“False friends” are words that look the same in two languages but have different meanings. English and Spanish have many words in common (e.g. from Latin). Some of these words have changed their meanings over time to create false cognates.
Just as people can cheat, trick, and fool us in life, so can false friends in languages! Never assume two words in English and Spanish have the same meaning. You should always double check in the dictionary to make sure.
False friends often cause misunderstandings. This happens when we use words in the wrong way. A Brit learning Spanish might use embarazada to mean “embarrassed” (avergonzado). But, this word actually means “pregnant”. Oooops!
Below is a list of the 100 most common false friends in English and Spanish. Try to understand the differences between the pairs of words and read the examples given. Don’t forget to do the exercises at the end to test your knowledge! You can also download this guide as a free pdf to study at home.
| English word (Spanish translation) | Similar Spanish word (English translation) | Correct meaning and example | |
| 1 | Actually (de hecho, realmente) | Actualmente (at present, currently) | De hecho/realmente English verbs seem difficult to conjugate, but they’re actually easier than Spanish verbs sometimes! |
| 2 | Attend (asistir) | Atender (to take care of) | Asistir I must attend all the meetings this week as I was out of the country last week. |
| 3 | Assist (ayudar) | Asistir (to attend) | Ayudar The nurses assist the patients until the doctor arrives. |
| 4 | Advice (consejo) | Aviso (warning, notice) | Consejo I asked my father for advice on which university to choose. |
| 5 | American (americano) | Americano (person from the American continent) | Estadounidense There were many American tourists on the beaches of Mexico. |
| 6 | Arena (estadio) | Arena (sand) | Estadio The National Arena was the perfect venue for the concert. |
| 7 | Argument (discusión) | Argumento (plot) | Discusión We got into an argument because we simply couldn’t agree. |
| 8 | Avocado (aguacate) | Abogado (lawyer) | Aguacate Avocado is a great source of potassium. |
| 9 | Bald (calvo) | Balde (bucket) | Calvo My father became bald at the age of 30. |
| 10 | Basement (sótano) | Basamento (base de una columna) | Sótano I keep all my boxes in the basement. |
| 11 | Bigot (un intolerante) | Bigote (moustache) | Intolerante His arrogance and negative attitude showed what a bigot he is. |
| 12 | Billion (mil millones) | Billón (trillion) | (US) trillion, (UK) billion The Spanish billion represents a million millions for us. |
| 13 | Bland (sin sabor) | Blando (soft) | Sin sabor British food is famous for being bland! |
| 14 | Blank (en blanco, vacío) | Blanco (white) | En blanco, vacio My computer screen suddenly went blank. |
| 15 | Body (cuerpo) | Boda (wedding) | Cuerpo I take care of my body by eating lots of vegetables. |
| 16 | Bomber (bombardero) | Bombero (firefighter) | Bombardero The bomber aircraft was used in World War II. |
| 17 | Camp (campamento) | Campo (field) | Campamento The children had a great time at summer camp. |
| 18 | Career (professión) | Carera (university degree) | Profession I have been quite successful throughout my career. |
| 19 | Carpet (alfombra) | Carpeta (file) | Alfombra Please don’t sweep the dust under the carpet! |
| 20 | Casualty (victima) | Casualidad (coincidence) | Victima She was a victim of the war in Syria. |
| 21 | Choke (ahogar) | Chocar (crash, collide) | Ahogar This necklace is so tight it’s choking me! |
| 22 | Card (tarjeta) | Carta (letter) | Tarjeta I paid for the shopping with my credit card. |
| 23 | City (ciudad) | Cita (appointment) | Ciudad I live in London. Which city do you live in? |
| 24 | Code (código) | Codo (elbow) | Código What is your post code? I want to send you a letter in the post. |
| 25 | College (Preparatoria/ universidad) | Colegio (primary/secondary school) | Universidad I will go to the local college when I finish secondary school. |
| 26 | Commodity (producto) | Comodidad (comfort) | Producto You can buy and sell commodities on the stock market. |
| 27 | Complexion (tono de piel, tez) | Complexión (build) | Tono de piel, tez She has a dark complexion for a Scandinavian. |
| 28 | Compliment (piropo) | Complemento (accessory) | Piropo Thank you for saying I look nice today. What a great compliment! |
| 29 | Compromise (acuerdo) | Compromiso (commitment, engagement) | Acuerdo Neither of us wanted to give up on our plans, so in the end, we reached a compromise. |
