a wino/tramp but in Britain/Ireland it is an ass/arse!

What about true friends then? To make it easier, and to considerably shorten any list, you can probably exclude the more obvious Latin/Greek ones (e.g. psychology, hygiene etc) and stick to the more mundane.

Can anyone help again?

z góry dzięki !

milk=mleko
yogurt=jogurt
brother=brat
sister=siostra
brewery=browar
final=finał (n), finałowy (adj)
rivalty=rywalizacja
peace=pokój
king=król
official (formal)=oficjalny
officer=oficer
text=tekst
article=artykuł
concentrate (to focus; to gather)=koncentrować się
army=armia
cat=kot
phone (n)=telefon
blouse=bluzka (but bluza=sweatshirt)
motocycle=motocykl, motor
film=film
mask=maska
cross=krzyż
loose=luźny
night=noc
sleep (v.)=spać
sun=słońce
month=miesiąc
March=marzec
May=maj
purse=portmonetka (sack for coins)

boot (shoe)=but (every shoe)
water=woda
vodka=wódka
wine=wino
appearence (look)=aparycja
cycle=cykl
oval=owalny
triangle=trójkąt
three=trzy
two=dwa
six=sześć
seven=siedem
sell=sprzedawać
distance=dystans
garage=garaż
naked=nagi
cafee=kawa
cafe=kawiarnia
cocoa=kakao
chocolate=czekolada(n.), czekoladowy(adj.)
massacre=masakra
down=dół, dolny(adj.)
day=dzień
channel=kanał
aborcion=aborcja
marriage=mariaż (oldfashioned word; often use in metaphoric sense)
sense=sens
fact=fakt
adoption=adopcja
action=akcja
alarm=alarm(n.), alarmować(v.)
rose=róża
colour=kolor

Thanks Zetigrek, that's great - very helpful!

(Although I would question whether a couple are really true friends e.g. słońce or
sprzedawać ? maybe you are seeing/hearing something that I'm not (!) however, certainly not complaining and these words are good to know anyway)

if something else come to my mind i will post it


as a user of english I find it easy to use word which begins with the same letter as in english so they naturally seems to be alike for me.

alphabet=alfabet
letter (of an alphabet)=litera
compact=kompaktowy
cosmos=kosmos
card=karta
throne=tron
crown=korona
computer=komputer
bomb=bomba
bottle=butelka
bus=autobus
map=mapa
contact=kontakt
calibre=kaliber
hide (sth)=chować
vanilla=wanilia (n.), waniliowy(adj.)
rice=ryż
copy=kopiować
paste (like toothpaste)=pasta
gesture=gest
goal=gol
powder=puder (but is some collocations should be proszek)
punch(drink)=poncz
drink (like mohito)=drink
salad=sałatka (watch out false friend sałata=lettuce)

If you would like a 3 page pdf on common words that are similar in Polish and English, then contact me by email, or send an email address by PM.

salt=sól
paper (sheet of paper)=papier

i thought 'no' in polish meant 'well!' in english.

is that correct

chaza

Not sure of the spelling, but something that sounds like "noh" in English means the equivalent of "yeah" or even "aye" in English - as opposed to "yes"

yes sort of, but is some context means "yeah"

- Wziąłeś kasę?
- No

- No co tam u ciebie słychać? dawno się nie odzywałeś...
- A w porządku.

It's a bit like using "innit" as well :)

Idziemy do pubu?

No, a potem pójdziemy do łozka haha

Are we going to the pub?

Innit! And afterwards, we'll go to bed haha

:D

I don't even know such word "innit"...

it just rounds off a sentence, like.

it just rounds off a sentence, so it does.

It's (mostly London) slang, it means many things, depending on how and where you use it in the sentence, for example:

Yeah (omg innit, that girl is so buff!)

I agree (Do you have a sweet tooth? Innit, but I like cakes more than biscuits lol)

It's/that's true (Are you really 32? Haha innit, but I don't look it :) )

(Do you) understand? (Don't look at my girlfriend or I'll mash you up innit)

Aren't you (you're bit of a battyboy innit)

Isn't he/she (see that guy with the pink jacket, he's a battyman innit)

Shouldn't they (maybe someone should sort out that faulty speaker innit)

There are many more, but I have to go.... innit ;)