False Friends

15 Points Per Correct Answer - No time limit  

1. The most famous one: "bekommen" in German does not mean "to become". What does it mean? to order, to command to see, to perceive to check, to control to get, to receive, to have

2. Also a very popular one: "sensibel" does not mean "sensible" but what? sensitive senseless sensual sententious

3. Another example: "sympathisch" is *not* the German word for "sympathetic". Which, then, is the correct word for the English? vernuenftig, verantwortungsbewusst zickig, undurchsichtig empfindlich, wehleidig verstaendnisvoll, mitfuehlend

4. German "Formular" and English "formula" are also likely to be mixed up. What is the correct German word for "formula"? Form Formalien Foermchen Formel, Schema

5. A rather morbid one that has often caused much confusion is the difference between German "Unternehmer" and English "undertaker". What is an undertaker known as in German? Bauunternehmer Geschaeftsmann Gerichtsmediziner, Pathologe Leichenbestatter

6. Some people falsely translate "gültig" as "guilty". But that's not correct ... What is the correct word for "gültig"? innocent valid true honest

7. "Eventuell" and "eventually" - mixing these two is very popular. They don't mean the same. What is the correct English word for "eventuell"? perhaps, possibly consistently finally consequently

8. There's a "Gymnasium" in German and a "gymnasium" in English. Yet these two are different things. What is a German "Gymnasium"? high school, grammar school kindergarten elementary school college, university

9. "Aktuell" is not "actual". How would the English word 'actual' be translated into German? eigentlich persoenlich schliesslich schrecklich

10. "My meaning is the following..." - that's what a German native speaker might say to his boss. Of course, what he wanted to say was something different. Which German word did he falsely translate as "meaning"? Minne Minen Meinung Miene