False Friends in Slavic languages (funny)

  • I can speak some slavic languages (russian, serbian/croatian, slovene) and is very funny how many embarassing false friends exist between these languages. :lol:


    just some examples


    Polish = szukać (too look for)
    Czech = šukat (to f@%k :shock: )


    Polish = poprawić (to improve)
    Slovene = popraviti (to correct)
    Czech = popravit (to put to death :roll: )


    Polish = chyba (maybe)
    Czech = chyba (mistake)


    Polish = zapach (pleasant smell)
    Czech = zapach (stench :lol: )


    Polish, Slovene = zachod, zahod (west) (accent on the"o")
    Czech, Croatian = zachod, zahod (toilet :roll: ) (accent on the "a")


    Polish = zapomnieć (to forget)
    Russian = запомнить - zapomnit' (to memorize)


    Russian = proem (aperture)
    Czech = prujem (diarrhea :wink2: )


    Slovene = trudna (tired)
    Croatian = trudna (pregnant :!: )


    Slovene = umor (murder)
    Croatian = umor (exhaustation)
    Czech = umor (repayment)
    Russian = umor (something funny)


    Slovene = stražnica (border military post)
    Croatian = stražnica (butt :roll: )


    Funny, isn't it!!


    And really many many many more!! Maybe Justyna, Nastja and other Polish and Serbian users know more of it.

  • i know a few funny things between polish and czech


    'odchody autobusow' (czech)
    'odjazdy autobusow (pol)


    in polish 'odchody' means 'excrement' so 'excrement of buses' instead of 'departures of buses'


    'dupa' (czech)
    'biskup' (pol)


    in polish 'dupa' means 'ass' so 'ass' instead of 'bishop'


    'sklep' (czech)
    'piwnica' (pol)


    in polish 'sklep' means 'shop' so 'shop' instead 'cellar'


    'statek' (czech) household
    'statek' (pol) ship



    and many many different:) i hope that somebody understood something from it


  • :lol: :lol: very funny!! It should be funny to hear a conversation between a Polish and Czech!

  • ah there is some mistake i always do when talking polish :lol:


    in russian ZABIT means "to forget"
    and since i like to mix russian with polish
    i say then ZABIŁAM which means then I KILLED


    and my friend reacts like " :shock: whom???"

  • hehehe


    some words are really funny!


    thanx for this! :P


    "To get from the sport what I have got,
    rain what you really like,
    always work at least a little more than you are asked to
    and believe that everything that happens to you
    is leading you to the TOP!"
    Ivan Miljković


  • Quote from "samba player"

    Polish = poprawić (to improve)
    Slovene = popraviti (to correct)
    Czech = popravit (to put to death :roll: )


    Yes, that's true, but "poprawić" has two meanings in Polish: "to improve" and "to correct".
    By the way, Samba Player, "curva" means something like "corner, square" in Italian, doesn't it? Sometimes when I watch RaiSport I have so much fun listening Italian commentators say this "dirty word". :lol:

    The most important 3:
    POLAND-SZCZECIN-VOLLEYBALL


    5th place - Prediction Game - World League 2011 :D

  • Quote from "Konrad"


    Yes, that's true, but "poprawić" has two meanings in Polish: "to improve" and "to correct".
    By the way, Samba Player, "curva" means something like "corner, square" in Italian, doesn't it? Sometimes when I watch RaiSport I have so much fun listening Italian commentators say this "dirty word". :lol:


    haha Curva in Portuguese means bend or curve... like in a road! :wink2:
    But what does it mean in Polish?? :roll:
    I remember that in an international competition I saw a girl named "Mao Assada"... if she came to Brazil... well... :roll:

  • Quote from "LothiePG"

    haha Curva in Portuguese means bend or curve... like in a road! :wink2:
    But what does it mean in Polish?? :roll:
    I remember that in an international competition I saw a girl named "Mao Assada"... if she came to Brazil... well... :roll:


    kurwa means slut or bitch but we use this when we are angry or somethin'.
    i like this word:DDD

  • Quote from "Konrad"


    By the way, Samba Player, "curva" means something like "corner, square" in Italian, doesn't it? Sometimes when I watch RaiSport I have so much fun listening Italian commentators say this "dirty word". :lol:


    Hehe :D
    In Italian curva means a road bend (is this the right english word??) and corner. In some Slavic languages (I already knew for Croatian/Serbian and Slovene, but I didn't know for Polish too) kurva, kurwa, kurba means bitch.
    When Slovene and Croatian go to Italy to buy something is very funny for them to say this word. :lol:
    Is it also in other Slavic languages as Russian, Czech, Bulgarian??


