Spanish-English false friends: a list of 60+ with examples and exercises

Imagine you are in London, you have a cold and you tell the pharmacist: «I’m constipated». You mean «estoy constipado» (you have a cold), but he understands that you are unable to go to the toilet, and he will give you something quite different. Or imagine you tell an English friend you are embarrassed meaning «estoy embarazada»: she will only understand that you feel ashamed. That is what false friends do: they are words that look so much like words in your own language that you trust them, and then they mean something completely different.

In this guide I explain what false friends are, give you a list of more than 60 grouped by topic with pronunciation and examples, a reverse table for when you know what you want to say in Spanish and don’t want to get it wrong in English, the true cognates that do help you, how to learn them without forgetting, how they affect the Cambridge exams and thirty sentences of exercises with answers. Let’s get started! 🙂

What are false friends?

For a word to be a false friend it has to meet two conditions: it must look the same as (or very similar to) a word in your language, and it must have a different meaning. For example, library looks like Spanish «librería», but it means «biblioteca».

There are two types you should tell apart:

• Total false friends: the meaning has nothing to do with it. Embarrassed = avergonzado, not «embarazada».
• Partial false friends: they share some meanings, but not all. Argument can be «argumento» (a line of reasoning), but it usually means «discusión» (a quarrel). Introduce can be «introducir» in some senses, but with people it means «presentar».

And a technical note: although they are sometimes used as synonyms, false friends and false cognates are not the same thing. False friends are words that look similar but have different meanings, and often share the same Latin origin (actual and «actual»). False cognates look related but do not actually have a common origin.

The 12 most famous false friends

If you are only going to learn a few, make it these. They are the ones that most often slip into conversations, written texts and exams:

Full list of false friends by topic

Here are more than 60, grouped by topic so you can learn them in sets (grouping by semantic field helps memory, as I explain in my guide to how to memorise English vocabulary). Pronunciation is in British English IPA.

Feelings and people

Daily life and objects

Study and work

Travel and leisure

Verbs

Adjectives and adverbs

From Spanish to English: how to say what you meant to say

Most lists tell you what the English word means, but when you are speaking the opposite happens: you know what you want to say in Spanish and don’t know which word to use. This table is made for that:

Notice that sometimes there is more than one option: currently, at the moment and nowadays all work for «actualmente», with slight differences. If you want to know how to ask for help when you don’t know the word, see my guide to how to ask about new words in English.

The good news: true cognates

It isn’t all traps. English and Spanish share thousands of words that do mean the same (hotel, restaurant, important, family, music), called true cognates. And there are patterns in word endings that let you «invent» English words with a fair chance of success:

Of course, there are always exceptions: the pronunciation changes (look at important /ɪmˈpɔːtnt/), and sometimes the pattern leads you to a false friend, such as Spanish «actual» → actual (real, genuine). My advice is to use the patterns to guess, but to check the word if it matters.

Embarrassing situations that can happen to you

False friends are an endless source of anecdotes. These are six classic examples, always from the point of view of someone thinking in Spanish:

• Wanting to say «estoy embarazada» and saying I’m embarrassed: what you have said is that you feel ashamed. The correct phrase is I’m pregnant.
• Wanting to say «estoy constipado» and saying I’m constipated at the pharmacy: you will be given something for your stomach, not your nose. The correct phrase is I’ve got a cold.
• Wanting to say «te voy a enviar una postal cada mes» and saying I’ll envy you a postcard every month: what you have said is that you will envy them every month. The correct word is send.
• Wanting to say that a film is scary («terrorífica») and saying it is terrific: you have said it is wonderful. The correct word is terrifying.
• Wanting to say that someone has a nice moustache («bigotudo») and saying they are bigoted: you have just called them intolerant. The correct phrase is He has a big moustache.
• Wanting to say «por casualidad» and saying by casualty: a casualty is a victim. The correct phrase is by chance.

How to learn false friends and avoid the trap

1. Learn the word inside a sentence, not on its own. Actually, I don’t like pizza sticks much better than «actually = en realidad».
2. Note down each false friend with its contrast. Write both sides: library = biblioteca / librería = bookshop.
3. Use spaced repetition flashcards for the ones that slip away most, following the schedule in my guide to memorising vocabulary.
4. Be wary of words that look too similar. If an English word looks identical to a Spanish one and you have never seen what it means, check it in a dictionary before using it.
5. Read and listen to authentic English. Seeing real context is what best teaches you when a word does not mean what you think.
6. When in doubt, ask. A question like «Does «actually» mean «currently»?» saves you a misunderstanding.

False friends in the Cambridge exams

False friends are one of the most common causes of vocabulary mistakes for Spanish speakers in the B2 First and C1 Advanced exams. They show up in two ways:

• In Use of English (Part 1, multiple-choice cloze): the options are often words with close meanings, and choosing the one that «sounds Spanish» (assist instead of attend, for example) is a typical trap.
• In Writing and Speaking: a wrongly chosen word reduces the precision of your vocabulary, even if the sentence is grammatically correct. These are very typical mistakes and their corrections:

Frequently asked questions

What is the most dangerous false friend?

It depends on who you ask, but actually and embarrassed are the ones you hear most. Actually is the most common in everyday life, because you use it without noticing every time you want to say «actualmente».

What is the difference between «false friends» and «false cognates»?

False friends look alike and have different meanings (although they often share an origin); false cognates look related but are not. In practice, for learning English they are used as synonyms.

Are all false friends equally serious?

No. Some just sound odd (large instead of «largo») and others change the meaning completely and can be embarrassing (preservative, embarrassed, constipated).

Is there a list of false friends as a PDF?

Yes: you can download this post as a PDF to take the list with you.

False friends exercises

Thirty sentences to check that you’ve got it. Below you have three interactive exercises that mark themselves, so you will know straight away how you did.

And if you prefer a version in text that you can copy and paste, you have it down here 👇

Exercise 1: choose the correct word

Choose the correct word to complete each sentence.

Exercise 2: find the word

Write the English word that matches each definition. It is not the Spanish look-alike!

Exercise 3: correct or incorrect?

Decide whether each sentence is correct. If it is incorrect, rewrite it correctly.

Conclusion

To sum up in three ideas: a false friend looks like a Spanish word but means something else, and it is learnt inside a sentence and with its contrast; the reverse table (if you want to say «actualmente», say currently) is your best ally when speaking; and true cognates (-tion, -ty, -ous…) are a great help, as long as you check the exceptions.

If you want to carry on with vocabulary, have a look at my posts on school vocabulary and social media and the internet, and also my posts on win and beat and say and tell, other pairs that get confused.

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See you in the next post. Until then, don’t forget to keep smiling! 🙂