⚠️マンション, サラリーマン, ハンドル, アルバイト, カンニング⚠️
Some English words in Japanese look familiar… but don’t be fooled! These words are not your friends!
These “false friends” sound like English, but they mean something different.
Let’s look at 5 common examples — including one tricky term for more advanced learners.
日本語にある英語っぽい言葉、見たことありますよね？
でも…だまされないで！
こうした「false friends（フォールス・フレンド）」は英語のように聞こえますが、本来の英語とは意味が違うんです。
今回は、よくある5つの例をご紹介します。
最後には、中級～上級の学習者向けのちょっと難しい言葉も登場しますよ！
👉 マンション
🔸 Example Japanese sentence:
私のマンションは駅の近くです。
🔸 English translation (with false friend):
My mansion is near the station.
⚠️ What’s the problem here?
In English, a mansion is a large, luxurious house — something a Hollywood star or millionaire might own.
This sounds like you’re saying you live in a palace next to the train station!
🧠 Example of native use of “mansion”:
> Taylor Swift lives in a huge mansion in Beverly Hills.
✅ The correct English word is: condo
(Short for “condominium” – a private unit in a residential building)
📘 Example sentence with “condo”:
> I bought a one-bedroom condo downtown last year.
🌍 International tip:
“Condo” is common in US English. In the UK, we usually say flat or apartment.
🔁 Natural English version:
My condo is near the station.
(or: My flat/apartment is near the station.)
👉 サラリーマン
🔸 Japanese sentence (example):
彼は普通のサラリーマンです。
🔸 English translation (with false friend):
He’s just an ordinary salaryman.
⚠️ What’s the problem here?
Salaryman isn’t natural English. It sounds awkward or even comical to native ears.
Plus, it suggests a very specific image: a male office worker in a suit, often tied to Japan’s work culture.
🧠 How this sounds to a native:
It feels like an invented word or a strange nickname. Not standard English.
✅ The correct English phrase is: office worker or company employee
> He works as a regular office worker.
🌍 International tip:
In the UK, we might say “works in an office”. No exact equivalent.
🔁 Natural English version:
He’s just an ordinary office worker.
👉 ハンドル
🔸 Japanese sentence (example):
車のハンドルをしっかり握ってください。
🔸 English translation (with false friend):
Please hold the handle of the car tightly.
⚠️ What’s the problem here?
In English, a handle is a general term for something you grip — like a door handle or suitcase handle.
In cars, we don’t say “handle” — we say steering wheel.
🧠 Native listener reaction:
They might imagine you’re gripping the car door handle while driving!
✅ The correct English word is: steering wheel
> Make sure you hold the steering wheel with both hands.
🌍 International tip:
“Steering wheel” is universal across English varieties.
🔁 Natural English version:
Please hold the steering wheel tightly.
👉 アルバイト
🔸 Japanese sentence (example):
大学生の時、コンビニでアルバイトをしていました。
🔸 English translation (with false friend):
I did a part-time job at a convenience store when I was a university student.
⚠️ What’s the issue here?
This one’s a bit tricky: アルバイト comes from the German Arbeit (work), but Japanese learners often say I did an “arubaito” or I worked part-time job, which is grammatically off.
🧠 Native reaction:
They may not understand “arubaito”, and “worked part-time job” sounds like a grammar mistake.
✅ The correct English is: I had a part-time job / I worked part-time
> I had a part-time job at a convenience store.
🌍 International tip:
This usage works in both US and UK English.
🔁 Natural English version:
I had a part-time job at a convenience store when I was a university student.
👉 カンニング
🔸 Japanese sentence (example):
試験でカンニングをしたら、失格になります。
🔸 English translation (with false friend):
If you do cunning in the exam, you will get into trouble.
⚠️ What’s the problem here?
In Japanese, カンニング means cheating in an exam.
But in English, cunning means clever in a sneaky or deceptive way — and it’s not a verb.
🧠 Native reaction:
This sentence is confusing and ungrammatical. “Do cunning” doesn’t exist.
✅ The correct English term is: cheat (verb)
> If you cheat in the exam, you’ll get into trouble.
🌍 International tip:
“Cheat” (verb) and “cheating” (noun) are used universally.
