It’s a trap!

10 words that don’t mean what you think they do

Credit: Patrick Fore

Ever encountered a word in another language that seemed familiar but left you confused? False cognates—words that appear similar but have unrelated meanings—are the culprits. These "false friends" can sometimes lead to hilarious or embarrassing misunderstandings, especially for language learners. From actual in Spanish to sensible in French, here are 10 examples that demonstrate just how deceptive languages can be.

Credit: Bank Phrom

In Spanish, actual means "current," not "real."

English speakers might assume the Spanish word actual refers to authenticity, but it actually relates to time. When someone describes something as actual, they mean it’s current or relevant today. The confusion arises from the Latin root actualis, which means "pertaining to action or the present."

To express the idea of "real" in Spanish, you’d use real or verdadero. This subtle distinction often trips up many learners!

Credit: Kira auf der Heide

In German, "gift" means "poison."

This one can cause serious confusion if you try to thank a German friend for a thoughtful present and mistakenly use the word gift. While both words stem from the same Germanic root, meaning "something given," the German term Gift later evolved to mean "poison."

The correct translation for the English word "gift" is geschenk, which refers to the type of present most people imagine (and not a poisonous surprise in a pretty box).

Credit: Stefan C. Asafti

In French, chef means "boss," not just "cook."

The English word chef comes from the French expression chef de cuisine (head of the kitchen). However, in French, chef refers broadly to any leader, whether it’s a CEO, a project manager, or a team supervisor. The term traces back to the Latin caput, meaning "head."

For cook, the correct French term is cuisinier.

Credit: Scott Webb

In Russian, "brat" means "brother."

English speakers might associate the word brat with misbehaving children, but in Russian, it’s an affectionate term for a male sibling. The word comes from the Old Slavic bratrъ, a cognate of English brother.

The English word brat likely originated from 16th-century slang meaning "child," entirely unrelated to the Slavic word.

Credit: Camylla Battani

In Spanish, "embarazada" means "pregnant."

This false cognate can lead to more than one social blunder. While the morphologically similar word embarrassed in English refers to feelings of shame or discomfort, embarazada specifically refers to a state of pregnancy.

If you want to say embarrassed in Spanish, use avergonzado instead.

Credit: Fahim

In Italian, grosso means "big" or "large," not "gross."

English speakers might think grosso refers to something disgusting, but in Italian, it’s all about size. Derived from the Latin grossus, meaning "thick" or "coarse," it’s commonly used to describe large objects or significant quantities. For example, un grosso problema translates to "a big problem," not a "gross problem."

To express disgust in Italian, use words like disgustoso or schifoso.

Credit: John Michael Thomson

In Spanish, librería means "bookstore," not "library."

This mix-up is a classic for English speakers. In Spanish, a librería is actually a place where you buy books, while a library (for borrowing books) is called a biblioteca.

The confusion is understandable, as both words trace back to the Latin liber, meaning "book."

Credit: Conner Baker

In Portuguese, "costume" means "custom" or "habit," not "costume."

English speakers associate the word costume with theatrical outfits or Halloween attire, but in Portuguese, it refers to a routine practice or tradition. The word originates from the Latin consuetudo, meaning "custom" or "habit." This distinction often surprises learners, as the words seem so closely related at first glance.

If you want to talk about a costume in Portuguese, you can use the word fantasia.

Credit: Aaron Lee

In French, sensible means "sensitive," not "practical."

If someone in France describes you as sensible, they mean you’re emotionally responsive, not logical or practical. While both words come from the Latin sensibilis, meaning "able to feel," the English use, implying reasonableness, likely evolved through association with prudence and good judgment.

If you still want to say sensible in French, the correct word would be raisonnable.

Credit: Resume Genius

In Spanish, "compromiso" means "commitment" or "obligation," not "compromise."

While English speakers use compromise to describe a negotiated middle ground, in Spanish, the similar word compromiso refers to a promise, duty, or engagement. For instance, tengo un compromiso translates to "I have a commitment," not "I have made a compromise."

To convey the idea of compromise in Spanish, the term acuerdo (agreement) or concesión (concession) can be used instead.

Everybody loves a dessert

Why is it called a Floating Island? Discover the world of desserts’ names

Credit: Frederick Medina

Nobody raised an eyebrow or batted an eyelash when the lemon ice cream was introduced to the world. After all, the name was explanatory enough to describe its subject: it was a lemon-flavored ice cream, and that’s all there was to it. But what about the Floating Island? Or the Angel Food cake? One can only wonder what a dinner party guest would imagine when the host announced that the chosen dessert was called Summer Berry Grunt. Listed below you will find ten oddly chosen names for desserts, for your perusal. So, read on, and see if any one of these tempts you!