| 30 | Condescend (dignarse) | Condescender (to comply, agree) | Dignarse She condescended to speak to me because she needed a favour. |
| 31 | Conductor (director del orquesta) | Conductor (driver) | Director del orquesta The conductor directed the orchestra to begin the first set. |
| 32 | Constipated (estreñido) | Constipado (having a cold) | Estreñido She ate plenty of plums because she was constipated. |
| 33 | Contest (concurso) | Contestar (answer) | Consurco The two boys ran as fast as they could to win the contest. |
| 34 | Correspond with (escribir) | Corresponder (to correspond to) | Escribir I correspond with a girl in Paris to practise my French. |
| 35 | Current (actual) | Currante (worker) | Actual My current job pays me more than my last position. |
| 36 | Curse (maldición) | Curso (course) | Maldición She claimed a witch had placed a curse on her! |
| 37 | Deception (engaño) | Decepción (disappointment) | Engaño I cannot tolerate deception. I want you to always tell the truth. |
| 38 | Dessert (postre) | Desierto (desert) | Postre I’d love an ice-cream for dessert! |
| 39 | Delight (encanto) | Delito (crime) | Encanto Your daughter is a delight! She helped me to carry my bags this morning. |
| 40 | Disgrace (vergüenza) | Desgracia (misfortune) | Vergüenza His behaviour brought disgrace on the family. |
| 41 | Disgust (asco) | Disgusto (displeasure) | Asco She looked at the plate of worms with disgust. |
| 42 | Desperate (desesperado) | Despertar (to wake up) | Desesperado She was desperate for a drink after playing football for 2 hours. |
| 43 | Destitute (indigente) | Destituido (fired, deprived) | Indigente After losing all his money on a bad bet, he became destitute. |
| 44 | Dormitory (residencia universitaria) | Dormitorio (bedroom) | Residencia universitaria She moved into her new dormitory with three friends. |
| 45 | Dinner (cena) | Dinero (money) | Cena I’m making salmon for dinner. We’ll eat at 6 pm. |
| 46 | Diversion (desviación) | Diversión (fun) | Desviación The roadworks caused a diversion from the main road. |
| 47 | Embarrassed (avergonzado) | Embarazada (pregnant) | Avergonzado Oh no! I’m so embarrassed. He heard me talking about him. |
| 48 | Empress (emperatríz) | Empresa (business enterprise, company) | Emperatríz The empress ruled the empire with great wisdom. |
| 49 | Envy (envidia) | Enviar (to send) | Envidia She couldn’t hide her envy when she saw the neighbour’s new car. |
| 50 | Estimate (estimación) | Estimado (appreciated) | Estimación We aren’t sure about the cost, but we can make a good estimate of around £500. |
| 51 | Stretch (estirar, alargar) | Estrechar (to narrow, bring closer together | Estirar It’s a good idea to stretch before going for a run. |
| 52 | Exit (salida) | Exito (success) | Salida In the cinema, always take note of where the fire exit is. |
| 53 | Eventually (a largo plazo) | Eventualmente (occasionally) | A largo plazo We eventually arrived home after a tiring journey. |
| 54 | Excite (emocionar) | Exitar (arouse) | Emocionar Going to the circus always excites the children. |
| 55 | Fabric (tela) | Fábrica (factory) | Tela She loved the soft fabric of her wedding dress. |
| 56 | Facilities (instalaciones) | Facilidad (ease, ability) | Instalaciones The university facilities are incredible! They have football, hockey and rugby pitches. |
| 57 | Familiar (conocido) | Familiar (family member) | Conocido That boy looks familiar. I’m sure I’ve seen him somewhere before. |
| 58 | Futile (inútil) | Fútil (insignificante) | Inútil His efforts were futile. No matter what he did, he couldn’t convince Jane to come to the party. |
| 59 | Gang (pandilla) | Ganga (bargain) | Pandilla Living in the Bronx was difficult because there were many gangs on the streets. |
| 60 | Grape (uva) | Grapa (staple) | Uva We use grapes to make wine. |
| 61 | Grocery (abarrotería) | Grocería (vulgarity) | Abarrotería We buy all our food at the grocery store. |
| 62 | Idiom (modismo, refrán) | Idioma (language) | Modismo “Over the moon” is an example of an idiom in English. |
| 63 | Introduce (presentar) | Introducir (insert) | Presentar Let me introduce you to my sister, Jo. |
| 64 | Large (grande) | Largo (long) | Grande His house is very large. It has 5 bedrooms. |
| 65 | Lecture (conferencia) | Lectura (reading) | Conferencia William gave a lecture on Astronomy at the university. |
