What
is a false friend?
False friends are two words in different
languages – for example, English and Spanish – which writing or sound are alike,
but they mean completely different.
In Spanish, when you want to say that you
are embarrassed, you might be inclined to say "Estoy embarazada". This
is the first impulse. However, what
you're actually saying is that you are pregnant.
Below you can look over some other commonly
used - and commonly mistaken - "false friends":
Common Spanish False Friends
Spanish word
|
Often mistaken in English
for...
|
Actually means...
|
actual
|
actual, real
|
current, at the present
time
|
asistir
|
assist
|
to attend, to be present
|
atender
|
attend
|
to serve, to take care of
|
billón
|
billion
|
1,000,000,000,000
(trillion, in American English)
|
campo
|
camp
|
field, country (as
opposed to city)
|
carpeta
|
carpet
|
folder
|
constipado
|
constipated
|
has a cold, is stuffed up
|
embarazada
|
embarrassed
|
pregnant
|
emocionante
|
emotional
|
thrilling, exciting
|
en absoluto
|
absolutely
|
absolutely not
|
éxito
|
exit
|
success, a hit
|
largo
|
large
|
long
|
molestar
|
molest
|
bother, annoy (no sexual
connotation)
|
recordar
|
record
|
to remember, to remind
|
sensible
|
sensible
|
sensitive, emotional
|
sopa
|
soap
|
soup
|
suceso
|
success
|
event, happening
|