{"id":8,"date":"2008-06-25T00:11:38","date_gmt":"2008-06-25T04:11:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/swedish\/?p=8"},"modified":"2008-06-25T00:11:38","modified_gmt":"2008-06-25T04:11:38","slug":"beware-of-false-friends","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/swedish\/beware-of-false-friends\/","title":{"rendered":"Beware of False Friends"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>There are some words in the Swedish language that just make English speakers giggle. Sometimes even more than giggle. You know which words I\u2019m talking about. You too had a goofy smirk on your face when you saw them for the very first time. Especially when you didn\u2019t expect them. And then, when nobody was watching, you tried to see how these words would roll off your tongue.<\/p>\n

The easiest one of the bunch was definitely \u201cbra<\/strong>\u201d. You repeated it out loud \u2013 bra<\/strong>. And then a bit louder \u2013 BRA<\/strong>! People just looked at you with smiles on their faces. \u201cWhat a happy guy,\u201d<\/em> they thought.<\/p>\n

And then, there was this time when you were driving and almost hit a lamppost after meeting your first \u201cfarthinder<\/strong>\u201d. After a while you stopped giggling, and after a little while longer, you stopped paying attention altogether. And when the day came that you used bra<\/strong> and fart<\/strong> all in the same sentence without giggling, you realized you\u2019ve been in Sweden for a lot longer than you thought.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

False friends (sometimes mistakenly called \u201cfalse cognates\u201d) can be a source of much joy when learning a new language. Swedish is no different. And to add to the hilarity is the fact that these Swedish false friends mentioned above look very naughty to an English speaker.<\/p>\n

Yet in fact they are perfectly innocent.<\/p>\n

Bra<\/strong> = fine, well, good.
\nIf somebody asks you how you are, you can simply answer \u201cbra!<\/strong>\u201d<\/p>\n

Fart<\/strong> = speed
\nYeah, I know what you\u2019re thinking, and I\u2019m not even going to go there.
\nAnd the ubiquitous \u201cfarthinder<\/strong>\u201d? It\u2019s simply a speed bump.<\/p>\n

Other false friends you might want to remember are:<\/p>\n

Ful<\/strong> = ugly
\nFull<\/strong> = drunk
\nBad<\/strong> = bath
\nKissa<\/strong> = to pee<\/p>\n

And I\u2019ll let your Swedish (non-false) friends teach you the truly nasty sounding ones, OK?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"\"

There are some words in the Swedish language that just make English speakers giggle. Sometimes even more than giggle. You know which words I\u2019m talking about. You too had a goofy smirk on your face when you saw them for the very first time. Especially when you didn\u2019t expect them. And then, when nobody was…<\/p>\n

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