Fałszywi przyjaciele I
Ten words where Russian is confidently, fluently wrong.
zapomnieć
verb · perfective, + gen. / o + loc.
- EN
- to forget
- RU
- забыть
Zapomniałem hasła do banku.
I forgot my bank password.
RU запомнить means to MEMORIZE — the exact opposite, one letter apart. Polish for memorize is zapamiętać.
sklep
noun · masculine
- EN
- shop
- RU
- магазин
W tym sklepie nie ma nic świeżego.
There's nothing fresh in this shop.
RU склеп is a burial vault. A Polish corner shop and a Russian crypt are the same word.
dywan
noun · masculine
- EN
- carpet, rug
- RU
- ковёр
Kot znowu podrapał dywan.
The cat has scratched the carpet again.
RU диван is a sofa. A Polish dywan is on the floor; the thing you sit on is a kanapa.
owoce
noun · plural
- EN
- fruit
- RU
- фрукты
Kup owoce i warzywa, nie same słodycze.
Buy fruit and vegetables, not just sweets.
RU овощи means vegetables. The two swap places at the border — Polish vegetables are warzywa.
zakaz
noun · masculine
- EN
- ban, prohibition
- RU
- запрет
Tu jest zakaz palenia.
There's a smoking ban here.
RU заказ is an order you place. A Polish order is zamówienie; a zakaz forbids you outright.
uroda
noun · feminine
- EN
- beauty, looks
- RU
- красота, внешность
Odziedziczyła urodę po matce.
She got her looks from her mother.
RU урод is a freak. One root, and it went in opposite directions on either side of the border.
grzeczny
adjective
- EN
- polite, well-behaved
- RU
- вежливый
Dzieci były wyjątkowo grzeczne.
The children were unusually well-behaved.
RU грешный means sinful. A grzeczne dziecko is the precise opposite of a wicked one.
czaszka
noun · feminine
- EN
- skull
- RU
- череп
Kask chroni czaszkę.
A helmet protects the skull.
RU чашка is a cup. Polish for a cup is filiżanka or kubek — asking for a czaszka of tea goes badly.
jutro
adverb · noun
- EN
- tomorrow
- RU
- завтра
Jutro rano mam spotkanie.
I have a meeting tomorrow morning.
RU утро is morning. Polish morning is rano — and this one sentence uses both, a word apart.
krzesło
noun · neuter
- EN
- chair
- RU
- стул
Przysuń krzesło do stołu.
Pull the chair up to the table.
RU кресло is an armchair, which in Polish is a fotel. And stół is a table, not RU стул.
Drill these ten · earlier morning · later morning
Drill these ten