Sometimes it takes a long time until you see the right translation for a word.

For ages I have been translating beachten with “note”. Today I bumped into someone else’s translation, using “heed”. I didn’t exactly bang my hand against the side of my head as I wear glasses and it might hurt, but I did think, duuuuh, dummy.

“Note” feels so passive, just look at that, you don’t need to do anything. I know that heed sounds somewhat old fashioned (yourdictionary offers this “heed ye this counsel that ye may obtain the fruit of holiness from the tree of wondrous glory”), but it does have that active sense of, you must obey. Heed the safety instructions, don’t just note them.