boom [n] = tree in Dutch

The English word “boom” (a spar extending the foot of a sail; a movable pole supporting a microphone or camera) was borrowed from the Dutch “boom” (tree) but the Dutch “boom” (a rapid market expansion) was borrowed from English “boom” (a sound of an explosion; a rapid increase or expansion).

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n̄ʻn̄ = I (emphatic personal pronoun, first person singular, “n̄” is a non-emphatic “I”) in Taa

The Taa language (also known as ǃXóõ) is a intriguing African language which known for large number of phonemes (possibly the largest in the world) and for a common use of click sounds.

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커피 (keopi) [n] = coffee in Korean

Korean borrowed a lot of words from English like 커피 (keopi) and 커피숍 (keopisyop) = coffee shop.

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listí = foliage in Czech

Many Indo-European languages have two separate words for “leaves” – a plural of “leaf” and a singular collective noun.
leaf > leaves > foliage in English
list > listy > listí in Czech
liść > liście > listowie in Polish
blad > bladeren/bladen/blaren > gebladerte in Dutch
Blatt > Blätter > Laub in German
лист > листья > листва in Russian
hoja > hojas > follaje in Spanish
duille/duilleog > duillí/duilleoga > duilliúr in Irish

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sky = cloud in Danish

I love faux amis. I love to be suprised, amazed and even shocked by those innocent and sneaky words in two languages. The words “sky” in Danish and English come from Proto-Germanic *skiwją (cloud, sky) through Old Norse “ský” (cloud).

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clock = a seed head of a dandelion in English

Sometimes a simple common word has an unexpected meaning.

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tšawa = grass in Lower Sorbian

The word “tšawa” comes from the Proto-Slavic *trava. The Lower Sorbian is the only Slavic language that replaced “r” with “š”. It’s “trawa” in Upper Sorbian & Polish, “tráva” in Czech & Slovak, “трава” {trava} in Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian & Serbian, “trava” in Slovenian & Croatian and “трева” {treva} in Bulgarian & Macedonian.

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dŵr = water in Welsh

The word “dŵr” looks like made of only consonants, but in Welsh “w” and “ŵ” are vowels. The circumflex differentiates short and long vowels.

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grianghraf = photo, photograph in Irish

grian = sun / grianghraf = photo, photohraph / grianghrafadóir = photographer / grianghrafadóireacht = photography, (act of) photographing

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százszorszép = daisy (Bellis perennis) in Hungarian

Etymology: “százszor” (hundred times) + “szép” (beautiful)

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