False Friends
Because Esperanto vocabulary is largely international, it shares many cognates with English. However, because they were often taken from languages other than English, these do not always have their English meanings. Some of the mismatches are:
- domaĝi (to spare), vs. difekti (to damage)
- embaraso (jam, obstruction), vs. hontigi (to embarrass)
- aktuala (current, up-to-date), vs. efektiva (actual), vs. efika (effective)
- eventuala (contingent), vs. rezulta (eventual)
- akurata (punctual, on-time), vs. preciza (accurate)
- kontroli (to check, keep track of), vs. regi (to control)
- konvena (suitable), vs. oportuna (convenient)
- rento (dividend income), vs. lupago (rent)
- paragrafo (section), vs. alineo (paragraph)
Read more about this topic: Esperanto Vocabulary
Famous quotes containing the words false and/or friends:
“Reputation is an idle and most false imposition; oft got without merit, and lost without deserving.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)
“When we enlarge upon the affection our friends have for us, this is very often not so much out of a sense of gratitude as from a desire to persuade people of our own great worth, that can deserve so much kindness.”
—François, Duc De La Rochefoucauld (1613–1680)
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