German and English are both Germanic languages. They share many similar words such as Wasser (water), und (and) and Haus (house). However, they also have a number of false friends- words that appear similar but have different meanings. The following words look identical but differ greatly in meaning. In German all nouns are capitalized. Here is the list:
bald (soon)
Boot (boat)
Brief (letter)
fast (almost)
Gift (poison)
Hut (hat)
Kind (child)
Rat (advice)
Rock (skirt)
Wand (wall)
The list illustrates that German words are sometimes identical in spelling to English but can have very different meanings. The German word for boat is similar to the English counterpart, but is spelt like the English word boot. To master German, English learners need to be aware of the false friends that exist in the two languages.
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