Silicon, heroine, preservative: 20 English words that are easy to translate incorrectly

Silicon, canal, heroine, preservative, list and other words that mean not at all what you might think.

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In English and Russian, a lot of similar words that are translated the same way, recalls Life hacker. You are unlikely to be mistaken in translating the words text, information, secret into Russian - everything is clear here. But in English there are also a lot of insidious words that do not translate at all as you think. They are called the translator's false friends.

Absent

Not “absinthe”, but “absent, absent”. If you want to order a drink, use absinthe.

• I was absent at that moment when she drank some absinthe and started to dance strip.
• I was not at the moment when she drank absinthe and began to dance striptease.

Bar

This is some kind of bar, board. Maybe even a bar counter. If you want a drink, you better go to the pub.

• The bartender wiped the bar counter and helped the guard get the drunk one from the pub.
• The bartender wiped the bar and helped the guard take the drunk out of the bar.

Brilliant

Bright, brilliant. "Diamond" in English diamond.

• These diamonds would look brilliant on my wife's ears.
• These diamonds would have looked brilliant on my wife's ears.

Firm

A cabinet with drawers, a wardrobe, a cupboard, but certainly not a working space. Better say office.

• Put the vase on the cabinet in my office.
• Put the vase on the sideboard in my office.

Canal

This is a channel, but only in the sense of “artificial channel”. If you want to say about a television or radio channel, use channel.

• I turned on the travel channel. They showed a program about the Panama Canal.
• I turned on the travel channel. They showed a program about the Panama Canal.

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Executive

Chef. It is used precisely as the name of the profession. If you want to praise someone's culinary skills at a party, say cook. The word "chef" in the meaning of "boss" will be spelled differently - chief or boss.

• The restaurant chef was fired by his own boss because customers complained about his soup.
• The restaurant chef was fired by his own boss for complaining about his soup.

Detective

This is only a man, a detective. The book genre will be called crime story or detective story.

• A police detective does not like detective stories because there are a lot of lies.
• The detective of the police department does not like detective novels, there are a lot of lies.

Dynamic

Dynamics, dynamic. The “speaker” (column) is the speaker.

• Young people love dynamic music and buy Bluetooth speakers to take music with them.
• Young people love dynamic music and buy Bluetooth speakers in order to take music with them.

Heroine

The heroine of a movie or book. "Heroin" in English - heroin or snow ("snowball").

• The main heroine of the film is a heroin addicted.
• The main character of the film is a heroin addict.

Intelligent

Smart, smart. An “intellectual” as a representative of a social group is intellectual.

• Intelligency isn't loved in this country because they are too intelligent.
• In this country, the intelligentsia is not liked because they are too smart.

Jest

This is a joke, a practical joke, a mockery, but not a “gesture” at all.

• I gestured to him that my middle finger was sore, but he decided that it was a jest.
• I showed him with a gesture that my middle finger was sore, but he decided it was a joke.

List

A list, such as shopping or to-do.

• I wrote a shopping list on this yellow piece of paper.
• I wrote a shopping list on this yellow sheet.

Officeriant

The leader of the wedding ceremony. This is a registry officer with us or a priest in the United States. "Waiter" in English waiter.

• At the marriage ceremony the officiant told the story of the acquaintance of the newlyweds. He was a waiter and she was a guest.
• During the wedding, the host of the ceremony told the story of the acquaintance of the newlyweds. He was a waiter, and she was a guest.

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Paragraph

A paragraph, not a paragraph (article, section).

• At this paragraph, someone drew an article mark.
• In this paragraph, someone drew a paragraph mark.

Preservative

Preservative for the safety of products, not what you thought. A “condom” is just a condom.

• We use natural flavors in our condoms and natural preservatives to keep the fresh smell.
• We use natural flavors in our condoms and natural preservatives to keep the smell fresh.

TV Shows

The series in principle. A certain series will be episode.

• The Game of Thrones series is very boring. Especially the episode, where everyone is killed at the wedding.
• The series "Game of Thrones" is very boring. Especially the series where everyone is killed at a wedding.

Silicon. Some mistakenly call Silicon Valley, a high-tech region of the United States, Silicon Valley, although correctly - Silicon Valley. "Silicone" in English is silicone, with an e at the end.

• Chemistry teacher with silicone breasts implants showed the silicon experiments.
• A chemistry teacher with silicone breasts showed experiments with silicon.

Surrogate

A trustee, for example, in an election campaign. In the meaning of "surrogate" is rarely used.

• I am a surrogate of the company producing coffee substitutes.
• I am a representative of a coffee surrogate company.

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Tourniquet

A tourniquet that stops bleeding. The turnstile in the metro in English is called a ticket barrier or turnstile.

• He was injured when he jumped over the turnstile. I had to put a tourniquet to stop the blood.
• He was injured when he jumped over the turnstile. I had to apply a tourniquet to stop the blood.

Use

Use. From here came the word "utility." Recycling is also used, but less commonly, it is better to use reclaim or recycle.

• Utilize this acid for recycling organic waste.
• Use this acid to dispose of organic waste.

These are not all such words, there are a lot of them. But it’s not necessary to memorize them all, look at the context. If the article is about Leonardo da Vinci, it is unlikely that the word artist will be used in the text as “artist”, and not “artist”. Therefore, be sure to determine the topic of the text before reading - knowing it, you will not be confused. And if that, it’s always not a shame to look in the dictionary.

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