Tips 053: 10 Spanish False Friends You Need To Know

There are a number of words that are exactly the same in English and Spanish. This is a big advantage of learning Spanish. But, this advantage is completely lost if you run into Spanish false friends.

False friends are words that appear to be almost identical in both languages. But, they convey completely different ideas.

In today’s episode of the Real Fast Spanish tips podcast we are going to look at a few of the most common English-Spanish false friends.

We are also going to cover a section on false phrasal friends. In this section, we will look at a few common phrases that don’t translate very well. These false phrases often require a verb or noun change when translating between languages.

As I tend to do on the podcast I focus on some of the most common false friends. But, there is a long list available at wikipedia here: List of English-Spanish false friends (interlingual homographs)
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False Friends in today’s episode:

• Pregnant – Embarazada.
• Embarrassment – vergüenza.
• Answer – Contestar.
• To annoy – molestar.
• To return – regresar.
• To remind, recall – recordar.
• To record – grabar.

Examples from today’s podcast:

I’m pregnant – Estoy Embarazada.

I’m embarrassed – Estoy avergonzado.

I have embarrassment – Tengo vergüenza.

That makes me embarrassed – Me da vergüenza.

When are you going to answer – Cuando vas a contestar?

The price of alcohol annoys me – Me molesta el precio de alcohol.

I return to this bar often – Regreso a este bar a menudo.

Remember to study your Spanish everyday! – ¡Recuerda estudiar tu español todos los días!

Right now, I’m recording a podcast for you-all – Ahora mismo, estoy grabando un podcast para vosotros.

I’m busy – Estoy ocupado.

I’m tired – Estoy cansado.

I’m bored – Estoy aburrido.

I’m thirty years old – Tengo treinta años.

I’m hungry – Tengo hambre.

I’m cold – Tengo frio.

I’m hot – Tengo calor.

I’m in a hurry – Tengo prisa.

I’m sorry I was in a hurry and I forget to bring the gift – Lo siento, tuve prisa y me olvido de traer el regalo.

I’m late – Llego tarde.

I’m on time – Llego a tiempo.

I’m early – Llego pronto.

Other episdoes mentioned in this podcast:

• How To Think In Spanish.
• 5 Useful Spanish Reflexive Verbs.

Quote for today:

“Mi gran problema es que tengo alergia a los amigos falsos.” – Found on Pinterest.

Note here that alergia = allergies. Where it could be confused with alegría = happiness.

What other Spanish false friends do you know?

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