I. Theory

In German, there is a wide variety of words that look and sound similar to words we have in English. When these words share a common meaning in both languages, they are known as cognates. However, words that look similar and don’t have the same meaning are known as false cognates or falsche Freunde.

In the following examples, we see that the meaning of the German words in question are not what they seem.

Wir kennen einander vom Gymnasium. We know one another from high school. Das ist eventuell eine Lösung für das Problem. Potentially, this is a solution to the problem. Der Autor hat die Kritik einfach überhört. The author simply ignored the criticism.

II. Falsche Freunde

This lesson will focus on four false cognates: Gymnasium, eventuell, Warenhaus and überhören. For each false cognate, the English definition is provided along with the word it may be confused with. The word in parenthesis is the correct German word for the word in quotation marks.

Gymnasium: high school, not “gymnasium” (Sporthalle)

Sie hat das Gymnasium bereits abgeschlossen. She has already graduated high school. Ich arbeite als Lehrer am Gymnasium. I work as a teacher at the high school.

Eventuell: potentially/possibly, not “eventual” (letztendlich)

Wir versuchen, alle eventuellen Probleme zu vermeiden. We are trying to avoid all potential issues. Diese Entscheidung könnte eventuell Nachwirkungen haben. This decision could potentially have consequences.

Warenhaus: department store, not “warehouse” (Lagerhalle)

Werden im Warenhaus Geschirrspülmaschinen verkauft? Do they sell dishwashers at the department store? Es war am Wochenende zu voll im Warenhaus. It was too crowded in the department store over the weekend.

Überhören: to ignore/not hear, not “overhear” (mithören)

Wir haben die gemeine Bemerkung meiner Großmutter überhört. We ignored the rude remark from my grandmother. Der Sarkasmus in seiner Stimme war nicht zu überhören. The sarcasm in his voice couldn’t be ignored.