17 tricky English words that you just want to translate incorrectly

When we start learning English, we notice that many words are suspiciously similar to Russian. They sound the same and are written in the same way, except in Latin letters. Their values ​​often coincide with ours. For example, information, university or mathematics. But some words are so insidious that the translation reveals: they mean completely different. Linguists call them interlanguage homonyms or false friends of the translator. Writes about this AdMe.ru.

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17 most controversial English words, the translation of which is not as simple as it seems.

1.Accurate

• Incorrect - neat
• Correct - accurate

“I'm a very accurate person”, - and I want to praise myself for neatness and diligence. Only the translation sounds strange: "I am a very accurate person." If you want to be considered accurate, use the word tidy, and use accurate when you need to indicate accuracy and correctness:

This report contains accurate and reliable information. “This report contains accurate and reliable information.”

2. Angina

• Incorrect - sore throat
• That's right - angina pectoris

“I have angina,” you tell your American friend, wrap yourself in a scarf and make a camomile. A friend at a loss: how can this help deal with chest pain? It is more correct to say sore throat about a sore throat, and use the word angina as intended:

He was taken to the hospital with chest pain. Doctors suspect angina. “He was taken to the hospital with chest pain. Doctors suspect angina pectoris. ”

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3. Artist

• Wrong - artist
• That's right - an artist

For us, the word “artist” usually refers to someone performing on stage: a singer, actor, comedian. For native English speakers, the noun artist is primarily associated with the visual arts. So you can say in principle about any creative person, but more often this word designates an artist or sculptor:

Banksy is a famous English artist. His street art is familiar to many people. “Banksy is a famous English artist. His street art is familiar to many people. ”

4.Baton

• Incorrect - loaf of bread
• That's right - a police baton

The expression baton of bread, or “baton of bread”, can equally surprise both the seller of the New York bakery and the city police officer. It is better to call bread simply bread, and try not to fall under baton attacks:

A police officer may use a baton on an offender. “A policeman can use a baton on an offender.”

5.climax

• Incorrect - menopause
• That's right - denouement

The Russian word “climax” comes from the ancient Greek κλῖμαξ - “staircase”. In our country, it took root as the name of the physiological transition of women to another hormonal period - menopause. The word came to English from Latin, where climax means "denouement" or "climax" - most often a film, a theatrical play or other work of art. With the same meaning, it exists in English:

The climax of "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" starts when Harry collects a memory from Slughorn. “The denouement of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince begins when Harry takes the memory from Slughorn.”

6. Date

• Incorrect - date (day, month, year)
• That's right - data

The word data is familiar to programmers, scientists, economists, and civil servants. It translates as “data”, “information” or “information” and is often used in formal documents, reports and statistics. Well, the noun for the ordinal number of the calendar day is written a little differently - date.

Open data from private sources can help the global economy. “Open data from private sources can help the global economy.”

7. Stroke

• Incorrect - stroke
• That's right - an insult

The word "stroke" in the Russian language is used in the meaning of "acute violation of the blood supply to the brain." In English, this ailment is called stroke, and insult means "insult." For example, Sigmund Freud ironically noted:

"The first human who hurled an insult instead of a stone was the founder of civilization." “The first person who threw an insult instead of a stone was the founder of civilization.”

8.Italic

• Wrong - Italian
• Correct - italics

Italic in English means "italics", but still has a connection with Italy. It was there that this oblique font turned out to be the most popular in the Renaissance. Therefore, it was called Italian, in contrast to the direct Roman font - Roman. By the way, to indicate belonging to Italy in English there is an adjective Italian.

Important points in the text I have highlighted in italic. “I highlighted important points in the text in italics.”

9. Magazine

• Wrong - store
• That's right - magazine

Perhaps, magazine is the first interlanguage homonym that we meet when learning English. And then we are surprised that this is not a store, but a magazine. Surprises continue when the journal turns into a newspaper. A little consolation is that the word "shop" in English is turning into a familiar shop.

