These two lookalike verbs are as confusing to English as they are to German native speakers. "False friends" (or "false cognates") like become and bekommen are pairs of words that are often similar in spelling but with a significantly different meaning. In this post, I will explain the difference in meaning between become and bekommen.
While the English word "to become" translates as "werden" in German, "bekommen" means "to get, to receive" in English. So when I overheard some German tourists in a London restaurant placing their order by saying "Can I please become a beefsteak", they didn't quite say what they intended to.
The last posts in this series discussed the surprising meaning of a German Gift, English also and its meaning in German, the English "bald" vs. the German "bald", and that "spenden" in German is not what you might think it is etc.
On our German Language Blog "Auf Deutsch, bitte!", you also find posts on long German nouns, why the English word fun is used in a different way in German, why Am Morgen and morgens are not the same, on the difference between blenden and blend, the top 5 mistakes in German and tell you how to avoid them.
Find out more about our German lessons and online German courses here.
Comments