10 false friends of a Russian language translator
In English and many other languages, these words have completely different meanings. We’ve highlighted 10 such cases for you to remember and not confuse!
1. ‘Аккуратный’ and ‘accurate’
‘Аккуратный’ from be translated from Russian not as accurate, but as tidy or careful! While accurate would be “точный, достоверный” in Russian.
2. ‘Артист’ and ‘artist’
In Russian, the word ‘artist’ usually refers to actors or other performers. While the English definition of ‘artist’ as someone who creates art would be ‘художник’ (‘khudozhnik’).
3. ‘Бриллиант’ and ‘brilliant’
In English, ‘brilliant’ is a synonym of the word ‘excellent’, which is ‘отличный, превосходный’ in Russian. The word ‘бриллиант’, meanwhile, is the Russian word for ‘diamond’.
4. ‘Дата’ and ‘data’
The Russian word ‘дата’ actually translates into English as (calendar) ‘date’, which is day, month and year. While the English word ‘data’ is translated as ‘данные’ (‘dannye’) and big data is ‘большие данные’).
5. ‘Журнал’ and ‘journal’
The Russian word ‘журнал’ is a periodic press issue, or in layman’s terms, a ‘magazine’. While the English word ‘journal’ is a ‘дневник’ (‘dnevnik’) in Russian.
6. ‘Магазин’ and ‘magazine’
A ‘magazine’ is a ‘журнал’ in Russian, as mentioned above. While ‘магазин’ in Russian is a shop or store, a place where you can buy something.
7. ‘Кабинет’ and ‘cabinet’
The Russian word ‘кабинет’ is a working room or office. However, the English word ‘cabinet’ would translate as ‘шкаф’ (‘shkaf’) or ‘правительство’ (as government or cabinet of ministers – ‘кабинет министров’).
8. ‘Лист’ and ‘list’
The English word ‘list’ would be ‘список’ (‘spisok’) in Russian, while the Russian word ‘лист’ is actually a ‘leaf’ on a tree or a ‘sheet’ of paper.
9. ‘Проспект’ and ‘prospect’
The English word ‘prospect’ translates into Russian as ‘перспектива’ (‘perspektiva’), while the Russian word ‘проспект’ is a wide street, like ‘avenue’ or ‘highway’.
10. ‘Фамилия’ and ‘family’
The Russian word ‘фамилия’ (‘familia’) is actually the word for ‘last name’ or ‘surname’ in English. While ‘family’ would be ‘семья’ (‘semya’) in Russian.
