Boy, you look really smart!

When you think of the word smart, what do you think?

The other day I was teaching a student a lesson on people and personality. I came across one of the top 5 blunders Japanese people make when speaking English, using Japanese-English...words that are in fact native English words but their meaning is been corrupted, lost in adoption.

Japanese people think 'smart' means something along the lines of, 'thin or svelte.' Umm...hmm, not even close! Every time some student or even friend uses the word smart, I have to clarify by saying, "Oh, you mean he/she is intelligent?" I think many 'loan words' from French used in English retain their original meaning...don't they? Anyone have any comments or examples?