Learn, teach, sleep

Basque saying.

Lit: “If the cat’s washing its face, rain (will come) soon”.

Cat owners, have you checked if this is true? Or does it only work in Euskal Herria?? ^_^

Speakers or learners of either language often find that some words look similar in both languages. However, there are several words that are false friends in Ukrainian for those familiar with Russian. Many of them happen to be because they have multiple meanings in Ukrainian, unlike Russian. Here are ten of them.

1.  місто 🇺🇦 mistaken for место 🇷🇺

місто (city) in Ukrainian is город in Russian.

место (place) in Russian is місце in Ukrainian.

2. неділя 🇺🇦 mistaken for неделя 🇷🇺

неділя (Sunday) in Ukrainian is воскресенье in Russian.

неделя (week) in Russian is тиждень in Ukrainian.

3. гарбуз 🇺🇦 mistaken for арбуз 🇷🇺

гарбуз (pumpkin) in Ukrainian is тыква in Russian.

арбуз (watermelon) in Russian is кавун in Ukrainian.

4. час 🇺🇦 mistaken for час 🇷🇺

час (time) in Ukrainian is время in Russian.

час (hour) in Russian is година in Ukrainian.

5. чоловік 🇺🇦 mistaken for человек 🇷🇺

чоловік (husband) in Ukrainian is муж in Russian.

человек (man, human) in Russian is людина & чоловік in Ukrainian.

6. жінка 🇺🇦 mistaken for жена 🇷🇺

жінка (woman) in Ukrainian is женщина in Russian.

жена (wife) in Russian is дружина & жінка in Ukrainian.

7.  он 🇺🇦 mistaken for он 🇷🇺

он (there) in Ukrainian is вон in Russian.

он (he) in Russian is вiн in Ukrainian.

8. кіт 🇺🇦 mistaken for кит 🇷🇺

кіт (cat) in Ukrainian is кот in Russian.

кит (whale) in Russian is кит in Ukrainian.

9. їх 🇺🇦 mistaken for их 🇷🇺 (in certain cases) 

їх (them) in Ukrainian is их in Russian when referring to the declension of вони.

их (their) in Russian is їхній in Ukrainian when referring to possession. There is a Russian word that is colloquial, ихний, that corresponds to this, but you should use их instead.

10. листопад 🇺🇦 mistaken for листопад 🇷🇺

листопад (November) in Ukrainian is ноябрь in Russian.

листопад (defoliation) in Russian is листопад in Ukrainian.

In Basque we don’t say kitchen, we say sukalde, which means “beside the fire”.

In Basque we don’t say relationship, we say harreman, which means “take and give”.

In Basque we don’t say electricity, we say argindar, which means “strength of light”.

In Basque we don’t say nurse, we say erizain, which means “carer of the sick”.

In Basque we don’t say desert, we say basamortu, which means “dead forest”.

In Basque we don’t say beach, we say hondartz, which means “lots of sand”.

In Basque we don’t pen, we say bolaluma which means “ball feather”.

In Basque we don’t say cancer, we say minbizi, which means “living pain”.

In Basque we don’t say curiosity, we say jakinmin, which means “pain for knowing”.

In Basque we don’t say boat, we say itsasontzi, which means “sea container”.

In Basque we don’t say shoes, we say oinetakoak, which means “the ones of the feet”.

Kaixo!!

Since you seem to be enjoying our latest word lists, here’s a seasonal one. Hope you like it!

amaraun - spiderweb

argiontzi - lantern

arima - soul

Arimen Gaua - All Souls’ Night (Nov. 2nd)

armiarma - spider

beldur - fear

deabru - devil

gaizki - evil

gau - night

gurutze - cross

heriotza - death

hezur - bone

hezurdura - skeleton

hil - dead, to die

hilarri - tombstone

hilerri - cemetery

hilobi - grave

hotzikara - shiver

ikaratu - to scare

ilargi - moon

ilun - dark

iluntasun - darkness

izar - star

kalabaza - pumpkin

laino - fog

mamu - ghost

ohiu egin - to scream

oilo-ipurdi - goosebumps

saguzar - bat

sorgin - witch

sorginduta - haunted

udazken - autumn

We consider this a very beautiful poem - or poetic image if you will - in Basque, composed just by nouns:

This is something you probably won’t see in the media: thousands and thousands of people marched yesterday in Donostia asking for a change of prison policy. 

