torstai 8. toukokuuta 2014

Same words, different meanings

It's almost time for me to go home, I have less than one month left, and here is something I would like to talk you about: Finnish words that have completely twisted and different meanings in Italian.

I have been thinking about this for quite a long time but I could only think about very few words, but then today I gave a look at my notebook and there is actually A LOT. Maybe even too much!

Little note before starting: unlike Finnish, Italian has gender form for everything. Everything is either male or female. Objects included. That is why you are going to read "male/female case" quite many times.
Kyllä

Tuo: your/yours, male singular case.

Kyllä: sounds quite like culla (we don't have ä ö y sounds) and it's cradle

Minä: mina in italian is that kind of bomb you hide under the ground, and blow up when some unlucky soldier steps on it.

Kissa: sounds a bit like chissà and means something like "who knows", but it's not used to ask questions, it is used to wonder about various stuff. Most of the times you are not even expecting an answer. For example "Who knows if tomorrow is going to rain..." "yeah, who knows..it's better to take an umbrella, just in case".
Ovi

Multa: the penalty money you have to pay when breaking rules while driving.

Peruna: sounds like per una and means for one, female case.

Voi: You. Plural.

Takki: we spell that tacchi, and means heals

Pala
Se: if.

Veli: veils, plural case.

Vitsi: we spell it vizi and stands for "bad habits".

Pala: shovel.

Lima: rasp.
 
Takki
Matto: crazy.

Ovi: the venetian word for eggs.

Paperi: it's not really a word in Italian. But remember that "everything is either male/female" thing? Well, duck is female. But paperi sounds like a plural male form for duck. So yeah...it's a dumb way to point a group of male ducks.

Katso: we spell it cazzo, and it's a swearword. Literally it is the man's sexual organ, but we use it as the english f*ck. Plus a lot of other meanings. You can use it to point a lazy person. You can use it as a verb, meaning doing nothing. You can use is to describe something as bad and very poor quality. The list might go on quite a lot, but I don't think this is the best place to do that.
Lima

Moro: This is used to point a black person. I don't really consider it as a bad word, because it is also used to describe someone with black or dark hair, but still I guess it depends on the context you are and the people you are talking to. Anyway here we are among friends, you know me, I know you, and I hope nobody got offended.

UPDATE: I am sorry but few days ago, when I wrote this article I forgot one of the best:
 


Suora



Ok...after this it should be pretty much all I know. See you the next time.
Moro!!!
 -Matteo

2 kommenttia:

  1. "Minä: mina in italian is that kind of bomb you hide under the ground, and blow up when some unlucky soldier steps on it."
    In finnish this kind of bomb is MIINA :)
    Many words you have found
    Heidi

    VastaaPoista
  2. Oh, Ok. Almost the same actually :) but I hear much more frequently "minä" than "miina". Fortunately.

    VastaaPoista