English and German are sibling languages, but like any family, they have their misunderstandings. This article explores "false friends"—deceptive words…
You know about 'false friends' in language, but what about in gestures? That innocent 'thumbs-up' or 'A-OK' sign could be…
We all know about "false friends"—words that look similar but mean different things. But what about words that are perfect…
False friends are words that look the same in different languages but mean wildly different things—a classic trap for language…
We’ve all heard of "false friends"—words that look the same in different languages but mean different things. But what about…
Why do Japanese arigatō and Portuguese obrigado sound so similar? While it's tempting to invent a story of ancient contact,…
We've all heard humorous tales of language mix-ups, but so-called "false friends" can have consequences far beyond embarrassment. From derailing…
While many words degrade, some do the opposite in a process called amelioration. This post explores the linguistic glow-up of…
We trust our maps to tell us the truth, but what if they're lying? From Greenland's icy shores named to…
Every word has a family tree, but what about the "orphan words"—linguistic mysteries like *dog*, *bad*, and *quiz*—that appear in…
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