Spanish Government always defended that the rights of Basque prisoners linked to ETA - remember that burning down a dumpster or throwing stones to the police forces during disturbs was considered linked to ETA - would improve if the band ceased fire. 

7 years after the ceasefire things haven’t changed: - prisoners are thousands of kms away from their families - even in France - instead of in Basque prisons, so they can’t recieve visitations as often, and their relatives risk themselves in very long road trips. - although the Spanish law makes possible to reduce inmates’ stay in prison by behaving correctly, this is not applied to Basque prisoners. This same law establishes that, if a prisoner accused of terrorism had already done their time in prison, they still couldn’t get out since this law had a retroactive character. This means that if you had been 20 years in jail BEFORE this law was created and thus benefited from any reduction, you would start your prison sentence from zero the day you were supposed to get out. The law is currently being judged by the European Court of Human Rights. - if a prisoner is seriously ill and/or terminal, Spanish law permits their release to recieve paliative treatment and die free. Except for Basque prisoners that aren’t allowed to be set free despite their bad health condition.

We don’t want amnesty, we want justice & human rights for our prisoners.

Ever get tired of always writing manchmal? Feel like ‘ab und zu’ and ‘hin und wieder’ is no longer cutting it? Want to score bonus points for using synoynms in your class essays? Well, you’ve come to the right post!

1. zeitweise*

Ex: Meine Arbeit kann zeitweise recht anstrengend sein. Tr: My job can be quite stressful at times.

2. mitunter

Ex: Ich leiste mitunter Freiwilligenarbeit. Tr: I do volunteer work every now and then.

3. bisweilen (elevated)

Ex: Ihre Emotionen wirken bisweilen aufgesetzt. Tr: Her emotions sometimes seem insincere.

4. dann und wann

Ex: Aber dann und wann kommt doch echtes Leben in die Politik. Tr: But now and then real life comes into politics.

5. zuweilen (elevated)

Ex: Zuweilen scheint es, als sei er etwas verwirrt. Tr: Sometimes it seems as if he’s a bit confused.

*zeitweise can also mean ‘temporarily’ (vorübergehend)

1. Ich versteh nur Bahnhof Literally: I understand only train station Meaning: I have no idea what you are saying

2. Du gehst mir voll auf den Keks Literally: You walk me on the cookie Meaning: You are getting on my nerves. 3. Du hast nicht mehr alle Tassen im Schrank Literally: You are missing cups in your cupboard Meaning: You’re crazy

4. Ich bin fuchsteufelswild Literally: I’m foxdevilswild Meaning: I’m super mad

5. Ich krieg die Krise Literally: I get the crisis Meaning: I’m going mad

6. Mir fällt ein Stein vom Herzen Literally: A stone falls from my heart Meaning: I’m relieved

7. Friede, Freude, Eierkuchen Literally: peace, joy and omelette/pancake Meaning: everything’s hunky-dory

8. Kein Schwein war da Literally: No pig was there Meaning: Nobody was present/Nobody participated

9. Sie hat einen Vogel Literally: She has a bird Meaning: She’s crazy

10. Das Leben ist kein Ponyhof Literally: Life is no pony farm Meaning: Life isn’t easy

11. Er spielt die beleidigte Leberwurst Literally: He’s playing the offended liver sausage Meaning: He’s very resentful

12. Aller Anfang ist schwer Literally: All beginnings are difficult Meaning: The first step is always the hardest

13. Wie du mir, so ich dir Literally: Like you to me, so I to you Meaning: Tit for tat 

14. Ich glaub mein Schwein pfeift Literally: I think my pig whistles Meaning: I think I’m dreaming

Well, Romanian is Polish for romance languages. Let me show you:

war

Spanish: guerra

Portuguese: guerra

French: guerre

Italian: guerra

Catalan: guerra

Romanian: …

Romanian: război…

earth

Spanish: tierra

Portuguese: terra

French: terre

Italian: terra

Catalan: terra

Romanian: uhh….

Romanian: pământ..

half

Spanish: mitad

Portuguese: metade

French: moitié

Italian:  metà

Catalan: meitat

Romanian: … *sigh* ….