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Delighted Dutch, crazy Germans (Dutch/German)

Dutch and German are close relatives in the language family. Many Dutch speakers "germanise" words when trying to speak German but this can be a tricky business since many false friends exist. A classical one is bellen. In Dutch it means 'to ring'. But in German it means 'to bark'. Another one is Ik ben verrukt in Dutch or Ich bin verrückt in German. Both sentences are pronounced in a very similar way, the difference almost not noticeable to the untrained ear. But the meaning is very different. In Dutch you are stating that you're simply delighted and in German that you're crazy.

Sent by: Inge

Comments

Jan 2006-02-21

There are lots of false friends between Dutch and German, despite - or because - of the close relation. One of the most embarrassing is probably klarkommen. The German informal word klarkommen simply means 'to get along', while the Dutch klaarkomen means 'to have an orgasm' ...

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