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B1🔤 Letters I & L

Italian word

inventare

to invent; also to make up (lie/story)

Looks like

invent

to create or devise something new

⚠️ The trap

In Italian 'inventare' also commonly means to make something up / to lie. 'L'hai inventata!' = 'You made that up!' or 'That's a lie!'. In English 'invent' doesn't carry this lying connotation in everyday use — you'd say 'make up' or 'fabricate'.

To say "to create or devise something new" in Italian:

inventare (true cognate + lie connotation)

"inventare" in English means:

to invent; also to make up (lie/story)

Example

"Ha inventato una scusa per non venire."

"He made up an excuse not to come."

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