Confusing words! Engelse woorden die hetzelfde klinken maar iets anders betekenen
Tags: Business English, Engelse grammatica, Engelse woorden(lijsten), Zakelijk communiceren in het Engels
Engelse woorden leren. Er zijn heel veel bestaande woorden Engelse woorden die op elkaar lijken. Confusing words dus! Engelse woorden die hetzelfde klinken maar iets anders betekenen.
We hebben het hierover homofonen. Dit is de betekenis volgens Wikipedia.
‘Homofoon is de benaming voor twee of meer woorden, zinsdelen of hele zinnen in een taal die zijn opgebouwd uit dezelfde klanken, maar verschillende betekenissen hebben. Uit de context moet de juiste betekenis worden afgeleid’.
Het zijn woorden die op het eerste gezicht/gehoor veel op elkaar lijken maar een totaal verschillende betekenis hebben.
Engelse woorden leren die hetzelfde klinken maar iets anders betekenen
Below are some confusing words, which even native speakers get wrong.
Access/excess
You need a password to access the website.
You have to pay more for excess luggage.
Chef/chief
There is a new chef at the restaurant.
The chief reason I am leaving is because….
A chef is not another word for boss.
Its/it’s
Why is your company changing its name.
It’s going to rain.
Principal/principle
The principal reason I want to do this is because…
This is a point of principle.
Stationary/stationery
It is easy to take a picture of something that is stationary.
Do they sell stationery at the shop across the street?
Economic/economical
The economic situation is not very good at the moment.
My car is very economical.
Their/there
Their house is very big.
Could you put the book over there.
Technique/technology
That is a very useful technique to measure….
I’m very interested in technology.
Complement/compliment
A red scarf would complement your black dress.
I would like to compliment you on your good work.
Device/devise
This device is very useful.
We need to devise a plan for….
All together/altogether
We went all together to the party yesterday.
Altogether, our sales gained 4.2 % to € 2.3 million.
Aloud/Allowed
The teacher read aloud from her book.
Smoking is not allowed here.
Lees ook: meer dan honderd moeilijke Engelse woorden met de eenvoudige vervanging.
Engelse woorden die hetzelfde klinken
Personal/personnel
Do you mind if I ask you a personal question?
We will need more personnel in the future.
Accept/except
I would like to accept the invitation.
Everyone is welcome except John.
Aisle/isle
The aisle in the church is very narrow.
The isle…..is very nice.
Along/a long
We walked along the road.
We had a long walk.
Altar/alter
There is an altar in the church.
Could you alter the size of my jacket?
Balmy/barmy
It was a very balmy evening.
That man is totally barmy.
Canvas/canvass
Canvas is a very strong cloth.
The politician went for a house-to-house canvass to get peoples vote fore the election.
Lees ook: Vaak gebruikte afkortingen in het Engels
Berth/birth
We had a berth on the ship.
The birth of her daughter was….
Pour/pore
Could you pour me a drink.
The pores of my skin are open.
Pedal/peddle
You will have to pedal hard to get up the hill.
A lot of people peddle goods at the market.
Desert/dessert
The desert is very dry.
What are we having for dessert this evening?
Nog meer confusing words
Engelse woorden leren, ken je deze ook?
Currant/current
There are a lot of currants in this cake.
What is the current situation?
Coarse/course
The cloth is very coarse.
What course are you following at the moment?
Brake/break
The brakes of the car need to be repaired.
If you are not careful, you will break the glass.
Draught/draft
There is a draught because the door is open.
Could you make a draft and we can always make changes to the document later if necessary.
Foreword/forward
The book seems interesting. I have read the foreword.
We will have to move forward before it gets dark.
Pole/poll/pool
I will have to put new poles in the garden.
The poll for the election is very important because…
We are going to swim in the pool.
Ensure/insure
He double-checked the doors to ensure they were locked before leaving on holiday.
I will insure my home with an additional glass policy.
Sight/site
The old men’s sight is very bad.
There are a lot of trucks at this site.
Deze Engelse woorden moet je kennen. Ze worden vaak door elkaar gehaald omdat ze zoveel op elkaar lijken.
Op deze Engelse site vind je nog meer voorbeelden van homofonen.
Engelse woorden dezelfde klank maar andere betekenis
Sight/site
A lot of people don’t have sight due to …..
I have bought a site to build a house.
Buy/by/bye
I would like to buy a book.
The book is by the phone.
Goodbye. I will see you tomorrow.
Dear/deer
Dear john.
There are a lot of deer is the forest.
Die/dye
Mr Brown died last week.
She dyed her hair blond.
Flew/flu/flue
The bird flew away.
She is in bed with the flu.
The chimney flue needs to be changed.
Flour/flowers
Flour is needed to make a cake.
How many types of flowers do you grow in your garden?
Higher/hire
I put the box on a higher shelf.
We will need to hire a car.
Hole/whole
There is a hole in the box.
On the whole I’m happy with the situation.
Weather/whether
The weather is good today.
Whether I go or not depends on the weather
Were/we’re
We were at the beach yesterday.
We’re here now.
Which/witch
Which one would you like?
There are many books about witches.
Takeover/overtake
The company was taken over by…
Be careful when you overtake on the motorway.
Everyday/every day
Sometimes it is hard to keep up with everyday life.
If you ate a bowl of muesli for breakfast each day this week, you had muesli every day.
Then/than
Let’s buy the house, and then we’ll celebrate.
No one could have been nicer than Mandy in this situation.
They’re and their
They’re going to the cinema tomorrow.
The trees are losing their leaves in autumn.
Misschien ook leuk om te lezen:
- Een taal ontwikkelt zich altijd; ken je deze nieuwe woorden in het Engels al?
- Lees ook: 237 Engelse woorden met hun tegenstellingen
- Deze woorden heb je geleerd maar hoe zat het ook alweer.
Engelse woorden die op elkaar lijken maar vaak verkeerd worden gebruikt.
Ga je dus Engelse woorden leren, kijk dan welke je regelmatig gebruikt en leer die uit je hoofd.
Overleven in het zakelijk Engels?
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