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 |
| 湯 | Hot Water | Soup |
| 猪 | Boar | Pig |
| 腕 | Arm | Wrist |
| 走 | Run | Walk |
| 棚 | Shelf | Shed |
| 首 | Neck | Head |
| 床 | Floor | Bed |
| 吃 | Scold | To Eat |
| 机 | Desk (Furniture) | Machinery |
| 娘 | 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?
In German, we’ve somehow adopted the English word “Handy” to refer to mobile phones. Problem is, if you actually use it as a noun in an English sentence, it’s a slang word for “handjob”. 🫠
Doesn’t “Handy” come from Swabian dialect “hen di koi Schnur” or something? /s