Without translation, we would be living in provinces bordering on silence. In the era of globalization, not only news travel fast. Words also “travel” from one language to another, but they do not always keep the same meaning. In certain fields, such as information technology, words that originate from English mostly retain their meanings in other languages. But now we will examine some cases where the meaning of seemingly similar words differs significantly. Unfortunately, there are no rules to help us. The best way is simply to remember which pairs are false and how to translate those words correctly.
Let us examine some general examples first. An ambulance is a vehicle that in case of an emergency takes people to hospital. If you’re going to see a doctor, then you go to a doctor’s office. Eventually means finally or in the end. If you’d like to say something is possible, use possibly, or potentially.
When we get down to business, provision can be confusing. It has several meanings: a clause in a legal instrument, a supply or stock of something provided, and in plural form, provisions, it means supplies of food. If you want to say someone is getting a percentage of an amount, use the word commission. Therefore, commission means an amount or percentage that is given to a person for their services or job done.
Further, rate is most commonly used to mean the amount of a charge or payment with reference to some basis of calculation (e.g., high interest rate on loans). If you have a house or a car loan, the monthly payments you’re making on these is called an instalment.
Prospects refer to an apparent probability of advancement, success, profit, etc.; the outlook for the future (e.g., good business prospects); chances; and a potential candidate, client, or purchaser. The booklet that contains basic information and usually pictures depicts a place, products, and/or services is called a brochure. Finally, interest means a person’s involvement or curiosity for a topic/person, but it also refers to the amounts or percentage charged for borrowing money from a financial institution.
