Learning a foreign language means to get in touch with difficult words or false friends. A false friend is known by every language learner and could be described as a word which is frequently confused with a word in another language. The reason for that phenonmenon is that these two words sound or look similar, although they have a different meaning.
In addition there are false friends in nearly every language. Here are some articles you could read:
But which false friends do we have in Spanish?
A
- Actual: means current; actual is translated as real, efectivo
- Asistir: means to attend, to be present at, to assist; assist is translated as ayudar
B
- Bizarro: means brave, dashing, gallant; bizarre is translated as extraño
- Bombero: means firefighter; bomber is translated as bombardero
C
- Carpeta: means folder; carpet is translated as alfombra
- Chocar: means strike; choke is translated as ahogar
- Colegio: means high school; college is translated as universidad
- Compromiso: means commitment; compromise is translated as componenda
- Condescender: means to agrre, to comply; condescend is translated as dignarse
D
- Delito: means crime; delight is translated as deleite, delicia
- Desgracia: means mistake, misfortune; disgrace is translated as vergüenza
- Disgusto: means worry, annoyance; disgust is translated as repugnancia, asco
- Dormitorio: means bedroom; dormitory is translated as residencia universitaria
E
- Embarazada: means pregnant; embarrassed is translated as avergonzada
- Empresa: means company, business enterprise; empress is translated as emperatríz
- Éxito: means hit, success; exit is translated as salida
L
- Largo: means long; large is translated as grande
- Lectura: means reading; lecture is translated as conferencia
- Librería: means bookstore; library is translated as biblioteca
P
- Parada: means stop (bus stop); parade is translated as desfile
- Pretender: means to attempt; pretend is translated as fingir
R
- Realizar: means to come true; realize is translated as darse cuenta
- Recordar: means to remind, to remember; record is translated as grabar
- Ropa: means clothes; rope is translated as cuerda
S
- Sopa: means soup; soap is translated as jabón
- Suceso: means event; success is translated as éxito
If you want to learn more false friends in Spanish, check our language schools here.
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