Dialogue from the series:
"I read it in a magazine." “I read it in a magazine,” Charlotte says.
“What magazine? "Convenient Theories for You Monthly"? " “In which magazine?” “Convenient theories for you every month?” - answers Miranda.

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10.Password

• Wrong - password
• That's right - parole

Although many people know that the “password” in English will be password, the word parole still seems synonymous. But when you look at the translation - “parole” - eyebrows in surprise rise uncontrollably. However, like other words, it can be used in a figurative sense. So, the English writer Samuel Johnson said:

«Classical quotation is the parole of literary men all over the world. " “Citation is the parole of literary people from around the world.”

11.Preservative

• Incorrect - condom
• That's right - a preservative.

Thousands of tourists and newly made residents of English-speaking countries are trying to buy preservatives in pharmacies. That is how the word preservative is translated into Russian. In order not to repeat their mistake, ask condom in pharmacies, and look for preservative in the description of household chemicals and cosmetics:

Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C) and tocopherol (Vitamin E) are natural preservatives. They inhibit the oxidation of cosmetics. - “Ascorbic acid (vitamin C) and tocopherol (vitamin E) are natural preservatives. They prevent the oxidation of cosmetics components. ”

12. Prospect

• Wrong - prospect
• That's right - perspective

The word "prospectus" in Russian is often used to indicate the type of street. However, there is avenue in English for this, and prospect means “prospect” or “opportunity”. Inventor Nikola Tesla said:

"From my childhood I had been intended for the clergy. This prospect hung like a dark cloud on my mind. " “Since childhood, I was intended for the clergy. This perspective hangs over me like a black cloud. ”

13.Receipt

• Wrong - recipe
• That's right - a receipt

It would be nice if together with the products at the checkout we received culinary recipes. However, customers are given a check instead. In the USA, it is called receipt, and the actual description of the preparation of the dish is very similar to the word recipe.

"Take your receipt, please!" “Take your check, please!”

14. Routine

• Wrong - boring repetition of events
• That's right - daily routine

If life has become boring and monotonous, we instantly call it a routine. They run away from a routine on vacation or at least fishing. But such gestures are incomprehensible to a native speaker of English: the word routine has a neutral tint and translates as “mode”. It can be used in the meaning of “daily routine” and “daily routine” (daily routine) or refer to a regular skin care regimen (skincare routine). Here is what singer Taylor Swift says about her musical tastes:

"I've been singing Shakira songs in front of my bathroom mirror into my hairbrush forever. It's like a daily routine. " “I constantly sing Shakira’s songs with a comb in my hands in front of the bathroom mirror. It’s like a daily routine. ”

15.Trap

• Incorrect - mobile ladder
• That's right - a trap

“Go down the ramp,” the airport employee says sweetly, holding out her passport and boarding pass. It is a trap! In the literal sense: this is how the word trap is translated from English, and concurrently means the verb “catch”. Here's what Regina Spektor sings in the title track for the series Orange - Hit of the Season:

"The animals, the animals trap, trap, trap 'till the cage is full." “Animals, animals are caught, caught, caught until the cage is full.”

16 Valet

• Incorrect - jack of cards
• That's right - valet, parking attendant

The word valet in English-speaking countries can often be seen on signs near restaurants, hotels, the capital's opera and other institutions where people come by expensive cars. Actually valet is an employee who carefully drives the same car to the parking lot, and then drives it back. For example, singer Selena Gomez once complained about rapper Puff Daddy:

"P. Diddy gave me his valet ticket once ... because he thought I was the valet lady. " “Puff Daddy once gave me his parking ticket ... because he thought I was a parking man.”

17.Velvet

• Incorrect - corduroy
• That's right - velvet

Cotton fabric with scars called “velveteen” with the easy movement of the Russian-English dictionary turns into an elegant “velvet”. Whereas a corduroy is called an intricate corduroy. Do not mistake!

The velvet trend is most definitely back on the world's catwalks. “Velvet fashion has certainly returned to world catwalks.”

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