Chinese False Friends in English, Japanese, and Portuguese for Language Learners

You know that moment when you're learning Chinese and you hear a word that sounds exactly like something in your native language, so you think you've got an easy win? Then you use it confidently in conversation and get the weirdest looks from native speakers. Yeah, that's the joy of false friends in Chinese. These tricky words sound similar to words you already know but mean something completely different. They're basically linguistic landmines waiting to embarrass you. Let me walk you through the most common ones and how to avoid falling into these traps.⛳

What are false friends in Chinese?

Sometimes they're called false cognates, though technically, cognates share the same origin, while false friends just happen to sound similar by coincidence.

In Chinese, false friends come in a few different flavors. You've got words that sound like English words, words that look like Japanese words but mean different things, and even words borrowed from other languages like Portuguese that have shifted in meaning over time. The tricky part is that Mandarin is a tonal language, so even if the sounds seem close, the tones might be completely different.

Here's the thing: Chinese has around 400 distinct syllables (not counting tones), which means there's a lot of potential for coincidental similarities with other languages. When you factor in the four tones plus the neutral tone, you get more variation, but learners often miss tonal differences when they're excited about recognizing a familiar sound.

Chinese false friends that trick English speakers

Let's start with the ones that mess with English speakers the most.

"Nèigè" (那个) - the most awkward one

This word means "that one" or "um" in Chinese, but it sounds uncomfortably close to a racial slur in English. Native Chinese speakers use this filler word constantly when they're thinking, kind of like how English speakers say "uh" or "like." The pronunciation isn't exactly the same, the Chinese word has a falling tone on "nèi" and a neutral tone on "gè," but it's close enough to make English speakers do a double-take.

Chinese people living in English-speaking countries are aware of this similarity now, and some consciously try to use alternative filler words to avoid misunderstandings. But if you're learning Chinese, you need to get past the initial weirdness because it's an incredibly common word.

Words with "ma" sounds

Chinese has several words with "ma" sounds that English speakers might confuse with "mama" or think sound familiar. The word means "mother," which actually does align with many languages. But then you've got meaning "horse," meaning "to scold," and which is a question particle. Same sound, four different tones, completely different meanings.

"Kělè" (可乐) - actually a real borrowed word

This one means "cola" and is actually a transliteration from English, so it's a legitimate borrowing rather than a false friend. But here's where it gets interesting: the characters literally mean "can/able" and "happy," so Coca-Cola's Chinese name translates roughly to "delicious happiness." Pretty clever marketing when they chose those specific characters for the sound.

Mandarin words that sound similar to the English word "phone"

Yeah, actually. The word for mobile phone is , which doesn't sound like "phone" at all. But some learners mishear , meaning "to divide" or "minute," as sounding vaguely like "phone." It's a stretch, though. The Mandarin word for telephone is , which also doesn't sound similar.

The transliteration of "iPhone" in Chinese is in some informal contexts, which literally means "love crazy." That's more of a playful pun than an official translation, though.

Chinese and Japanese false friends

This is where things get really confusing because Chinese and Japanese share thousands of kanji characters. Japanese kanji borrowed these characters from Chinese centuries ago, but the meanings and pronunciation have drifted apart in many cases.

手纸 - the bathroom emergency

In Japanese, means "letter" as in mail. In Chinese, means "toilet paper." You can imagine the confusion when a Japanese learner asks a Chinese person if they have any 手紙 in the bathroom. The Chinese person would be like, "Yeah, obviously," while the Japanese person is wondering why there's mail in there.

The characters literally mean "hand paper," which makes sense for both uses if you think about it, but the usage diverged completely.

勉强 - studying versus forcing

In Japanese, is the standard word for "study" or "learning." Japanese students use this word every single day. In Chinese, means "to force oneself" or "reluctant." So if a Japanese speaker tells a Chinese person they're going to , the Chinese person might think they're being forced to do something against their will.

The Chinese word for study is , which is completely different. This is a classic example where Japanese words took on more positive or neutral meanings while the Chinese kept the original sense of reluctance.

私 - private business

In Japanese, is one of the most common words for "I" or "me." In Chinese, means "private" or "selfish." The pronunciation is totally different too, but if you're reading text, you might get confused.

Chinese uses for "I," which is way more straightforward. The character 私 appears in Chinese words like meaning "private" or "personal."

上手 and 下手

In Japanese, means "skillful" or "good at," while means "unskillful" or "bad at." In Chinese, means "to get started" or "easy to use," and means "to start" or "to make a move."

They're related concepts, but with different usage patterns. I'd say they're partial false friends because the core meaning has some overlap, but the way you use them in sentences is pretty different. A Chinese person saying something is means it's user-friendly, while a Japanese person saying they're means they're skilled at it.

Portuguese and Chinese language connections

Here's something most learners don't know: Chinese borrowed quite a few words from Portuguese during the colonial period, especially in Macau and coastal trading cities. Some of these have become false friends over time.

"Pão" becomes "包"

The Portuguese word "pão" (Bread) got borrowed into Cantonese and eventually Mandarin as , but in modern Chinese it usually means "bun" or "steamed bun" rather than bread in general. The word for bread is typically , which literally means "flour bun."

Portuguese speakers learning Chinese might hear 包 and think of bread, but if you order , you're getting steamed buns with filling, which is pretty different from Portuguese bread.

How to avoid getting tricked by different meanings of false friends

Alright, so how do you actually deal with these linguistic traps?

Use a good dictionary with usage examples for Chinese vocabulary

Don't just rely on single-word translation. A proper Chinese dictionary will show you example sentences and different contexts. The word might sound like something familiar, but the usage will show you the real meaning. I always check at least three example sentences before I trust that I understand a new word.

Pleco is probably the best Chinese dictionary app out there right now in 2026, and it shows you tons of example sentences with different contexts. Worth the investment if you're serious about learning.

Pay attention to tones and pronunciation

This seems obvious, but you'd be surprised how many learners ignore tones when they first start. The difference between mā (Mother), má (Hemp), mǎ (Horse), and mà (To scold) is only the tone. If you're not listening carefully to tones, you'll keep making false friend mistakes.

Record yourself saying words and compare them to native speaker pronunciation. The tones need to be exact, especially in Mandarin where they carry so much meaning.

Learn characters, not just sounds

Chinese is a character-based language, and each character carries meaning. When you learn the character for a word, you can see its components and understand why it means what it means. The character 手 means "hand," and 纸 means "paper," so 手纸 being toilet paper makes sense when you think about it.

This helps you differentiate between words that sound similar but are written completely differently. The sound might trick you, but the character won't.

Practice with native speakers

Native speakers will correct you immediately when you use a false friend incorrectly. That embarrassment (trust me, I've been there) actually helps the correct meaning stick in your brain. Language exchange partners or tutors will catch these mistakes before they become habits.

Anyway, if you want to actually practice spotting these false friends in real content, Migaku's browser extension and app let you look up Chinese words instantly while watching shows or reading articles. Makes it way easier to catch these tricky words in context before you embarrass yourself. There's a 10-day free trial if you want to check it out.

Some are actually not false friends in Chinese words...

With the cultural exchange in recent years, more and more words from foreign languages outside Chinese, especially from Japanese, have become borrowed words in Chinese, with the same meanings preserved. So, when you hear words like , JK, and so on, you can relax and trust that they are no false friends and they carry no different meanings in Chinese than the ones in Japanese. You will get more and more used to these borrowed terms if you are enthusiastic about both Chinese and Japanese culture.

Getting tricked by false friends only deepens your memory for future learning!