10 German words that look English: true friends or false friends?

Your challenge is to decide what category each of the 10 German words falls into. Is it a true friend or is it a false friend? I will say each word twice and then give you some time to think about it before revealing the English meaning. And just in case you think you will already know most of these words, don't be too sure. I specifically picked some more interesting and maybe also some advanced ones instead of.

Using their rock or das gift. Also, los geht's mit unserem True Friends, False Friends.

Ah forsicht. This word has nothing to do with the English equivalent. It instead means manure or dung. You might have heard people say ah. So I missed when something went wrong. And they were not talking about tiny water droplets at that point. Okay, next one. You're doing very well so far. What about Fatal. What do you think? True or false, friend? Perfekt! Wieder sehr gut gemacht! Same meaning but more commonly used in German.

You would hear it, for example, to describe a very or a seriously bad decision or some severe consequences. For example, you would say, Ah, that was a fatale entscheiding. Here we have another word. What do you think? Ah nice! Again, even though it's pronounced differently, the meaning is the same here. It's the chance or the opportunity. Um not sure if you heard or seen this one here. Prägnant. REEKNAN

Ah, ser good. Good job. This one is definitely a misleading one because pregnant actually means that something is It's very concise or striking, and it's often used when referring to a clear message or a statement. For example, Seine Antwort war prägnant und überzeugend. His answer was concise and convincing. Okay, halbzeit.

How are you doing so far? I know that some of these words I covered are at a slightly higher level, but they are used on a regular basis by native speakers. So using them yourself will definitely make your German sound more polished.

Okay, let's have a look at some more, and I am sure you will recognize one or two of them. Das Detail. DAS Detail Richtig, same meaning in German and English. And again, you might have easily translated this word when seen written down, but Would you have also recognized it in spoken German, or even used it yourself when forming sentences?

If not, you should start now with sentences like Der Urlaub would bis ins letzte Detail perfect geplant. The vacation was planned perfectly to the last detail. Next up a more familiar one I'm sure. Der Chef. Perfect now while a German chef might also be an English chef. If he owns the restaurant, the words do not mean the same because der Chef or also diefin in German means boss. Okay? So different meaning here. The next one is tricky.

Decent. Same or different meaning. Ah well spotted, it's a false friend because decent means subtle or discreet, used for example when describing something that's not too showy or not too over the top. For example, you could say I mag your perfume. It is a dezenter, doch angename duft. So I like her perfume. It's a subtle but a pleasant scent. Okay, two more to go. Relevant. Relevant. Same same or different?

Stimmt genau, sehr gut. It's a friend that's used in both languages to mean that something is important or related to a subject at hand. Guter Beispielsatz. Dieses Video ist unglaublich relevant für dein Deutsch. Let me know in the comments if you agree or if you agree. Now our final word, and it's one that got me so many times when I was learning English, and actually it still does from time to time. Sensibel. Sensibel

You might have already guessed it does not mean the same in German and English. Instead, it translates as sensitive. Now this knowledge will not just help you to avoid making mistakes, but it will also help you to understand confused Germans like myself. who might have in the past said sentences like My ear is very sensible today.

So das war's auch schon. Thanks a lot for joining me today and hopefully some of these words were new to you and you can now start using them when you build your German sentences. Also, knowing these false friends will definitely help you avoid embarrassing misunderstandings. or also help you understand German native speakers better when they sometimes mix up the meanings of words. If you enjoyed this style of lesson, then make sure to sign up to our free newsletter at Coffee Break Languages.

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