Confusing words

Flammable and inflammable both refer to materials and substances that are easily set on fire. Non-flammable is the opposite of flammable.

Mortal (formal word) / Fatal mean causing death. Lethal refers to a substance that can cause death.

Habitable usually refers to buildings and means suitable for living in. Inhabitable also refers to a place or geographical area that can be lived in, whereas uninhabitable is housing or a place that cannot be lived in.

Emigrate refers to movement from a country on a permanent basis while immigrate refers to movement into a country. Migrate is the process whereby people or animals move between countries on a temporary basis.

Shanghai Expo 2010 (Animation by Roy ex-student)

Countries and Nationalities

There are no rules on how nationality is formed from a country’s name. Some nationalities, for example, end in –ian, -an, -ese, -i

Afghanistan (Afghan), Albania (Albanian), Algeria (Algerian), Andorra (Andorran), Angola (Angolan), Argentina (Argentinean), Armenia (Armenian), Australia (Australian), Austria (Austrian), Azerbaijan (Azerbaijani), Bahamas (Bahamian), Bahrain (Bahraini), Bangladesh (Bangladeshi), Belarus (Belarusian), Belgium (Belgian), Belize (Belizean), Bolivia (Bolivian), Bosnia-Herzegovina (Bosnian), Brazil (Brazilian), Bulgaria (Bulgarian)

Cambodia (Cambodian), Cameroon (Cameroonian), Canada (Canadian), Chile (Chilean), China (Chinese), Colombia (Colombian), Congo (Congolese), Costa Rica (Costa Rican), Croatia (Croatian), Cuba (Cuban), Cyprus (Cypriot), Czech Republic (Czech)

Denmark (Danish), Dominican Republic (Dominican), Egypt (Egyptian), Eritrea (Eritrean), Estonia (Estonian), Ethiopia (Ethiopian)

France (French), The Gambia (Gambian), Georgia (Georgian), Germany (German), Ghana (Ghanaian), Greece (Greek), Guyana (Guyanese), Haiti (Haitian), Hungary (Hungarian)

Iceland (Icelandic), India (Indian), Indonesia (Indonesian), Iran (Iranian), Iraq (Iraqi), Republic of Ireland (Irish), Israel (Israeli), Italy (Italian), Ivory Coast (Ivorian)

Jamaica (Jamaican), Japan (Japanese), Jordan (Jordanian), Kazakhstan (Kazakh), Kenya (Kenyan), Kuwait (Kuwaiti), Kyrgyzstan (Kyrgyz), Latvia (Latvian), Liberia (Liberian), Libya (Libyan), Lithuania (Lithuanian)

Macedonia (Macedonian), Madagascar (Madagascan), Malawi (Malawian), Malaysia (Malaysian), Maldives (Maldivian), Malta (Maltese), Mexico (Mexican), Moldova (Moldovan), Mongolia (Mongolian), Morocco (Moroccan), Mozambique (Mozambican)

Namibia (Namibian), Nepal (Nepalese), The Netherlands (Dutch), New Zealand (New Zealander), Nicaragua (Nicaraguan), Nigeria (Nigerian), Norway (Norwegian)

Oman (Omani), Pakistan (Pakistani), Panama (Panamanian), Paraguay (Paraguayan), Peru (Peruvian), Philippines (Filipino), Poland (Polish), Portugal (Portuguese), Qatar (Qatari), Romania (Romanian), Russia (Russian), Rwanda (Rwandan)

Saudi Arabia (Saudi Arabian), Senegal (Senegalese), Serbia (Serbian), Singapore (Singaporean), Slovakia (Slovak), Slovenia (Slovenian), Somalia (Somali), South Africa (South African), Spain (Spanish), Sri Lanka (Sri Lankan), Sudan (Sudanese), Sweden (Swedish), Switzerland (Swiss), Syria ( Syrian)

Taiwan (Taiwanese), Tanzania (Tanzanian), Thailand (Thai), Tunisia (Tunisian), Turkey (Turkish), Uganda (Ugandan), Ukraine (Ukrainian), United Kingdom (British), United States of America (American), Uruguay (Uruguayan), Uzbekistan (Uzbek), Venezuela (Venezuelan), Vietnam (Vietnamese), Yemen (Yemeni), Zambia (Zambian), Zimbabwe (Zimbabwean)

False Friends

When we learn a new language, we have to be careful of false friends; words which look or sound almost the same as words in our native language. It’s best to look the words up in a dictionary as the English word rarely means the same as the false friend in another language. As the original meaning of a word changes over time or is borrowed from another language and is used differently from the beginning, this causes confusion.

The English word "actual" looks and sounds like words in many other languages but may have a different meaning: actuel (French), actual (Spanish), atual (Portuguese), attuale (Italian), aktuell (German), actueel (Dutch), aktuelan (Croatian).

Some Spanish false friends:
Carpeta (looks like the English word “carpet”) but in Spanish means a folder or briefcase.
Decepción (looks like “deception”) but means disappointment.
Desgracia (looks like “disgrace”) but means a mistake or misfortune.
Embarazada (looks like ‘’embarrassed”) but means pregnant.
En absoluto (looks like “absolutely”) but means not at all.
Éxito (looks like “exit) but means a hit or success.
Fábrica (looks like “fabric”) but means factory.
Largo (looks like “large”) but means long.
Once (looks like “once”) but means the number eleven.
Ropa (looks like “rope”) but means clothing.
Sensible (looks like “sensible”) but means sensitive.
Tuna (looks like “tuna”) but means an edible cactus.

Some German false friends:
Allee (in English sounds like “alley”) but in German means avenue.
Die ambulanz (sounds like “ambulance”) but means outpatient department.
Das argument (sounds like “argument”) but means reasoned argument.
Die art (looks like “art”) but means type.
Das bad (looks like “bad”) but means bath.
Bang (looks like “bang”) but means frightened.
Bekommen (sounds like “to become”) but means “to receive”.
Die billion (looks like “billion”) but means trillion.
Die box (looks like “box”) but means stereo system speaker.
Der brand (looks like “brand”) but means fire.
Das etikett (sounds like “etiquette”) but means label.
Das formular (looks like “formula”) but means “to fill out a form”.
Familiär (looks like “familiar”) but means family-related.

Chitwan National Park (Nepal)

Move, transfer, relocate, resettle

Move = focuses on the movement of objects or people.
e.g. He moved his car as it was blocking the entrance.
They moved into a new house.

Transfer=move a person, money, phone call to another location or group.
e.g. She was transferred to the Sales Department, so the receptionist transferred the call there.
We transferred our money into a current account.

Relocate=used in business when talking about moving to a new place.
e.g. The bank has relocated to Singapore.

Resettle=used to talk about people or population groups when they find a new place to live.
e.g. Many Chinese from rural areas resettle in big cities.

Every

Everyday = usual e.g. Recycling has become an everyday practice.
Every day = each day considered separately e.g. I go to work by bus every day.
Everyone (informal) / Everybody (formal) = all the people suggested by the context e.g. Everyone in the room is from India.
Every one = each person or object considered separately e.g. Every one of the houses in the street has been sold.
Everything = the situation as a whole e.g. I like everything about the neighbourhood.
Every thing = each item in a given situation e.g. Every small thing in that corner is for sale.
Everywhere = in all places e.g. I couldn’t find my keys even though I looked everywhere.