English on the Internet - Vocabulary




False friends 1

False friends are certain English "tricky" words that we think mean the same as similar words in Czech, but the meaning is different. The confusion might be because of a chance similarity in spelling.


1. critic - kritik or critique - kritika
It is often confused with: review - recenze

Have you read the review of that new Forman film?
One critic wrote a bad review of these pages. The others like it.



2. chief
It is often confused with: boss or chef

A boss is a head of a company, a headmaster or a principal.
A chief is the head of a police or fire department or a head of an American Indian tribe.
A chef works in a restaurant and cooks. You never call that person a "cooker". A cook could be called a person who cooks in a small restaurant or at home. For example: You are an excellent cook.



3. part time
It is often confused with: external

You can never say !! I am an external worker there.
The correct sentence is: I work there part time or I am a part time worker there.



4. air-conditioning
It is often confused with: climatisation

The word climatisation doesn't exist at all.
The only possibility how to express it is the word air-conditioning



5. pass
It is often confused with: take

If I pass the exam, I'll give a party.
I hope you're successful in the exam. When do you take it?
I take the state exam tomorrow. I hope I pass it.

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