There's a certain amount of words which came into both Serbian and English from other languages, mostly Latin, but have different meanings in each language.
Even native English words may mean something else in Serbian, for several reasons:
1) they were misunderstood when coming into Serbian
2) they were understood well first time, but changed their meaning in English meanwhile
3) they were understood well first time, but changed their meaning in Serbian meanwhile
Of course, there is also all the Greek and Latin which is wrongly used in English - just look up "pathetic", and remember how it's used today.
| in English | in Serbian | similar to | which means |
|---|---|---|---|
| absolve | osloboditi odgovornosti | apsolvirati | be done with, finish attending (to) |
| action | dejstvo | akcija | stock, share |
| advocate | zastupnik | advokat | lawyer |
| after all | napokon, na kraju krajeva | posle svega | when all is said and done |
| apartment | stan | apartman | hotel suite |
| argument | rasprava, svađa | argument | statement known to be true, used to prop or prove another statement |
| athlete | sportista | atleta | hunk |
| audience | publika | audijencija | conversation with a king |
| authority | ovlašćenje | autoritet | expert whose views are taken as definitive |
| badge | značka | bedž | lapel pin |
| balance | saldo | balans | equilibrium |
| band | orkestar | banda | gang |
| barracks | kasarna | baraka | cheap wooden building |
| bensene | benzen | benzin | gasoline |
| billion | milijarda | bilion | trillion |
| black Friday | crni petak, dan kad američkim trgovcima saldo najzad prelazi iz negativnog u pozitivno | crni petak | black Friday, the day when your luck runs out, the day when you're doomed. |
| blame (v) | okriviti | blamirati | embarrass |
| boiler | kotao (centralno grejanje) | bojler | water heater |
| caution | pažljivo | kaucija | redeemable value of bottle |
| censure | izbacivanje, grdnja | cenzura | censorship |
| chef | glavni kuvar | šef | chief, boss |
| cinematography | rad kamere, fotografija | kinematografija | filmography, total cinematic opus of a country or a period |
| closet | plakar | klozet | toilet |
| commercial | reklama | komercijalni | of commerce |
| commission | provizija | komisija | committee |
| committee | komisija, odbor | komitet | Party headquarters |
| concourse | peron, pristanišna zgrada | konkurs | job ad |
| concurrency | istovremenost | konkurencija | competition |
| concurrent | istovremen | konkurent | competitor |
| condominium | stan u vlasništvu | kondominijum | government by shared power |
| confection | slatkiš | konfekcija | mass produced clothing |
| congress | skupština | kongres | party convention |
| container | posuda, kutija | kontejner | dumpster |
| corner | ugao | korner | corner in soccer |
| correct | tačno | korektno | properly, in a decent manner |
| covert | (po)tajni, ispod žita | koverat | envelope |
| credit | zasluga, potraživanje | kredit | loan with monthly installments |
| date, v. | izaći sa | datirati (od) | be as ancient as (age) |
| datum | podatak (reč se u stvari ne koristi u engleskom) | datum | date (in calendar, not romance) |
| dress | haljina | dres | jersey |
| dress, v. | odenuti | dresirati | to train |
| dresser | toaletni stočić | dreser | animal trainer |
| eventually | na kraju, posle svega | eventualno | possibly |
| evidence | dokaz(ni materijal) | evidencija | filing, tracking, files |
| expertise | stručnost, poznavanje oblasti, veština | ekspertiza | examination by expert(s) to solve a dispute |
| fabric | tkanina | fabrika | factory |
| faculty | nastavno osoblje | fakultet | college |
| fan | ventilator | fen | blowdryer |
| football | američki fudbal | fudbal | soccer |
| fraction | razlomak | frakcija | faction |
| funds | sredstva, pare | fondovi | allotments, escrows |
| garage | auto servis | garaža | parking garage |
| gas | benzin | gas | matter in gasseous state |
| gasoline | benzin | gazolin | light mineral oil |
| gymnasium | fiskulturna sala | gimnazija | grammar school |
| harmonica | usna harmonika | harmonika | accordeon |
| honorary | počasni | honorarni | freelancing |
| hymn | crkvena pesma | himna | anthem |
| industry | privredna grana | industrija | industrial production, factories |
| insert | umetak | insert | excerpt from a movie or other show |
| installment | rata (kredita) | instalacija | utility (plumbing, electricity etc); installing (of equipment or software) |
| jersey | dres | žersej | jersey fabric (not state, not garment) |
| joker | šaljivdžija | džoker | wildcard |
| liquor | žestoko piće | liker | liqueur, alcohol plus flavoring |
| lozenge | dražeja | lozinka | password |
| make a difference | imati značaja, uticati na | praviti razliku (između) | make a distinction; discriminate (between any two) |
| mandarin | mandarin | mandarina | tangerine |
| manufacture | proizvodnja | manufaktura | manual serial production |
| masonry | građa (drvna) | masonerija | freemasons as a phenomenon |
| mature | dozreti, dospeti | maturirati | matriculate |
| mercury | živa | merkur | planet Mercury |
| non stop | direktan (voz) | non-stop | shop's working hours with no break |
| novel | roman | novela | novelette |
| offensive | uvredljiv | ofanzivan | related to, or part of a military offensive; coming across as attacking |
| original | prvobitni | originalni | not a copy, based on new idea |
| ottoman | tabure | otoman | flat sofa |
| paprika | aleva paprika | paprika | peppers |
| paradise | raj | paradajz | tomato |
| parole | uslovno puštanje | parola | slogan |
| pasta | testenine | pasta | paste (toothpaste, shoeshine) |
| pathetic | bedan | patetičan | pathetic (in the original classic meaning) |
| probe | sonda | proba | attempt; trial; rehearsal |
| propositions | predlozi | propozicije | rules of a contest |
| protection | zaštita | protekcija | under-the-counter privilege from an official |
| provision | uslov | provizija | middleman's fee, commission |
| ramp | prilaz | rampa | fender at railroad crossing |
| realize | shvatiti | realizovati | make real; make come true; sell; get money for; produce (as in "production" in showbiz sense) |
| reclaim | povratiti | reklama | advertisement |
| regulator | zakonodavac | regulator | a regulating mechanism or control (hardware) |
| reprisal | represalija | repriza | rerun |
| require | zahtevati, biti neophodno | rekvirirati | commandeer |
| scalper | tapkaroš | skalper | box cutter |
| see through | pobrinuti se | prozreti | see through a scheme |
| service | usluga | servis | repair shop, stoneware set |
| solitaire | pasijans | soliter | solitary tall building |
| square | kvadrat | skver | plaza with circular traffic |
| stadium | stadion | stadijum | phase in development of something |
| stage | pozornica; stupanj | staž | years of experience or labor |
| stomach | želudac | stomak | belly |
| sympathetic | saosećajan | simpatičan | likable |
| syndicate | poslovna grupacija | sindikat | trade union |
| talon | kandža | talon | ticket stub; played cards still on the table during a game |
| tambourine | talambas | tamburica | small string instrument, guitar-like |
| tariff | carina | tarifa | fee |
| tax | porez | taksa | administrative fee |
| theater | bioskop | teatar | theater (with live actors, not cinema) |
| theme | lajtmotiv | tema | topic |
| this way | ovako, ovuda, ovim putem | ovaj put | this time |
| title | naslov, zvanje | titl | subtitle |
| traffic | saobraćaj | trafika | kiosk, newspaper stand |
| type | tipkati | tipovati | bet on a team |
| wagon | kola (zaprežna) | vagon | car (of a train) |