CiaraOct 12, 2025

The word 'Vrede' jumped out at me from this 'Peace' installation. 'Vrede' is Danish for anger, fury, wrath. I wondered if it was an artistic provocation. But it seemed too confined to chance, that someone who happens to understand Danish happens to see this German artwork. So I looked it up and learned that 'vrede' is Dutch for 'peace'.

Vrede. Peace in Dutch. Wrath in Danish. I wonder if there's a word for words like these, that mean the opposite in different languages.

https://pixelfed.social/p/Rudini/881293271414254882

Rüdi (@[email protected])

Fotografiert 2018 auf dem Roncalliplatz in Köln.

Pixelfed
Show threadHenk van der EijkOct 12, 2025

@CiaraNi The expression that springs to mind is ‘false friends’, but I’m not sure that covers what you mean.

I agree there should be a word for this, in English, Dutch and Danish.

Show threadCassana 🍻Oct 12
@HenkvanderEijk @CiaraNi I know the concept as false cognates, which are usually only considered such within a language family, like in this case, Germanic. I quite like “eng; German: narrow, Dutch: scary, Danish/Norwegian: meadow, Luxemburgish:one. Perhaps there’s a Multilingualese phrase like: Eng eng eng eng = a narrow scary meadow?
Show threadjohan
@HenkvanderEijk @CiaraNi @cassana Eng in (old) Dutch also meant narrow
Oct 13 at 12:37pmWeb
Show threadCiaraOct 13

@johan It's interesting and often lovely, how the languages harmonise and echo one another

@HenkvanderEijk @cassana

Show threadjohanOct 13
@cassana @HenkvanderEijk @CiaraNi I’m always fascinated how words change meaning based on how they’re used. Like eng. Which became scary probably because narrow anything is scary. In Dutch eng was mostly used for streets and waterways
Show threadCiaraOct 13

@johan 'Which became scary probably because narrow anything is scary.' I'd never thought of that. Narrow alley. Narrow passage. Narrow tunnel. Places you can get trapped and scared. Interesting!

@cassana @HenkvanderEijk