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50 false friends
by Kathrin Hauger Business Spotlight
WHAT ARE FALSE FRIENDS? Many words in German and English sound alike. But be careful:
sometimes they mean entirely different things! Here are 50 false friends to avoid in business.
You may suddenly realize you’ve been using a word incorrectly all along!
You mean... You should say... You should NOT say... Why not?
Mauritius (2)
Branche industry, field branch branch =
“Er ist in der Automobilbranche “He works in the automotive Zweig(stelle),
tätig.” industry.” Filiale
Improve your business English with BusinessSpotlight — every two months. www.business-spotlight.de
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Uebersteher 107.qxd 22.11.2006 15:45 Uhr Seite 2
50 false friends
You mean... You should say... You should NOT say... Why not?
special, please.”
Improve your business English with BusinessSpotlight — every two months. www.business-spotlight.de
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Uebersteher 107.qxd 22.11.2006 15:45 Uhr Seite 3
You mean... You should say... You should NOT say... Why not?
Mauritius
“Seit seiner Promotion müssen wir “Now that he’s got his PhD, Beförderung;
ihn mit ‘Herr Doktor’ anreden.” we have to call him ‘Doctor’.” (Verkaufs-)
PRICE
Aktion
E diplomati-
sches Protokoll
rent = Miete
“Mein Chef wird mehr Rente US also retirement pay,
bekommen als ich Gehalt.” retirement benefits
“My boss’s pension will be
larger than my salary.”
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50 false friends
You mean... You should say... You should NOT say... Why not?
Mauritius
“Als Golfpartner ist er mir “I think he’s nice as a golf mitfühlend,
sympathisch, aber nicht als partner, but not as a manager.” einfühlsam
Manager.” START
■ For more false friends, see our regular section in the magazine on page 50.
■ For more exercises on false friends, see Business Spotlight plus 1/2007 plus
■ If you’re interested in regular practice to avoid false friends, try Business Spotlight Audio, which is avail-
able as a CD or as an audio download. For more information, visit www.business-spotlight.de/audio.
Improve your business English with BusinessSpotlight — every two months. www.business-spotlight.de
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