<\/p>\n
If it has ever happened to you that you rattle off what you think is a perfectly correct sentence in Spanish, only to have the other person just look at you, head cocked to the side with a bewildered look on his or her face, you are not alone! You may have just fallen into the very common trap of the false cognate<\/b>, also called a false friend<\/b>: a foreign word that looks or sounds deceptively similar to a word
\nin English, but whose meaning is entirely different.<\/p>\n
I learned to be careful of false cognates the hard way: through personal experience. When I first studied in Mexico in high school, I told my host family \u201cEstoy tan embarazada!<\/b>\u201d wishing to express my embarrassment<\/b> over getting sick to my stomach my first night in their home. In fact, I had just informed them that I was \u201cso pregnant<\/b>\u201d. Years later I saw that my Spanish students made this same mistake all the time.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The following is a partial list
\nof the most common false cognates to watch out for. Make your own list and add
\nto it each time you encounter a new one. This will keep you aware of the
\npitfalls, and help you avoid misunderstandings.<\/p>\n
<tdgrande<\/p>\n
| Spanish word<\/b><\/td>\n | \n We think it means\u2026<\/b><\/p>\n<\/td>\n | It really means\u2026<\/b><\/td>\n | We mean to say\u2026<\/b><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n| actualmente<\/td>\n | actually<\/td>\n | currently, at this moment<\/td>\n | de hecho, en realidad<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | atender<\/td>\n | to attend (a meeting)<\/td>\n | to attend to someone, to help or serve them (in a store: Have you been helped?)<\/td>\n | asistir<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | asistir<\/td>\n | to assist<\/td>\n | to attend (a meeting)<\/td>\n | ayudar<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | carpeta<\/td>\n | carpet<\/td>\n | folder<\/td>\n | alfombra<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | cigarro<\/td>\n | cigar<\/td>\n | cigarette<\/td>\n | puro<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | colegio<\/td>\n | college<\/td>\n | high school<\/td>\n | universidad<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | embarazada<\/td>\n | embarrassed<\/td>\n | pregnant<\/td>\n | tener verg\u00fcenza\/ estar avergonzada<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | \u00e9xito<\/td>\n | exit<\/td>\n | success<\/td>\n | salida<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | largo<\/td>\n | Large<\/td>\n | Long<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | librer\u00eda<\/td>\n | library<\/td>\n | bookstore<\/td>\n | biblioteca<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | parientes<\/td>\n | parents<\/td>\n | relatives<\/td>\n | padres<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | realizar<\/td>\n | To realize<\/td>\n | To achieve, to fulfill<\/td>\n | darse cuenta de<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" | If it has ever happened to you that you rattle off what you think is a perfectly correct sentence in Spanish, only to have the other person just look at you, head cocked to the side with a bewildered look on his or her face, you are not alone! You may have just fallen…<\/p>\n |