False friends for Spanish English

Clases de

inglés

en Miraflores, Lima, Perú

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leer en Ingles!

Actualizado

21-08-2007

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50 common mistakes (intermediate level)

17 basic mistakes

Regresa a indice de recursos para estudiantes

21 vocabulary mistakes due to False Cognates

(False Friends)

False Cognates (or “False Friends”), are English words that are similar to a word in Spanish, but have a different meaning. Here are 20 common “false friends” mistakes that I often hear in Peru.

Typical mistakes are indicated in black.

Clarification is indicated in green*

Corrections are indicated in blue.

Correct use of the confused word is indicated in purple.

1) “I used to live in Cusco, but actually I live in Lima.”

Actually means “in reality” while actualmente translates as “at present” or “now”.

Correct: "I used to live in Cusco, but now I live in Lima."

Correct: "A: You must be really tired. B: No, actually I'm fine!"

2) “She has approved the exam.”

Approve means “to think something is good or correct” while aprobar translates as “to pass.”

Correct: "She has passed the exam."

Correct: "Catherine's parents didn't approve of her marriage."

3) "I won't assist in the class on Monday."

Assist means to help someone to do something, while assistir translates as "to attend" or "come to".

Correct: "I won't come to the class on Monday."

Correct: "You will be employed to assist in the development of new equipment."

4) "What was the argument of the film?"

An argument is a situation in which people disagree, often angrily while "un argumento" also translates as "a plot".

Correct: "What was the plot of the film?"

Correct: "Daniel and Mike had a terrible argument last night.

5) “I finished my career last year”

Career means “your working or professional life”, while carrera translates as “university degree” or “degree.”

Correct: "I finished my university degree last year."

Correct: "After a long and distinguished career, she retired at 64."

6) “The waiter was very gentle.”

A gentle person is kind and careful, while “gentil” translates as courteous.

Correct: "The waiter was very courteous."

Correct: "Be gentle with the baby!".

7) “I bought this dictionary at the library on the corner.”

A library is a place containing books you can borrow, while a librería translates as “bookshop”.

Correct: "I bought this dictionary at the bookshop on the corner."

Correct: "I'm going to the library to take these books back"

8) “Nearly all the people at the party where my parents."

Your parents are your father and mother only, while parientes translates as “relatives”.

Correct: "Nearly all the people at the party were my relatives."

Correct: "My parents married in 1961."

9) "Do you give particular classes?"

Particular means specific or special, while particular (Spanish) translates as private.

Correct: "Do you give private classes?"

Correct: "In this particular case, no one else was involved."

10) "He is a typical politic."

Politics are activities concerned with government and power, while politico translates as “politician”.

Correct: "He is a typical politician."

Correct: "A week is a long time in politics."

11) "What are the government's politics on education."

The Spanish “politica” can be translated as either “politics” (relating to power and public affairs) or “policies” (an agreed way of doing something). Here the correct translation is the second.

Correct: What are the government's policies on education.

Correct: He's decided to retire from policies.

12) "My grandfather practises tennis every weekend." (or practices; American spelling)

Practise means to do something regularly, in order to get better at it or to prepare for a competition.

Correct: "My grandfather plays tennis every weekend."

Correct: "The national team are practising hard for the Olympics."

13) “He pretended to convince her".

Pretend means “to behave in a particular way to make people believe something false is true” while pretender translates as “hope to”, “aspire to" or "try to."

Correct: "He tried to convince her."

Correct: "He's not asleep - he's just pretending."

14) “I like all my professors at school.”

Professor is a university or college teacher (American English) or the most senior position in a university department (British English), while profesor translates as “teacher”.

Correct: "I liked all my teachers at my primary school."

Correct: "He was made professor of the civil engineering department in 1995."

15) "You need more propaganda to promote your business."

Propaganda is false political information used by governments or groups to make people agree with them, while propaganda translates as "advertising".

Correct: "You need more advertising to promote your business."

Correct: "This isn't true, it's just government propaganda."

16) "He has realised a good job". (or realize; American spelling)

Realise almost always means “to notice or understand something that you did not notice or understand before”. The Spanish realizar translates as “to fulfil”, "to succeed" or “do" and only very occasionally as “to realise”.

Correct: "He has done a good job."

Correct: "Do you realise you are an hour late?"

17) “We have a reunion at the office every week.”

Reunion is a meeting of people who have not met for a long time, while reunión (Spanish) translates as “meeting” or “gathering.”

Correct: "We have a meeting at the office every week."

Correct: "Let’s have a school reunion. It will be great to see each other after so many years!"

18) “He’s sensible to people’s needs."

Sensible means reasonable, practical and showing good judgment, while sensible (Spanish) translates as “sensitive” or “susceptible.”

Correct: "He's sensitive to people's needs."

Correct: "It's sensible to make photocopies of important documents you might lose."

19) "Brad Pitt is sympathetic"

Sympathetic means to be caring and to feel sorry for someone's problems, while simpatico translates as nice, good-looking or pleasant.

Correct: "Brad Pitt is very good-looking."

Correct: "A nurse needs to be sympathetic to patients' needs."

20) "There are many strangers living in Cusco."

Stranger is someone you do not know, while estranger translates as "foreigners".

Correct. "There are many foreigners living in Cusco."

Correct: "I find it difficult to speak to complete strangers."

21) "He's a very mature, self-centred person."

A self-centred person pays so much attention to themselves that they do not notice what is happening to other people, while a persona centrada translates as a balanced and sensible person.

Correct. "Young children are often very self-centred but this is just a phase in their development"

Correct: "My father was a balanced, sensible man - he was never difficult or irrational."

*English definitions from Longman Dictionary of English.