13 False Friends

13 False Friends
(Linguistically Speaking, That Is)

When I first started learning Italian, I found myself stumbling over words that seemed so darn familiar to me, but in actuality were not. They look similar to English, but in fact have vastly different meanings than what I kept wanting to believe. It's a common pitfall in most languages, and since English draws from so many different sources, it's sometimes hard to get past.

So today, I present to you "13 False Friends" between English and Italian. I'll give you the words in Italian, along with an approximation of their pronunciation, and you can see if you can guess what they are in English, okay?

1) Orso ("or-so")
a) horse b) dog c) bear d) star


2) Vacanza ("va-cahn-za")
a) vacancy b) porch c) distance d) vacation


3) Romanzo ("ro-man-zoh")
a) book b) novel c) romance d) Roman soldier


4) Morbido ("more-bee-do")
a) morose b) dark c) soft d) evil


5) Sale ("sah-lay")
a) sail b) sale c) wing d) salt


6) Mare ("mah-ray")
a) sea b) female horse c) wall d) scratch


7) Gusto ("goo-stoh")
a) strength b) color c) taste d) wind


8) Fattoria ("fat-toh-ree-ah")
a) factory b) day spa c) writer d) farm


9) Genitori ("geh-nee-tor-ee")
a) parents b) creators c) engines d) genitalia


10) Pane ("pah-nay")
a) bread b) window glass c) pain d) cooking pot


11) Magazzino ("mag-gahz-zeen-oh")
a) magazine b) pamphlet c) warehouse d) courtyard


12) Mosca ("mohss-ka")
a) mosquito b) beetle c) moth d) fly


13) Fame ("fah-may")
a) stardom b) bed frame c) hunger d) film




Have you made your guesses? Let's see how you did:

















1) Orso ("or-so")
c) bear

2) Vacanza ("va-cahn-za")
d) vacation

3) Romanzo ("ro-man-zoh")
b) novel

4) Morbido ("more-bee-do")
c) soft

5) Sale ("sah-lay")
d) salt

6) Mare ("mah-ray")
a) sea

7) Gusto ("goo-stoh")
c) taste

8) Fattoria ("fat-toh-ree-ah")
d) farm

9) Genitori ("geh-nee-tor-ee")
a) parents

10) Pane ("pah-nay")
a) bread

11) Magazzino ("mag-gahz-zeen-oh")
c) warehouse

12) Mosca ("mohss-ka")
d) fly

13) Fame ("fah-may")
c) hunger

So...? How did you do?


Anyway, that's all for this week, see ya next time...






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Here ya go - and don't forget to click on the pic!:

Gilles Marini - actor (recently seen in "Sex and the City", apparently)

Ciao for now!