The word quantum has made it all the way from physics to areas such as movies and parcel services (knowing about the uncertainty principle of quantum mechanics, the name quantum view for a parcel tracking service causes some mild anxiety). The phrase quantum leap (Quantensprung in German) is commonly used, even though it typically refers
While reading the news today, a German statement in the sports section caught my eye: Wir haben ein tolles Momentum im Team […] For some reason, this incorrect and completely unnecessary use of the word Momentum has become much more common recently, although it seems to be confined to sports so far. Clearly, Momentum is
When used as an incorrect translation of the German words genial or Genie, the English words genial and genie almost constitute an oxymoron. These false friends have a completely different meaning, but are often mixed up by German native speakers. The German word genial translates into ingenious. However, the true meaning of the English word
Here is an interesting false friend for those trying to learn German. The English word stress has a number of different meanings. According to the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, the word is used for, for example, mental pressure (as in stress management), physical pressure (for example, a stress fracture), emphasis (the boss lays great stress on
Here are two rather false friends which are quite common among German native speakers. False friend #1: Greet Vienna from us! This is not the proper English phrase, but a false friend based on the German expression Grüße Wien von uns! More generally, the German “jemanden grüßen lassen” translates into the English expression “to send/give
Here are some false friends that are quite common among German native speakers. When talking about academic fields such as Physics, Mathematics or Genetics, you can quite often hear and read the false friends ‘Physic’, ‘Mathematic’ and ‘Genetic’, because in German the correct names do no have an s at the end: Physik, Mathematik and
The German word ‘Karte’ is used with many different meanings. This fact often leads to confusion among German native speakers, because they use the potential false friend ‘card’ when they speak English. Here are two good examples: Karte (or Speisekarte) [False friend] This is a true classic. Just last week, the waiter in a posh
Here’s a false friend a German lady reminded me of today on the train. The correct translation of the German word Platz (short for Sitzplatz) is not place, but seat. Hence, if you are trying to defend or claim your seat, do not say This is my place! Moreover, when asking if a seat is
During a recent chat over lunch, I heard two non-native speakers discuss the power of car engines, and one of them used the expression How many PS does the car have? This is a false friend originating from the German Pferdestärke, which is often abbreviated as PS. The proper English expression would be How much
A remarkable number of German native speakers, including university professors and even Nobel Prize winners, make the mistake of translating Studium into study. For example, they would write 1997-2001 Study of physics in their CV. However, the English noun study translates into the German Studie, but not into Studium. A proper translation to English would