Is it real or fake? One hundred per cent or a mix? If you are buying gold or silver or jewellery, it helps to recognize the words for real silver and gold, and gold plated, or silver plated.
When buying leather, such as jackets, bag, or shoes, it helps to recognize both the symbols for leather and synthetics, and the words used. I have seen PU leather, which pops up in a search for leather boots, but it is fake lather, or leather look.
Sometimes you want the alternative. You might prefer plated items because they are cheaper. Or synthetic rather than leather or fur because you don[t want to be cruel to animals.
You might want to find out the difference between 925 silver, and alloys. Also polyester cotton, which to my mind saves ironing
I bought a scarf, second hand, pre-loved, whatever you want to call it. I loved it.
It had the label 100%. But 100% what?
It had three letters I could not understand, not just in a foreign language, but also in a foreign alphabet.
It felt soft. But not quite as soft as silk. I had hoped for silk. Was it a good modern imitation?
I tried googling lists of words for silk in all languages. It was not silk.
What was the language. It looked like Russian. I worked out from another Russian word that the first letter was L. What was the E with the two dots? The e pronounced like ay. The last letter looking like an H was N. Lane? The French for wool is laine. The word was not Russian for wool.
I had invited a friend to lunch with me at a restaurant. I showed her the scarf. She suggested linen. That sounded like the letters L A for ay, N. But the scarf did not feel thick and heavy and tightly woven, like linen suits which are stiff, resembling denim jeans.
Linen.
However, a search for the Russian word for linen produced a match. So did copying the word as an image and asking for a translation.
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