April 15, 2025
[Stefanie Schantl, M.A.](https://blog.duolingo.com/author/stefanie/)
# Dear Duolingo: Why can words have opposite meanings across languages?
Sometimes, words in a new language don’t mean what you’d expect!
_Welcome to another week of Dear Duolingo, an advice column just for learners. Catch up on past installments_ [_here_](https://blog.duolingo.com/tag/dear-duolingo/) _._
Hello, dear readers! I’m Stefanie Schantl, a linguist who works on Duolingo’s German course. Last time, I told you about [diminutives](https://blog.duolingo.com/diminutives-in-spanish-and-other-languages/) in different languages. This week, we’ll look at words that have the same spelling in two languages—but completely different meanings! 😵💫
What a great question, Opposites Attract! You’re right that, when learning a language, you will sometimes find a word that looks familiar to you, but has an unexpected meaning in your new language. There are different reasons for why this might happen.
## Some languages share a common ancestor
It’s not very obvious today, but English and German belong to the same [language family](https://blog.duolingo.com/language-families-related-languages/). They were never one and the same language, but they both developed from a common ancestor called Proto-Germanic.
Proto-Germanic was spoken a _very_ long time ago—somewhere around 2000 years in the past. Linguists have [compared later stages](https://blog.duolingo.com/how-languages-used-to-be-pronounced/) of Germanic languages to understand what Proto-Germanic would have been like, so we actually know quite a lot about it, even though we don’t have any direct sources from this period.
Languages with a common ancestor often share certain words, retain some core vocabulary [that tends to remain unchanged](https://blog.duolingo.com/why-some-words-dont-change/), and may have similar grammatical structure and ways of [forming words](https://blog.duolingo.com/are-arabic-hebrew-persian-related/#an-example-of-semitic-grammar-word-roots). This is why [English](https://blog.duolingo.com/history-of-english-language/) and [German](https://blog.duolingo.com/history-of-german-language/) have some words that are similar or even identical. And the same is true for [many other languages](https://blog.duolingo.com/language-families-overview/)! For example, Hungarian shares a language family with [Finnish](https://blog.duolingo.com/finnish-a-language-to-leave-you-spellbound/), and they both developed from Proto-Uralic. [Arabic and Hebrew](https://blog.duolingo.com/are-arabic-hebrew-persian-related/) are closely related, both tracing their roots back to Proto-Semitic. Similarly, [Ukrainian](https://blog.duolingo.com/ukraine-language/) and Polish both developed from Proto-Slavic, making them closely related as well.
Shared history explains why related languages often have similar words. But why do some words that look the same have completely different meanings, like English _gift_ and German _Gift_ (poison)? The answer lies in how languages change over time.
## Meanings can change over time
Language isn’t static. It is [constantly evolving](https://blog.duolingo.com/why-do-languages-change/), even if the changes aren’t always obvious. Sometimes, new words emerge because we have a need for them. Other times, words or a certain use of them become obsolete. Words can also shift in meaning, either drifting in a particular direction, broadening to include more concepts, or narrowing to become more specific.
For example, the Spanish verb _estar_ (to be) comes from the Latin word _stāre_ (to stand)—the meaning of the Latin verb was widened. _Wife_, on the other hand, had a broader meaning in Old English—it meant any woman. Its meaning was narrowed to become more specific.
The example of English _gift_ vs. German _Gift_(poison) is a case of meanings that drifted apart over time. Originally, the German word had the same meaning as the English one. Both trace back to the Proto-Germanic word _giftiz_ (something given). In German, the meaning shifted from “gift” to a specific kind of giving, “giving a certain amount of a drug,” then to “giving something lethal” or ”poison.” The original meaning is still evident in the German word _Mit **gift**_ (dowry).
Another example that falls into this category is English _slim_ vs. Dutch _slim_. Both come from the Proto-Germanic word _slimbaz_, meaning “oblique” or “crooked”, but the meaning of _slim(baz)_ evolved differently in these languages:
| Proto-Germanic
_slimbaz_ |
| --- |
| oblique, crooked
⬇️ |
| English
_slim_ | Dutch
_slim_ |
| oblique, crooked
⬇️
slanting
⬇️
slight
⬇️
thin | oblique, crooked
⬇️
morally crooked
⬇️
sly
⬇️
clever |
This shift is an example of _amelioration_, where a word’s meaning becomes more positive over time. The reverse—when a word takes on a more negative meaning—also happens sometimes. This is called _pejoration_. For example, _silly_ comes from Proto-Germanic _sēliz_ (happy, good) but gradually took on a more negative meaning.
Another example of words with the same origin that took different paths is English _fast_ vs. German _fast_:
| Proto-Germanic
_fastuz_ |
| --- |
| firm, secure
⬇️ |
| English
_fast_ | German
_fast_ |
| firm, stable
⬇️
quickly | firmly
⬇️
almost |
## Sometimes it’s just a coincidence
However, [not all words that look alike](https://blog.duolingo.com/false-cognates/) (or similar) have the same root. Take English _hell_ vs. German _hell_ (light, bright) as an example. While the English word comes from Proto-Germanic _haljō_ (underworld), the German word originates from Proto-Germanic _halliz_ (resounding). Over time, both words underwent different changes, and that they have the same spelling today is purely coincidental!
Another example is English _fart_ vs. Swedish _fart_. Though they look the same, their meanings are completely different and they have different origins. So even though English and Swedish are related, the fact that they both have the word “fart” today is a linguistic accident!
| Proto-Germanic
_fertaną_ | Proto-Germanic
_fardiz_ |
| --- | --- |
| to fart
⬇️ | journey, voyage
⬇️ |
| English
_fart_ | Swedish
_fart_ |
| fart | speed |
The same is true for Italian _droga_ vs. Polish _droga_: They have separate origins, and in fact, the Italian word was adapted from Dutch!
| Proto-Germanic
_draugiz_ | Proto-Slavic
_dorga_ |
| --- | --- |
| solid, dry
⬇️ | road, way
⬇️ |
| Dutch
_droog_ | Polish
_droga_ |
| dry
⬇️ | road, way |
| Italian
_droga_ |
| drug |
## “I swear I’ve seen this before…” 🤨
Have you stumbled upon any words that looked familiar but had an unexpected meaning while learning a new language? Let us know!
For more answers to your language and learning questions, get in touch with us by emailing [dearduolingo@duolingo.com](mailto:dearduolingo@duolingo.com).