Non - false cognates in other languages

G

goshbite

First Team
This is always fun when learning a new language. You start picking up rules and then you say something to a local and they return a bewildered stare.

BTK's fish thread inspired this and I thought this might lighten the mood.

So if you make a tit of yourself in Spain and say 'Estoy embarazada' you're actually informing them that you're pregnant.

Just wondered if anyone else knows of any phrases not to say in a certain language despite them sounding similar to the English equivalent. And best of all, if you have used it incorrectly.
 
The classic one in Italian is "preservativo", which is not something you add to food to make it last longer or a generic term for jam/marmalade. It actually means a condom.

I have never made that mistake, but I did once muddle my pronunciation of "figura" (as in "she has a lovely figure") with "figa" which caused much amusement. "Figa" roughly translates as "pussy" although it is a bit stronger. :oops:
 
In Swedish, "han är ut och cyklar" translates literally as 'he is out on his bicycle' it actually means 'he hasn't got a clue.'

Sven-Göran Eriksson famously said that David Beckham was "out on his bicycle" much to the bemusement of the assembled journalists.

The Scandinavian languages have so, so many of these where Google Translate fails miserably.
 
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