🟰 Words that look the same or similar in two languages but have two, at times radically, different meanings are called “false friends”.

There are plenty of them in most languages, and particularly between Slovenian and the other Southern Slavic languages, Bosnian, Bulgarian, Croatian, Macedonian, Montenegrin and Serbian.

💁🏻 A particular false friend I love is the Slovenian word “kajenje”.

For speakers of the other Southern Slavonic languages, this would seem a rather unexpected and, ultimately, deep word to appear on the health warnings of Slovenian cigarette packets as this looks like the Croatian/Bosnian/Serbian/Montenegrin word “kajanje”, the Macedonian word “каење” (kaenje) and the Bulgarian “разкаяние” (razkayanie), all meaning ‘remorse’ or ‘regret’.

🤔 So what does ‘kajenje’ mean in Slovenian…

Smoking! 🚬

Talk about smoker’s remorse!

Do you have a favourite “false friend”?