Front page of a book with the title It's not the farts that kill—it's the smell! Subtitle: False friends and other treacherous words in English–Swedish communication.

My book on false friends is a best seller on Amazon:

False friends are words in two languages (in this case English and Swedish) that look and/or sound similar but have different meanings. Such words can of course be misleading, especially to those who think they have some knowledge of the two languages.

Fart in Swedish means speed, and a Swedish smäll is a crash or bang.

Who would think that gift in Swedish means poison or married? Or that faster is your aunt? And that a tax is a dog? And that when you spy, you vomit. Not to mention what bra means in Swedish, or kiss…

And you would need to understand false friends when you hear a cashier in a liquor store ask you, Can you show me your leg? If you have started a new job in Sweden, a trade unionist might ask if you will join the fuck. (He or she just wants to know if you want to be a member of the trade union. The Swedish word fack is short for fackförening, trade union.) Don’t be shocked, but learn to understand false friends. They may cause confusion and even have disastrous consequences.

My book explains the differences between a large number of English and Swedish false friends, gives definitions of the words, and tells you their origin. The book also includes treacherous words such as pocketbook and restroom, which may be confusing to non-native English speakers.

This is a page from the book:

The image is a page from the book, explaining the words backside and bra

And here is another page:

A page from a book about English–Swedish false friends, explaining the word fart.

Barn has a different meaning in Swedish:

A text about the word barn.

The book explains more than four hundred English–Swedish false friends. It will help avoid embarrassing misunderstandings and potentially disastrous mistakes in English–Swedish communication.

My book has got favourable comments from communication experts and translators:

A great addition to anyone’s home library!!!
Peter Hilton, Lead Negotiator, Canada

…useful, practical, and amusing to read.
Leon Yousif Barkho, Professor of Media and Communication Sciences, United Arab Emirates

I do congratulate the author on this extraordinary book…
Tone Kajzer, former Ambassador of Slovenia to the Kingdom of Sweden

This book is essential reading…
H. Dennis Beaver, attorney and syndicated columnist, California, USA

What a useful book this is!
Danni Strazar, translator, Sweden

You can order the book from Amazon.com, https://www.amazon.com/dp/9152796574/

Here is the link to Amazon.se:
https://www.amazon.se/dp/9152796574/

When you have read my book, please write a brief review on the Amazon page and/or give the book a rating between 1 and 5.

If you like the book, tell your friends and colleagues about it!

If you have any comments or want to keep updated about this and future books, send me a message in the form below.

And if you have ever found yourself in an embarrassing situation because you misunderstood a word in another language, please let me know. I might include it in a future edition of the book.