In a bar in Istanbul, sitting on the outdoor patio, my friend and I were offered a puff of nargile, a Turkish water pipe, from the friendly group at the table next to ours.
“Oh, no thanks,” I said, crossing my hands like an X in front of me, “I’m sick.” They smirked and laughed, and turned away.
Later, a Turkish friend explained to me that “sick” (spelt without the C in Turkish), is a very rude word for male genitalia.
Most language learners have similar stories, of accidentally using a word that may sound the same in English and the target language, but differs greatly in meaning. These are linguistic cases called 'false friends'.
As a language learner, there’s really no strategic way of identifying false friends, since they exist mostly out of coincidence and without set patterns.
They do, however, open opportunities for us to remember vocabulary the hard way. Once you’ve accidentally cursed at a group of well-meaning Turkish strangers, you learn a lesson not soon forgotten.
Take a look through ten foreign languages and some common false friends with English: Top 10 foreign language faux pas
And remember, as the expression really should go, beware of Germans bearing gifts – as a noun, gift means poison in German, not a present.
Anne Merritt is an EFL lecturer currently based in South Korea.