Spanish false cognates list
These are the Spanish false friends English speakers trip over most, from the embarrassing ones (embarazada, excitado, preservativo) to everyday ones (actualmente, realizar, librería). The last column shows where the CiaoSpeak course teaches it.
| Spanish | What it means | Looks like | For that, say | In CiaoSpeak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| embarazada | pregnant | embarrassed | me da pena (Mexico), me da vergüenza | Unit 10 |
| éxito | success | exit | la salida | Unit 33 |
| librería | bookstore | library | la biblioteca | Unit 28 |
| actualmente | currently, these days | actually | en realidad, la verdad | Unit 29 |
| actual | current | actual (real) | real, verdadero | Unit 35 |
| realizar | to carry out, to do | to realize | darse cuenta | Unit 33 |
| carpeta | folder | carpet | la alfombra | Unit 36 |
| sensible | sensitive | sensible | sensato, sensata | Unit 10 |
| simpático | nice, friendly | sympathetic | comprensivo, comprensiva | Unit 13 |
| parientes | relatives | parents | los padres, mis papás | Unit 13 |
| grosero | rude | gross | asqueroso, ¡Qué asco! | Unit 34 |
| excitado | sexually aroused | excited | emocionado, emocionada | Unit 13 |
| constipado | in Spain, having a cold; in Mexico many hear "constipated" | constipated (or a cold) | a cold: tengo gripa; constipated: estreñido | Unit 10 |
| asistir (a) | to attend | to assist | ayudar | – |
| atender | to serve, to help (customers) | to attend | asistir a | Unit 36 |
| recordar | to remember; to remind | to record | grabar | Unit 22 |
| largo | long | large | grande | – |
| ropa | clothes | rope | la cuerda | – |
| vaso | a drinking glass | vase | el florero | Unit 1 |
| decepcionado | disappointed | deceived | engañado | – |
| argumento | a reason you give; a movie's plot | argument (a fight) | una discusión, una pelea | – |
| campo | countryside, a field | camp | el campamento | Unit 31 |
| fábrica | factory | fabric | la tela | – |
| lectura | reading | lecture | la conferencia, la clase | – |
| colegio | a school (in Mexico, often a private one) | college | la universidad | – |
| compromiso | a commitment, plans you can't skip; an engagement (to marry) | compromise | un acuerdo; to compromise: llegar a un acuerdo | – |
| introducir | to insert, to put in | to introduce (a person) | presentar | – |
| soportar | to put up with, to stand | to support | apoyar | – |
| sopa | soup | soap | el jabón | – |
| pretender | to try to, to intend to | to pretend | fingir | – |
| educado | polite, well-mannered | educated | con estudios, preparado | – |
| suceso | an event, an incident | success | el éxito | – |
| disgusto | displeasure, being upset; a falling-out | disgust | el asco | – |
| ganga | a bargain | gang | la pandilla | – |
| preservativo | a condom | preservative | el conservador (Mexico), el conservante (Spain) | – |
| billón | a trillion (a million millions) | billion | mil millones | – |
Which Spanish false friends are the most embarrassing?
The classic is embarazada: Estoy embarazada means "I'm pregnant", not "I'm embarrassed". Close behind are excitado (aroused, not excited: say emocionado) and preservativo (a condom, not a preservative). In Mexico, constipado is also risky: in Spain it means you have a cold, but many Mexicans hear "constipated", so say Tengo gripa.
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embarazadaUnit 10
pregnant (not "embarrassed"!)
-
Me da pena.Unit 10
I'm embarrassed. (the usual way in Mexico)
How you say "I'm embarrassed" in Mexico. Me da vergüenza works everywhere.
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excitado / excitadaUnit 13
aroused (a false friend: for "excited", say emocionado)
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emocionado / emocionadaUnit 13
excited
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constipado / constipadaUnit 10
In Spain: having a cold. In Mexico it is often understood as "constipated", so for a cold say tengo gripa.
How do you say "actually" in Spanish?
Say en realidad or la verdad: En realidad, no tengo hambre ("Actually, I'm not hungry"). Actualmente means currently, these days, so Actualmente vivo en Puebla is "These days I live in Puebla", and actual means current: el gobierno actual, the current government.
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en realidadUnit 29
actually, in fact
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actualmenteUnit 29
currently, these days (NOT "actually")
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Actualmente vivo en Puebla.Unit 29
These days I live in Puebla.
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actual · el gobierno actualUnit 35
current (not "actual") · the current government
How do you say "realize" in Spanish?
Say darse cuenta (de): Me di cuenta is "I realized". Realizar means to carry out or to do, as in realizar un proyecto, carrying out a project.
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darse cuenta · Me di cuenta.Unit 33
to realize · I realized.
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realizarUnit 33
to carry out (NOT "to realize")
Which false friends come up every day?
The ones you'll meet daily are éxito (success; the exit is la salida), librería (a bookstore; the library is la biblioteca), simpático (nice), los parientes (relatives), grosero (rude) and la carpeta (a folder).
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el éxito · tener éxitoUnit 33
success · to be successful
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la salida / la llegadaUnit 12
the exit, departures / arrivals
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la libreríaUnit 28
the bookstore
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la bibliotecaUnit 28
the library
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simpático / simpáticaUnit 13
nice, friendly (not "sympathetic")
-
los parientesUnit 13
the relatives (a false friend: not "parents")
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grosero · ¡No seas grosero!Unit 34
rude (not "gross") · Don't be rude!
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la carpetaUnit 36
the folder (not "carpet")
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sensibleUnit 10
sensitive (not "sensible")
What is the difference between a cognate and a false cognate?
A cognate looks like an English word and means the same thing, like hotel, chocolate, importante or la familia; a false cognate looks the same but means something else, like embarazada or éxito. Most look-alike words are true cognates, so guessing usually works: learn the false ones on this page as the exceptions.
Some are only partly false. Asistir usually means to attend (asistir a una reunión, to attend a meeting), though it can mean to assist too, as in asistente, and atender means to serve or help customers: ¿Ya lo atienden? is "Is someone helping you?". Una discusión can be a discussion, but in everyday talk it's often an argument.
How does CiaoSpeak teach false friends?
CiaoSpeak's Spanish course teaches each false friend in the lesson where it comes up, not in one long list: simpático and los parientes in Unit 13 (Friends, Family & Describing People), embarazada, constipado and sensible in Unit 10 (Health & the Pharmacy), actualmente in Unit 29 and realizar in Unit 33. Each comes with a recording and exercises that make you pick the real meaning, and if you get one wrong, the review brings it back a few days later until you get it right. Then the Speak tab has you answer people in Mexico City scenes out loud. Lessons are free; in the Speak tab, today's questions (up to five a day) are free too, and CiaoSpeak+ adds practice in any scene whenever you like.
More traps for introductions are in how to introduce yourself in Spanish.
Frequently asked questions
Does embarazada mean embarrassed?
No. Embarazada means pregnant. To say you're embarrassed in Mexico, say Me da pena; Me da vergüenza works everywhere.
Is library librería in Spanish?
No. A library is la biblioteca; la librería is a bookstore.
Are false friends the same in Mexico and Spain?
Mostly yes, with a few exceptions. Constipado means having a cold in Spain, but many people in Mexico understand it as constipated, so in Mexico say Tengo gripa for a cold.