The great similarity of the Polish and Russian languages makes it very easy to learn Russian, but it can also create some communication problems and provoke funny or even embarrassing situations or even embarrassing situations. In all Slavic languages there are a lot of words that sound identical or similar, but have completely different meanings. Such words are called ‘false friends’
Definition of the Word ‘False Friends’
When learning a foreign language, we often come across words or phrases that sound similar or identical to those in our mother tongue. These words usually have a completely different meaning than in our mother tongue. We call such words and expressions ‘false friends’.
Is it worthwhile to get to know “false friends” and learn them? Absolutely! They enrich our vocabulary and allow us to take our language skills to a higher level. Unfortunately, they can rarely be learned from available textbooks. Rather, we get to know them through conversations in everyday situations or by reading language blogs dedicated to various language curiosities.
Other Sources of Formation of ‘False Friends
Another linguistic phenomenon that can result in the creation of false friends are so-called pseudo-Englishisms. These are new words formed from English morphemes that may appear to be English but do not actually exist in the vocabulary of the language.
An example is the Japanese word salaryman (サラリーマン), which means office worker. In addition, the word Pokémon in this language (ポケモン) is also a pseudo-Anglicism and means pocket monster.
However, when it comes to specific examples of false friends, let’s take a closer look at the Polish word dres. It derives from the English ‘dress’, which as a noun means in Polish sukienka or kompletny styl ubierania się, and as a verb means “ubierać się” (Free Dictionary). So we can see the connection between the meanings in both languages.
Get to Know ‘False Friends’ – Examples
Below, as a curiosity – we present a small part of the most popular false friends in Russian. There are so many of them and they are so interesting that special dictionaries and lexicons have already been created, whose role is to juxtapose Russian ‘false friends’ with their Polish equivalents.
ангельский – anielski (false friend: angielski – английский)
беспечный – beztroski (false friend: bezpieczny – безопасный)
бронь – rezerwacja (false friend: broń – оружие)
гадать – wróżyć (false friend: gadać – болтать)
глаз – oko (false friend: głaz – валун)
готовка – gotowanie (pożywienia) (false friend: gotówka – наличные (деньги))
гроб – trumna (false friend: grab – могила)
грубый – ordynarny, wulgarny (false friend: gruby– толстый)
давка – ścisk, tłok (false friend: dawka – доза)
дворец – pałac (false friend: dworzec – вокзал)
декада – dziesięć dni (false friend: dekada – десять лет)
довольный – zadowolony (false friend: dowolny – любой)
дыня – melon (false friend: dynia – тыква)
единый – jeden, niepodzielny (false friend: jedyny – единственный)
зимний – zimowy (false friend: zimny – холодный)
кеды – trampki (false friend: kiedy – когда)
клятва – przysięga (false friend: klątwa – проклятие)
ковёр – dywan (false friend: kawior – икра)
конечно – oczywiście (false friend: koniecznie – обязательно)
кресло – fotel (false friend: krzesło – стул)
личный – osobisty (false friend: liczny – многий)
лыжи – narty (false friend: łyżwy – коньки)
магазин – sklep (false friend: magazyn – склад)
неделя – tydzień (false friend: niedziela – воскресенье)
отдыхать – odpoczywać (false friend: oddychać – дышать)
пенсия – emerytura, renta (false friend: pensja – зарплата)
рано – wcześnie (false friend: rano – утро)
родина – ojczyzna (false friend: rodzina – семья)
синий – niebieski (false friend: siny – сизый)
склеп – krypta (false friend: sklep – магазин)
терпение – cierpliwość (false friend: cierpienie – страдание)
убить – zabić (false friend: ubić (np. śmietanę) – взбить)
утро – rano (false friend: jutro – завтра)
хлопок – bawełna (false friend: chłopak – парень)
хрупкий – wątły, delikatny (false friend: chrupki – хрустящий)
целовать – całować (false friend: celować – целиться)
час – godzina (false friend: czas – время)
чашка – filiżanka (false friend: czaszka – череп)
Is it a serious mistake to confuse words?
During the process of learning a language, we get confused, confuse words and make mistakes. The misuse of “false friends” can lead to hilarious misunderstandings. However, you should in no way be discouraged from continuing to learn or be ashamed of your language use. We learn through mistakes!
