Confusing false cognates between Portuguese and German

Unlike Spanish, German doesn’t have as many obvious false cognates with Portuguese—but there are some specific pitfalls, especially with words of Latin origin that the two languages have borrowed in different ways.

Gift is not a gift

Perhaps the most dangerous false cognate for English speakers (and, by extension, one that confuses Brazilians who already know English): Gift in German means “poison,” not “gift.” “Gift” in German is Geschenk.

Aktuell does not mean “current” in the sense of “modern”

Aktuell in German means “current” in the sense of “present/at this moment” (as in “up-to-date information”), but it does not carry the meaning of “modern” that is sometimes used in Portuguese. Die aktuelle Situation means “the current/present situation,” not “the modern situation.”

Bekommen does not mean “to become”

Those who study English before German tend to get confused: “bekommen” means “to receive,” not “to become” (like “become” in English, which sounds similar). Tornar-se in German is “werden.”

Rat has nothing to do with “rat”

Rat in German means “advice” (noun), with no connection to the rodent. Ich brauche einen Rat means “I need some advice,” with no mention of rats.

Chef does not necessarily mean “cook”

In German, Chef (or Chefin in the feminine form) is used to mean “boss” or “manager” at work, not specifically “head chef” as in Portuguese. The business context is the most common use of this word.

Why it’s worth paying attention in these cases

False cognates are treacherous precisely because the familiarity of the word gives a false sense of certainty—it’s wise to be skeptical whenever a German word “seems” too obvious too quickly.

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