Most Confusing Hebrew Loan Words: Your foot is a platypus, your hair is satanic!

I will never forget the day an army doctor told me she was reducing points from my physical profile because my foot is a platypus. I looked down at it, stunned. It did not look like a platypus, and it definitely did not feel like one, but then again, she was a professional. 

Platypus vs. Platfus

The word for flat-foot in Hebrew is “platfus (פלטפוס).” And the word for “platypus” is, well, “platipus (פלטיפוס).” If you’ve ever wondered why these words, including the English, are almost identical, it’s because they come from the same origin, and mean the same thing!

“Platypus” and “platfus” both derive from Greek, where “platys” means “flat,” and “pous” is “foot.”

And this is of course nothing compared to the time a stylist told me I have satanic hair…

Satanic vs. Shateni

So we have a hair color called “shateni (שטני).” This is a range of light brown to dirty blond. Each person that you ask will point to a different combination of shades on the spectrum as what they believe to be “shateni”. And that’s all fine, but here’s the thing:

Hebrew words are made up of root consonants. The root consonants for “shateni” are S, T, N (.ש.ט.נ). 

Those are the same root consonants for “satan (שטן)” – originally a Hebrew word. The adjective for “satanic” in Hebrew is “satani.”

And what that means is that words deriving from a shared root have some kind of shared meaning. So the mind will begin to look for connections —  perhaps the color “shateni” evolved from a history of devil-worshipping light brunettes? Or did it start as a compliment, like, that hair color is devilishly good? 

Well. This is why we learn other languages, friends. Because “shateni” is actually a French loan word, “châtain.” This means chestnut brown hair in French.

So, not satanic. Just a coincidence.

And here’s another one:

Puncher

So, puncher (פנצ’ר) is not someone or something that punches. And if your car gets a puncher, it does not mean that someone was boxing with your car.

Puncher actually comes from the English word “puncture.” 

So, if your car has a puncher, you’ve got a flat tire!

Ice

Alright I know I talk about this all the time, but “ice” in Hebrew does not mean cubes of frozen water! It actually refers to a frozen blended drink, “ice caffe” (not to be confused with iced coffee!)

“Ice caffe” is a thick, blended coffee drink that’s made in a machine. If you want iced coffee, you need to ask for “caffe kar” (קפה קר) which translates to “cold coffee.”

The more you know 🤗

For more loan words, check out this list by the Hebrew Academy.

Have you ever been confused by a loan word? 

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