    About Mao Asada, what does it mean in portuguese?? She is one of the most talented figure skaters right now, known for doing the most difficult triple jump, the triple Axel.

  • Quote from "samba player"


    About Mao Asada, what does it mean in portuguese?? She is one of the most talented figure skaters right now, known for doing the most difficult triple jump, the triple Axel.


    Well, basically (because it's not exactly the writting that gives effect, the problem is when you read it)... it means something like 'badly roasted' :roll: (and yes you can think of it in a bad way too :twisted: )
    It's also useful to know that I should not say the word 'curva' in Slavic countries :P


    I know the topic is about slavic false friends, but I can't help myself and say that the funniest thing for a spanish speaker is to arrive in a country that speaks portuguese and say that the food is 'esquisita'... In spanish it means that it's delicious, but in Portuguese it means that it's weird... :P


    Also I never could (and still can't) understand why 'fiore' is a male word in Italian :shock:

  • An another example:


    Polish = nóżki (little legs)
    Czech = nużky (scissors)


    Polish = przytomny (conscious)
    Czech = pritomny (present; children at scholl say like that)


    And if we are talking about volleyball. When two years ago EC took place in Croatia, Romanian team was to play in the city of Pula. Romanian federation made the organizators change this decision, because "pula" means something veeery bad in Romanian :lol:

    The most important 3:
    POLAND-SZCZECIN-VOLLEYBALL


    5th place - Prediction Game - World League 2011 :D

  • Quote from "samba player"

    Slovene = trudna (tired)
    Croatian = trudna (pregnant :!: )


    Polish = trudna means difficult (gender female)


    panna (pol) = miss
    panna (cze) = virgin
    panna (ita) = cream (i'm not sure)


    droga (pol) = road, way
    droga (cze, esp) = drug


    listopad (pol) = november
    listopad (cro) = october

  • Quote from "Justyna"

    panna (ita) = cream (i'm not sure)


    Yes, something like that. For example panna cotta dessert.

    The most important 3:
    POLAND-SZCZECIN-VOLLEYBALL


    5th place - Prediction Game - World League 2011 :D

  • Hehe, Serbian and Russian share a lot of "false friends".
    Some of these words are not exactly pronounced the same way, but have the same spelling (in Cyrillic alphabet, of course).


    My "favourite" examples are:


    ponos
    Serbian: pride
    Russian: diarrhea :lol:
    proliv
    Serbian: diarrhea
    Russian: strait, channel
    ponosni
    Serbian: proud
    Russian: rude
    jagodica
    Serbian: small (wild) strawberry
    Russian: ass :lol:


    And there have some other ones, like:


    vrag
    Serbian: devil
    Russian: enemy
    život
    Serbian: life
    Russian: stomach
    cvet
    Serbian: flower
    Russian: colour (but can also mean flower)
    jad
    Serbian: misery
    Russian: poison
    vredeti(Serbian)/vredit'(Russian)
    Serbian: to be worth something
    Russian: to harm
    vredni
    Serbian: hard-working
    Russian: harmful, dangerous


    And there's many more!

  • Quote from "Konrad"


    Yes, something like that. For example panna cotta dessert.


    Yes, it's cream! And panna montata is whipped cream.


    Konrad, so you know some italian, right?

  • Thanks Joana, Justyna, and others! It is very funny!! :lol: Especially the ponos and proliv examples!! :lol:
    It's incredibile how many false friends exist between slavic languages. :shock: And a lot of them are embarassing! :shock: :wink2:


    Imagine to invite to a dinner a Polish, a Serbian, a Russian, a Czech, a Croatian, a Slovenian, a Slovakian, a Bulgarian, a Macedonian, an Ukrainian, a Belarusian, a Kashubian and a Sorbian. Just how funny the conversation has to be! :wink2: :lol: :lol:


    If you find other please post it.

  • Quote from "samba player"

    Yes, it's cream! And panna montata is whipped cream.


    Konrad, so you know some italian, right?


    Not really. I just know some basic words or sentences("te amo" :wink2: ). I was also learning Latin at school so it is easier for me to understand some Italian. And I ate panna cotta several times :D

    The most important 3:
    POLAND-SZCZECIN-VOLLEYBALL


    5th place - Prediction Game - World League 2011 :D

  • This is one of the best for me:


    laska (cze) = love
    laska (pol) = a walking-stick, a chick, and something more... :oops: People from Poland know what I mean :wink2:

    The most important 3:
    POLAND-SZCZECIN-VOLLEYBALL


    5th place - Prediction Game - World League 2011 :D