Credit: Enrique Briseno

Truth be told, the name sounds more ominous than it should. A grunt is a cobbler that's slow-cooked on the stovetop, or in a slow-cooker. Supposedly, the name comes from the sound the berries make as the dish cooks.

A Summer Berry Grunt is a delicious and easy-to-make dessert. The summer berries add a sweet and tart flavor to the filling, making it ideal for the warmer months.

Credit: Yi Mun Loo

A dessert with a quite spectacular name, the Floating Island is a dessert consisting of meringue floating on a vanilla custard. The meringue used is baked in a vessel over warm water. It can be served at room temperature or chilled.

Eggs in Snow is a similar dessert where the meringue is shaped into egg-sized pieces and poached, rather than in one large baked piece. A 1771 letter from Benjamin Franklin reported "At dinner had a floating island", meaning that it was a special treat even back then. Also, an 1847 American cookbook lists Floating Island as a Fourth of July celebration dessert.

Credit: Nathalie Jolie

Angel Food cake is a type of sponge cake made with egg whites, flour, and sugar. It differs from other cakes because it uses no butter. The aerated texture that gives this dessert its name comes from whipped egg white.

Angel food cake is usually baked in a tall, round pan with a tube up the center that allows the cake batter to rise higher by 'clinging' to all sides of the pan. It is always sound advice to cut Angel food cake with a serrated blade since the straight-edged blade tends to compress the cake rather than slice it.

Credit: Brina Blum

Platz is the German word for "place". But, of course, an Apple Platz is not a park made of apples. The Apple Platz is a simple and sweetly satisfying dessert that tastes like a cross between apple crisp, coffee cake, and apple cake.

The topping is crumbly, rich, and sugary, while the apple filling is jammy and infused with cinnamon flavor.

Credit: Chinh Le Duc

A clafoutis is a French dessert that can assume the appearance of crisp, Yorkshire pudding-like creations and custardy flans, but all topped with a layer of seasonal fruit.

Clafoutis traditionally uses unpitted fruit arranged in a buttered dish, covered with a thick but pourable batter, then baked to create a crustless tart. The clafoutis is traditionally dusted with powdered sugar and served warm, sometimes with cream, as a dessert.

Credit: Hisu lee

Aside from the pejorative term, a fool can also refer to an English dessert. Commonly, fruit fools are made by folding puréed stewed fruit into sweet custard. Modern fool recipes often use whipped cream instead of custard.

Many authors believe the name "fool" derives from the French verb fouler meaning "to crush" or "to press". The name trifle was also originally applied to the dish, with the two names being used, for a time, interchangeably. In the late 16th century, a trifle was 'a dish composed of cream boiled with various ingredients'.

Credit: Carissa Gan

A dessert named after its messy appearance, the Eton Mess is a traditional English dessert consisting of a mixture of strawberries or other berries, meringue, and whipped cream. It is commonly believed to originate from Eton College and is served at the annual cricket match against the pupils of Harrow School.

Aside from referring to the appearance of the dessert, the word mess may be used in the sense of "a quantity of food", particularly "a prepared dish of soft food" or "a mixture of ingredients cooked or eaten together".

Credit: Honey Fangs

A buckle is a mix of fruit and cake baked together, somewhat similar to a cobbler, with a streusel topping. As it bakes the fruit and streusel topping makes the cake "buckle."

This silky, moist cake can be studded with any seasonal fruit and is topped off with a buttery crumb topping, a blood orange glaze, and just a pinch of sea salt.

Credit: Priscilla Du Preez 🇨🇦

For those who never heard of it, a Brown Betty is a traditional American dessert made from fruit, usually apple, but also berries or pears and sweetened crumbs.

Similar to a cobbler or apple crisp, the fruit is baked, and, in this case, the sweetened crumbs are placed in layers between the fruit. It is usually served with lemon sauce or whipped cream.

Credit: Clint Patterson

Another variation of the omnipresent cobbler uses johnnycakes as its base in place of biscuit or pie dough to produce a cobbler with a rustic cornbread feel.

This old-fashioned, colonial dessert with a cornmeal biscuit topping can include peaches and plums, or whichever stone fruit is in season, to make an excellent dessert.