False Friends & Common Errors
False Friends & Common Errors
Dutch and English share thousands of words, which is mostly a gift and occasionally a trap. eventueel does not mean 'eventually', brutaal does not mean 'brutal', and realiseren usually does not mean 'realize'.
Grammar Comparison
Grammar Comparison
The classic traps: eventueel, actueel, globaal, brutaal
eventueel (possibly), actueel (current), globaal (approximate), brutaal (cheeky)
possibly, current, approximate, cheeky
eventueel means 'possible, if need be' — English 'eventually' is uiteindelijk. actueel means 'topical, current', not 'actual' (which is werkelijk or feitelijk). globaal means 'rough, approximate', not 'global' (wereldwijd). brutaal means 'cheeky, impertinent', a long way from 'brutal' (wreed). Each of these produces a sentence that makes sense but says the wrong thing, which is why they survive uncorrected for years.
realiseren and controleren look transparent and are not
Ik realiseer me dat ... / Ik controleer de cijfers.
I realize that ... / I'm checking the figures.
realiseren on its own means 'to bring about, to implement' — een plan realiseren. To mean 'realize' in the mental sense, it must be reflexive: zich realiseren. controleren means 'to check', not 'to control' (which is beheersen). Both are high-frequency in business contexts, so the errors are costly.
Structural errors English speakers repeat
Ik ben het met je eens. / Ik heb er drie. / Je hoeft niet te komen.
I agree with you. / I have three. / You don't have to come.
Beyond vocabulary, three structural slips recur: dropping the het in het eens zijn, omitting the quantitative er before a bare number, and using moeten niet where hoeven niet is meant. All three are grammatical sentences that either mean nothing or mean the wrong thing, and all three come from translating English word for word.
Vocabulary
Vocabulary
- English
- possibly / if need be
- English
- eventually
- English
- current / topical
- English
- rough / approximate
- English
- cheeky
- English
- likeable
- English
- to check
- English
- to realize
- English
- the warehouse
- English
- the classroom
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