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False Friends

Zia

Hi everyone! It's Zia with another false friend example:
Have you ever been guilty of this one?



English:
 "I need to pass the exam to graduate."

In Japanese, パス (pronounced "pasu") comes from the English word "pass," but in Japanese, it often means "to skip" or "to avoid," rather than "to succeed" or "to pass" an exam. So, a learner might say they need to "パス" the exam, which could imply they just want to skip it, not actually pass it.

Another tricky one! False friends can cause some funny misunderstandings.

If you like these tips and would like to improve your English with a native speaker, lets chat! Hope to see you soon!
Zia

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The opinions expressed in this column are the author's own and do not reflect the view of Cafetalk.

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