Sky
Meaning: Actually means 'cloud'. The sky overhead is himmelen.
Language: Norwegian
Literally: sky
Category: Everyday
Origin: English borrowed this very word from Old Norse ský — where it meant 'cloud'. English then stretched it to the whole firmament, displacing Old English wolcen; Norwegian simply kept the original meaning.
More false friends — Everyday
- Familiya (Фамилия) — Actually means 'surname'. A family is семья (semya).
- Aktualny (Актуальный) — Actually means 'topical' or 'currently relevant'. For actual (real), say настоящий (nasto…
- Artist (Артист) — Actually means 'performer' — an actor, singer or circus artiste. A painter is художник (k…
- Gift — Actually means 'poison'. A present is ein Geschenk.
- Éxito — Actually means 'success'. An exit is una salida.
- Handy — Actually means 'a mobile phone'. For handy/useful, say praktisch.
More Norwegian false friends
- Grine — Actually means 'to cry' or to pull a sour face. In Danish, grine means 'to laugh' — the e…
- Frokost — Actually means 'breakfast'. In Danish the same word means 'lunch' — so a cross-border inv…
- Full — Actually means 'drunk'. Jeg er full = I'm drunk — not full after a meal.
- Rolig — Actually means 'calm' or 'quiet'. (Confusingly, in Swedish rolig means 'funny' — a false…
- Time — Actually means 'hour'. En halv time = half an hour. Time in the general sense is tid.
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