| 66 | Library (biblioteca) | Librería (book shop) | Biblioteca The college library lends its books for 21 days at a time. |
| 67 | Mayor (alcalde) | Mayor (bigger, older) | Alcalde The local mayor gave a great speech about improving the local park. |
| 68 | Molest (abusar sexualmente) | Molestar (bother) | Abusar sexualmente He was sent to jail for molesting a young girl. |
| 69 | Misery (tristeza) | Miseria (poverty) | Tristeza After his wife died, he lived in misery. |
| 70 | Notice (anuncio) | Noticia (news) | Anuncio If you want to find information on local events, take a look at the notices on the bulletin board. |
| 71 | Nude (desnudo) | Nudo (knot) | Desnudo The artist mainly paints nudes. |
| 72 | Once (una vez) | Once (eleven) | Una vez I was young once! |
| 73 | Parade (desfile) | Parada (bus stop) | Desfile We got dressed up for the Easter parade. |
| 74 | Parents (padres) | Parientes (relatives) | Padres I tell my parents everything. My mum and dad are the best! |
| 75 | Plant (fábrica) | Planta (floor) | Fábrica I had an accident with a piece of machinery at the plant today. |
| 76 | Pie (pastel) | Pie (foot) | Pastel I love apple pie! |
| 77 | Pretend (fingir) | Pretender (to woo) | Fingir Don’t pretend to be happy when you’re not. |
| 78 | Preservative (conservante, conservador) | Preservativo (condom) | Conservador Many foods contain preservatives to make them last longer. |
| 79 | Preoccupied (distraido) | Preocupado (worried) | Distraido Philip was so preoccupied with his new toy that he didn’t hear what the homework was. |
| 80 | Probe (investigation) | Probar (to try, to taste) | Investigar The police launched a probe into the series of crimes in the area. |
| 81 | Rapist (violador) | Rapista (barber) | Violador The rapist was sent to jail for a very long time. |
| 82 | Realise (darse cuenta) | Realizar (perform) | Darse cuenta I suddenly realised that I was very late for school! |
| 83 | Record (grabar) | Recordar (to remember) | Grabar We went to the studio to record our new album. |
| 84 | Red (rojo) | Red (network) | Rojo They say that red is the colour of anger. |
| 85 | Remove (quitar) | Remover (stir) | Quitar We use a special liquid to remove stains from the carpet. |
| 86 | Resume (reanudar) | Resumir (to summarise) | Reanudar As soon as it’s safe, we will resume face-to-face classes. |
| 87 | Retire (jubilarse) | Retirar (take away/leave) | Jubilarse In some parts of the world, you can retire when you’re 60. |
| 88 | Salad (ensalada) | Salado (salty) | Ensalada Lettuce and cucumber are great to put in a salad. |
| 89 | Sane (cuerdo) | Sano (healthy) | Cuerdo Many people think he’s crazy, but I believe he is sane. |
| 90 | Sensible (sensato) | Sensible (sensitive) | Sensato Don’t make your decision too quickly. Please be sensible. |
| 91 | Sensitive (sensible) | Sensitivo (perceptive) | Sensible It is so easy to hurt your feelings. I think you’re too sensitive. |
| 92 | Sin (pecado) | Sin (without) | Pecado It is a sin to commit murder. |
| 93 | Spectacles (gafas) | Espectáculo (show) | Gafas I broke my reading spectacles when I sat on them! |
| 94 | Soap (jabón) | Sopa (soup) | Jabón Please make sure there is soap in the bathroom. |
| 95 | Support (apoyar) | Soportar (to tolerate, stand, put up with) | Apoyar Please support me in the search for my lost dog. |
| 96 | Success (éxito) | Suceso (event) | Exito Graduating from university is a major success. |
| 97 | Sympathy (compasión) | Simpatía (friendliness) | Compasión When she was sad, she went to her best friend for sympathy. |
| 98 | Topic (tema) | Tópico (topical, cliché) | Tema This topic is so interesting! |
| 99 | Tuna (atún) | Tuna (prickly pear) | Atún I think tuna is my favourite fish. |
| 100 | Ultimately (al final) | Ultimadamente (recently, lately) | Al final Ultimately, we all need to take responsibility for our own actions. |
| 1. largo | a. misery |
| 2. cuerdo | b. success |
| 3. tristeza | c. salad |
| 4. avergonzado | d. record |
| 5. éxito | e. long |
| 6. grabar | f. pie |
| 7. desfile | g. sane |
| 8. sensato | h. parade |
| 9. pastel | i. embarrassed |
| 10. ensalada | j. sensible |
———————————————————————————————–
Exercise II
| Exercise II
| Exercise III
| Exercise IV
|
| largo | = | long |
| cuerdo | = | sane |
| tristeza | = | misery |
| avergonzado | = | embarrassed |
| éxito | = | success |
| grabar | = | record |
| desfile | = | parade |
| sensato | = | sensible |
| pastel | = | pie |
| ensalada | = | salad |
