Jens Clasen

Some German words sound/look like English words - but mean something totally different:

womit = "with what" not "vomit"

groß = "big" not "gross"

Hose = "trousers" not "hose"

Fahrt = "trip" not "fart"

Hut = "hat" not "hut"

Mist = "manure" not "mist"

dick = "big" not "dick"

Gift = "poison" not "gift"

hell = "bright" not "hell"

die in hell = "those in a brighter colour" not "rotting in the purgatory"

Bis bald! (bald = "soon" not "bald")

Enjoy our language!

#TheGermanWord

May 31, 2023 at 5:08pmWeb
Show threadIdealistic Pragmatist May 31, 2023
@jensclasen "Look like" English words, surely, not "sound like" them?
Show threadGeorg Arne SpendenMay 31, 2023
@jensclasen Hurt, hurt!
Show thread~nMay 31, 2023
@jensclasen That’s why the Pizza Hut Logo is so confusing for germans.
Show threadEvaMartina Merz-BavastroJun 1, 2023
@nblr @jensclasen 😅
Show threadFelix BernoullyMay 31, 2023
@jensclasen Also Bad = bath or spa.
As I was told an endless source of confusion for young GIs who, having been shown images of „Heidelberg“ and the like by the recruiters, received marching orders to places like „Gross Gerau“ and „Bad Kreuznach“.
Show threadEvaMartina Merz-BavastroJun 1, 2023
@felixbernoully @jensclasen 😅
Show threadGJ Groothedde 🇪🇺May 31, 2023
@jensclasen 😅
Show threadEvaMartina Merz-BavastroJun 1, 2023
@Eetschrijver @jensclasen 😅
Show threadDeus Ex MacGuffin May 31, 2023

@jensclasen

There was a joke about this in the show Shin-Chan. Shin asks his mom what the German word for "journey" is, he informs her that "fart is the German word for journey", and then his mom gets mad.

Show threadMarco van den HoutMay 31, 2023
@DXMacGuffin @jensclasen in Sweden they have signs saying 'farthinder', indicating speed bumps.
Show threadWaldoMay 31, 2023
@jensclasen i love it 🤣
Show threadmarcusMay 31, 2023
@jensclasen Fucking Hell = a beer brand, not total chaos
Show threadJen MMay 31, 2023
@jensclasen "Will" is the one that gets me every time
Show threadBonkersMay 31, 2023

@jensclasen also,

Tageshit

/A dish of the day in a canteen/

Show threadokapiJun 1, 2023
@bonkers @jensclasen I'll never forget the occasion where Cevapcici, which my father always rudely referred to as dog dirts, was the Tageshit in a restaurant in Austria. As the waiter ran down our order in his Austrian dialect it sounded like zwei mal Cola, ein mal dog shit, ...
Show threadBonkersJun 1, 2023
@okapi @jensclasen ROFL, I love Cevapcici. We had a Serbian mom and dad restaurant near my work, and they cooked home style food. Yummy, but it stank because people were smoking inside. But yummy and cheap.
Show threadSternwarte Vach (Andy)May 31, 2023
@jensclasen English for runaways / Englisch für Fortgeschrittene 😂 Schöne zusammenstellung :)
Show threadThilo, EE 🤘🏼🇪🇺⚛🎗️May 31, 2023

@jensclasen More subtle:
"Sensibel" = sensitive, not sensible
"Beamer" = projector, not a BMW
"Handy" = mobile phone, not (a) handy (thing)

The list goes on...

Show threadMäh W.May 31, 2023
@VintageProject @jensclasen our English book called them "false friends". But it was English words that had another meaning though they sounded similar to the German words.
Show threadHueyJun 1, 2023
@jensclasen we have a CD called "Bald nun ist Weihnachtszeit", and bald nun does not mean bald nun.
Show threadPhilipp WeißJun 1, 2023
@jensclasen bekommen = "to get sth." not "become".
Classical German mistake in restaurants: Can I become a steak.
Show threadGeoffray LevasseurJun 1, 2023
@jensclasen Groß is very similar to French "gros" meaning big
Show threaddave's thought experimentJun 1, 2023

@jensclasen

dick is more like thick

Show threadDas große Lu und das kleine laJun 1, 2023
@jensclasen
Hachz, wie immer lehrreich und erheiternd!
Große Freude, das immer wieder lesen zu dürfen!
Danke schön!
Thanks a lot!
Show threadꋬ꒒ꏂ꒼ꀤꋬJun 1, 2023
@jensclasen ich lieb das gerade sehr.
Show thread@msi__Jun 2, 2023
Get a convertible and enjoy the Fahrtwind on the Autobahn. @jensclasen