🔁 Natural English version:
If you cheat in the exam, you’ll get into trouble.
Let’s practise
Practice one:
Here are today’s words. Match the English to the Japanese. The answers follow the activity.
| 1. | cheating | a. | アルバイト |
| 2. | condo | b. | マンション |
| 3. | part-time job | c. | サラリーマン |
| 4. | office worker | d. | ハンドル |
| 5. | steering wheel | e. | カンニング |
🗝️ Answers: 1,e; 2,b; 3,a; 4,c; 5,d
Practice two:
- The teacher caught the student ________ during the exam and gave him a zero.
- After the divorce, she moved into a small ________ near the station with her two kids.
- I’m just working a ________ at the convenience store until I find something full-time.
- He’s a typical Japanese ________: blue suit, briefcase, long commute, late nights.
- She liked to decorate her car and put a beautiful cover on the ________.
✅ Answer Key
- The teacher caught the student cheating during the exam and gave him a zero.
- After the divorce, she moved into a small condo near the station with her two kids.
- I’m just working a part-time job at the convenience store until I find something full-time.
- He’s a typical Japanese office worker: blue suit, briefcase, long commute, late nights.
- She liked to decorate her car and put a beautiful cover on the steering wheel.
Practice three:
Now we’ll make some more sentences, this time using the correct English meaning of the false friends as well as the natural words.
Use these words:
cheating, condo, part-time job, office worker, steering wheel, cunning, mansion, handle
- When I tried to pick up the pot, the __________ broke off in my hand.
- They fired the player for __________ after he was caught using a hidden device.
- The detective admired the criminal’s __________ plan — even though it was illegal.
- After saving for years, they finally bought a two-bedroom __________ in Tokyo.
- She took a __________ at a bakery while preparing for her university exams.
- The company hired a new __________ to help with customer support and data entry.
- The old movie was filmed inside a real Scottish __________ with 30 rooms and a private lake.
- He lost control of the car when the __________ jammed during a sharp turn.
✅ Answer Key
- When I tried to pick up the pot, the handle broke off in my hand.
- They fired the player for cheating after he was caught using a hidden device.
- The detective admired the criminal’s cunning plan — even though it was illegal.
- After saving for years, they finally bought a two-bedroom condo in Tokyo.
- She took a part-time job at a bakery while preparing for her university exams.
- The company hired a new office worker to help with customer support and data entry.
- The old movie was filmed inside a real Scottish mansion with 30 rooms and a private lake.
- He lost control of the car when the steering wheel jammed during a sharp turn.
🏁 Wrapping Up
English is full of surprises — especially when a word looks familiar but means something completely different!
Understanding false friends helps you avoid confusion and sound more natural, so please look out for “False Friends — Part Two”.
🧠 Want to learn more tricky English?
📩 Do you have questions or want help with your own English?
Let’s work together — try a BEP session or ask us anything!
👉 [Check out other mini-lessons] or [Contact us] anytime.
※「フォールス・フレンド（false friends）」とは、ある言語での単語や表現が、別の言語でも似た形や音で存在するが、実際の意味が違うものを指します。
たとえば、日本語の「マンション」は英語の “mansion” に似ていますが、意味はまったく異なります。
このような言葉は、日本語と英語の間だけでなく、フランス語と英語、スペイン語とポルトガル語など、他の言語同士でも見られる共通の現象です。
学習者にとって混乱のもとになることがありますが、意味の違いを知っておくことで、誤解を防ぎ、より自然なコミュニケーションができるようになります。
False Friends – Part One: The Everyday Misleaders
⚠️マンション, サラリーマン, ハンドル, アルバイト, カンニング⚠️
Some English words in Japanese look familiar… but don’t be fooled! These words are not your friends!
These “false friends” sound like English, but they mean something different.
Let’s look at 5 common examples — including one tricky term for more advanced learners.
日本語にある英語っぽい言葉、見たことありますよね？
でも…だまされないで！
こうした「false friends（フォールス・フレンド）」は英語のように聞こえますが、本来の英語とは意味が違うんです。
今回は、よくある5つの例をご紹介します。
最後には、中級～上級の学習者向けのちょっと難しい言葉も登場しますよ！
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