False Friends, Third Set
More Swedish look-alikes that mean something else — ratt, lock, artist, mark.
Forty-seven false friends — words that look English and aren't: the classics (en ratt is a steering wheel, not a rat; himmel the sky; en tvål soap, not a towel), the paired traps where Swedish splits what English merges (kvitto/recept, faktum/aktuell, termin/term, årtionde/århundrade), the profession traps (tjänsteman/officer, artist meaning performer) — each card the antidote to one embarrassing sentence.
- 1
en ratt
a steering wheel
Tip: English 'rat' is 'råtta' — the words are not related.
- 2
skona
to spare someone
Tip: Swedish 'spara' means 'to save' or 'to keep'.
- 3
himmel
the sky
Tip: Swedish 'sky' means the gravy from roast meat.
- 4
en tvål
a bar of soap
Tip: Swedish 'såpa' is soft soap for floors, not for hands.
- 5
hallen
the entrance hallway
Tip: English 'hall' in the big-room sense is 'sal' in Swedish.
- 6
en garderob
a wardrobe
Tip: Swedish 'klosett' means a toilet.
- 7
en klädkammare
a wardrobe (furniture)
Tip: Swedish 'garderob' can also mean a walk-in closet.
- 8
en föreläsning
a lecture
Tip: Swedish 'lektyr' means reading matter.
- 9
låtsas
to pretend
Tip: Swedish 'pretendera' is rare and means 'to lay claim to'.
- 10
anställa
to hire staff
Tip: Swedish 'hyra' means 'to rent', not 'to hire' a person.
- 11
en paragraf
a section of law
Tip: English 'paragraph' is 'stycke' in Swedish.
- 12
ett formulär
a form to fill in
Tip: Swedish 'formel' means a mathematical formula.
- 13
ett pensionat
a guesthouse
Tip: Swedish 'pension' means retirement pay.
- 14
ett gräl
a quarrel
Tip: Swedish 'argument' means a reasoned point, never a row.
- 15
marken
the ground
Tip: English 'mark' as a school grade is 'betyg'.
- 16
ett frimärke
a postage stamp
Tip: Swedish 'stämpel' is a rubber stamp.
- 17
resa sig
to stand up / to raise
Tip: Swedish 'resa' also means 'to travel' — context decides.
- 18
ett tivoli
a funfair
Tip: Swedish 'mässa' is a trade fair or a church mass.
- 19
kuriös
quaint or odd
Tip: English 'curious' meaning inquisitive is 'nyfiken'.
- 20
genialisk
brilliant
Tip: English 'genial' meaning friendly is 'vänlig'.
- 21
passa
to fit or to suit
Tip: English 'to pass' is 'passera' or 'bli godkänd'.
- 22
ett lock
a lid
Tip: English 'lock' is 'lås' in Swedish.
- 23
stava
to spell
Tip: Swedish 'spela' means 'to play'.
- 24
en helgdag
a public holiday
Tip: Swedish 'helg' on its own usually means the weekend.
- 25
påverka
to affect
Tip: Swedish 'affekt' means a state of strong emotion.
- 26
en artist
a performer
Tip: English 'artist' meaning painter is 'konstnär'.
- 27
en scen
a stage
Tip: Swedish 'scen' also means a scene in a film or an argument.
- 28
bli
to become
Tip: Swedish 'bekomma' means 'to affect' or 'to bother'.
- 29
förvandlas till
to become (turn into)
Tip: Swedish 'bli' is the everyday word.
- 30
ett kvitto
a receipt for a parcel
Tip: Swedish 'recept' is never this.
- 31
ett recept
a prescription
Tip: Same word as a recipe — context decides.
- 32
en tjänsteman
an office worker
Tip: Swedish 'officer' is military only.
- 33
en officer
a military officer
Tip: Not an office worker.
- 34
ett faktum
an actual fact
Tip: Swedish 'aktuell' means current.
- 35
en aktuell fråga
a current issue
Tip: The Swedish sense of 'aktuell'.
- 36
ett årtionde
a decade
Tip: Swedish 'dekad' is rare and technical.
- 37
ett århundrade
a century
Tip: Similarly formed.
- 38
en mottagning
a physician's surgery
Tip: Swedish 'operation' is the surgical kind only.
- 39
en operation
an operation (surgery)
Tip: Never a doctor's office.
- 40
assistera
to assist
Tip: Swedish 'assistent' is a job title, not a helper generally.
- 41
en hjälpreda
a helper
Tip: The everyday word.
- 42
en kost
a diet (way of eating)
Tip: Swedish 'diet' means a weight-loss diet specifically.
- 43
en bantningskur
a slimming diet
Tip: What Swedes mean by 'diet'.
- 44
en konferens
a conference
Tip: Swedish 'konferera' is rarely used as a verb.
- 45
rådgöra
to confer
Tip: The natural Swedish verb.
- 46
en termin
a term at university
Tip: Swedish 'term' means a technical word.
- 47
en term
a technical term
Tip: The other meaning entirely.