this post was submitted on 05 Apr 2026
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No Stupid Questions

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No such thing. Ask away!

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I know for instance, between Japanese & Mandarin there are a few words that are written the same despite them being pronounced differently along with having different meanings altogether:

Word Japanese Definition Mandarin Definition
手紙 Letter (mail) Toilet Paper
先生 Teacher Mister (Mr.)
天井 Ceiling Atrium
説話 Folktale To Speak
新聞 Newspaper News (media)
約束 Promise Constrain
文句 Complain Phrase
怪我 Injury Blame me
白鳥 Swan White Bird
皮肉 Irony Skin & Flesh
王妃 Queen Princess
中古 Used Product Medieval Times
氷箱 Ice Box Refrigerator
手袋 Gloves Handbag
邪魔 Hinderance Devil
Hot Water Soup
Boar Pig
Arm Wrist
Run Walk
Shelf Shed
Neck Head
Floor Bed
Scold To Eat
Desk (Furniture) Machinery
Daughter Mother

In hindsight: if you are bilingual, do you know any false friends between two languages (i.e. English & French) or (i.e. Spanish & Portuguese) that are spelled the same but have different definitions across both languages?

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[–] hcf@sh.itjust.works 17 points 16 hours ago (6 children)

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Word US Definition UK Definition
Boot Type of shoe Rear compartment of car
Knob A handle A penis
Biscuit A soft, flaky bread A cookie
Chips Thin, crispy potato snack French fries
[–] Lost_My_Mind@lemmy.world 24 points 15 hours ago (1 children)

I'm American. My grandpa was American. After my grandma died, he remarried a British woman.

One time when I was 7, she asked if I wanted pudding with dinner. As a kid I said YES!!! I didn't even ask what flavor. Chocolate. Vanilla. Tapioca. Banana. Fuck it. I don't care. You offered pudding, and a fat kids answer is always yes. No further questions needed.

Well, we have this meal with meat and gravy, and potatos, and a biscuit. It was all very good.

But then dinner was over.

And I'm waiting.

Everyone is leaving the table. They're acting like the meal is over.

Haaaaaaaaang on.

"Um....excuse me.....is the pudding ready?"

"Oh. You want another pudding? I think we have some more."

".....more?"

And then she hands me a teacup plate with another biscuit.

"I mean....ok. I'll eat this too, but where is the pudding?"

"Dear, this IS your pudding!"

long silence as I realize there is no pudding

"This is why everyone besides papa doesn't like you."

42 now. I stand by what I said. You don't tease a fat kid with sweets, and then give glorified bread.

In general I liked her. I was the only one who did.

In that moment though??? She was dead to me.

[–] Dave@lemmy.nz 10 points 14 hours ago

I'm from a colony and pudding would normally be dessert unless further specified. I'm curious what specifically it was, was it anything listed in the top-ish section here?

Savoury puddings include Yorkshire pudding, black pudding, suet pudding and steak and kidney pudding. Sweet puddings include bread pudding, sticky toffee pudding, tapioca pudding, and rice pudding. Unless qualified, however, pudding usually means dessert and in the United Kingdom, pudding is used as a synonym for dessert.

[–] ClockworkOtter@lemmy.world 7 points 12 hours ago

There's a bit more context to some of these (UK).

If you say you're getting something out of the boot then it's going to be out of the car, but if you're putting on your boots then you're probably putting on some sturdy footwear.

When used as slang, a knob is definitely a dick, but it's also used in door knob (just a lump to pull on, rather than a handle) or can be used as a quantity of butter, i.e. a knob of butter to go on your toast.

Biscuits can include crackers, but generally they aren't baked goods with raising agents or yeast.

Chips are not french fries. They're in between French fries and potato wedges, and the best ones are crispy on the outside but soft on the inside. Some people think they shouldn't be crispy, but they're wrong.

[–] MurrayL@lemmy.world 7 points 13 hours ago

To add another: ‘pants’ means trousers in the US, but in the UK it means underpants. Can lead to some funny misinterpretations.

[–] TheTechnician27@lemmy.world 9 points 15 hours ago* (last edited 15 hours ago)

Used to have a coworker who'd recently immigrated from the UK to the US. While we were working, I told him I was going to wear a fanny pack somewhere. The expression he gave me immediately told me something was wrong; he looked like I'd just said something really profane but didn't understand what, so I thought maybe he didn't know what a "fanny pack" was and only knew "fanny" as euphemistic slang for a butt. It took a solid minute at least before we figured out this was a false friend.

It was on that day that he learned what "fanny pack" means (and what "fanny" means in the US and Canada) and that I learned that "fanny" is all kinds of vulgar in the UK.

[–] Wildmimic@anarchist.nexus 4 points 13 hours ago (1 children)

Just adding that Boot is a Boat in German

[–] hcf@sh.itjust.works 2 points 2 hours ago

And "a boot" is "about" in Canadian. 😜

[–] besmtt@lemmy.world 6 points 16 hours ago (1 children)
[–] jarvis@lemmy.world 8 points 15 hours ago (1 children)
[–] pwnicholson@lemmy.world 6 points 15 hours ago (1 children)

I think boot (you could also say bonnet/hood, lift/elevator, etc), pants, and knob all do have the same meaning between US and UK, they just have additional slang meanings, but those slang meanings are based on their real meanings.

Chips and Biscuit are better examples of having truly different meaning IMO.

[–] bryndos@fedia.io 4 points 12 hours ago

Exactly! Knob only means penis in England because we're a bunch of wankers.

I'd suggest "pissed".