It’s even better when the English word is so riddled with vowel syllabics that Japanese phonemes require that it wraps all the way around and becomes unrecognizable…even when it’s “English.” My fav: Makkudonarudo - マックドナルド even tho most people just call it “Maku-do” for McDonalds.
Also, gotta watch out… just when you think “Pants” is just “Pantsu” you actually just said “underwear” in Japanese.
I wonder when American and English diverged on the meaning of pants, because it very much means underwear over here. Although with how prevalent American TV is (and I guess influencers are these days) people have no problem understanding what you mean… But we’ll have a laugh over it!
Id guess sometime in the 1800s when certain types of clothes layering became common, more specifically chaps. The jump from pants meaning underwear to pants equals under chaps wear isn’t that far.
I tried to learn a bit of Japanese, one thing I’ll say (if it was correct hopefully) for the most part you can figure out the hiragana (? I think correct name, whichever is the syllables characters come from) from the syllables.
Knife? Kite? Yeah completely different in English depending on the word. Would be convenient to know sounds when you see a symbol. Is K a … Nigh or a ke sound. Really English is annoying glad I grew up with it, sounds awful to learn as another language. Sure there’s worse but yeah.
I think I am pretty much agreeing is all just thought I’d comment on experiences.
Yeah they have plenty of false friends. But that is also because a lot of words come from other languages not just English. Like how パン pan means bread, which comes from Portuguese Pão. The Chinese word Bao also has the same origin.
Here are some Japanese words that are false friends:
マンション literally Mansion but means apartment building or condominium.
コンセント Consent means electrical outlet.
バイキング Viking means buffet.
パーカー Parka can also mean hoodie not just the jacket.
ハンドル Handle means steering wheel.
ハンドルキーパー Handle Keeper is designated driver.
トレーナー Trainer means sweatshirt
Or close false friends like
ハイテンション high tension means very excited or energetic in a positive way unlike the English meaning.
ワイシャツ white shirt is a dress shirt but can be any color not just white. Probably because Japanese office worker dress code used to be a white dress shirt. Couldn’t even wear a light blue one.
It’s even better when the English word is so riddled with vowel syllabics that Japanese phonemes require that it wraps all the way around and becomes unrecognizable…even when it’s “English.” My fav: Makkudonarudo - マックドナルド even tho most people just call it “Maku-do” for McDonalds.
Also, gotta watch out… just when you think “Pants” is just “Pantsu” you actually just said “underwear” in Japanese.
To be fair, that’s also the case in English.
Yeah but I’ve never heard anyone use it that way. I don’t think anyone would mistake you for talking about underwear in most scenarios.
I wonder when American and English diverged on the meaning of pants, because it very much means underwear over here. Although with how prevalent American TV is (and I guess influencers are these days) people have no problem understanding what you mean… But we’ll have a laugh over it!
Id guess sometime in the 1800s when certain types of clothes layering became common, more specifically chaps. The jump from pants meaning underwear to pants equals under chaps wear isn’t that far.
I live in Scotland and I was very confused when my friend from America visited and they were like “it’s hot, can I take off my pants” .__.
I think “pants” is also underwear in the UK.
furaidopoteto
I tried to learn a bit of Japanese, one thing I’ll say (if it was correct hopefully) for the most part you can figure out the hiragana (? I think correct name, whichever is the syllables characters come from) from the syllables.
Knife? Kite? Yeah completely different in English depending on the word. Would be convenient to know sounds when you see a symbol. Is K a … Nigh or a ke sound. Really English is annoying glad I grew up with it, sounds awful to learn as another language. Sure there’s worse but yeah.
I think I am pretty much agreeing is all just thought I’d comment on experiences.
Yeah they have plenty of false friends. But that is also because a lot of words come from other languages not just English. Like how パン pan means bread, which comes from Portuguese Pão. The Chinese word Bao also has the same origin.
Here are some Japanese words that are false friends:
マンション literally Mansion but means apartment building or condominium.
コンセント Consent means electrical outlet.
バイキング Viking means buffet.
パーカー Parka can also mean hoodie not just the jacket.
ハンドル Handle means steering wheel.
ハンドルキーパー Handle Keeper is designated driver.
トレーナー Trainer means sweatshirt
Or close false friends like ハイテンション high tension means very excited or energetic in a positive way unlike the English meaning.
ワイシャツ white shirt is a dress shirt but can be any color not just white. Probably because Japanese office worker dress code used to be a white dress shirt. Couldn’t even wear a light blue one.