Glass
Meaning: Actually means 'ice cream'. En glass = an ice cream. For a glass (vessel), say ett glas.
Language: Swedish
Looks like: glass (drinking vessel)
Category: Food & Body
Origin: An everyday joy for Swedish children encountering English speakers.
More false friends — Food & Body
- Polvo — Actually means 'octopus'. For powder, say pó.
- Sopa — Actually means 'soup'. Soap is jabón.
- Fame — Actually means 'hunger'. Ho fame = I'm hungry. For fame (renown), say fama.
- Vaso — Actually means 'a drinking glass'. A vase (for flowers) is un jarrón or florero.
- Beer — Actually means 'bear'. The drink you order is een bier.
- Slagroom — Actually means 'whipped cream'.
More Swedish false friends
- Semester — Actually means 'holiday' or 'vacation'. A school semester is en termin.
- Barn — Actually means 'child'. A barn is en lada.
- Sex — Actually means 'six'. Klockan sex = six o'clock.
- Bord — Actually means 'table'. Ett bord för två = a table for two.
- Rar — Actually means 'sweet' or 'kind'. En rar person is a lovely person. (In Norwegian, rar me…
- Grind — Actually means 'gate' — the garden or field kind. To grind is mala.
From our tongue twisters
- Flyg, fula fluga, flyg! Och den fula flugan flög. — An 'fl' cluster repeated through three different vowels — y, u and ö, all of them front r…
- Sex laxar i en laxask. — A short 'x/lax/ks' crunch — Swedish's 'x' sounds like 'ks', which doubles the trap.
- Sju sjösjuka sjömän skötte sjuttiosju sjösjuka sjölejon på skeppet Shanghai. — An unstoppable 'sj/sk/sh' onslaught — the Swedish sj-sound (a unique voiceless fricative)…