Pseudo-Anglicism 02 Mansion

Pseudo-Anglicism - words that look and sound like English but the meaning is very different in the foreign language context.

The word "mansion" is used in Japanese to describe a type of housing, but the picture the word gives is completely different from the original English word.

English "I live in a mansion." would be like this:

You would be a member of a family headed by a person with a title.


I have often heard my Japanese students say in their crude beginners' English:

"I live in a mansion."

presuming that the word has the same meaning in Japanese and English, but the picture they have in their mind is this:

The same word in Japanese means housing for multiple family, all living 'cells' like in a bee-hive.
Some of my students have made mistakes in saying "I live in a mansion" to English speaking person, giving them the impression that they come from a rich prestigious family. English speakers would be surprised by how many Japanese people live in a "mansion".