Hello everyone and welcome to today’s blog post. In this week’s entry we will be talking about a curious element of the English language and that is, false friends. False friends are words in one language that have a similar or identical equivalent in another language but their meanings are completely different! As I’m sure you can imagine these words can cause a lot of confusion for English learners so it is important to be aware of them! Here is a list of the top ten most commonly used false friends with their true meanings, enjoy!
- Rope ≠ Ropa
- Rope in English means ‘cuerda’, while ‘ropa’ in Spanish translates to clothes.
- Example: He climbed the wall using a rope (Él escaló la pared usando una cuerda).
- Embarrassed ≠ Embarazada
- If you say you are embarrassed, you mean you feel ashamed. But ‘embarazada’ in Spanish means pregnant!
- Example: I was so embarrassed when I forgot his name (Me sentí tan avergonzado cuando olvidé su nombre).
- Diversion ≠ Diversión
- Diversion in English refers to a detour or change of direction, while ‘diversión’ means fun in Spanish.
- Example: The road is closed, so we need to take a diversion (La carretera está cerrada, así que debemos tomar un desvío).
- Fabric ≠ Fábrica
- Fabric means ‘tela’, whereas ‘fábrica’ in Spanish means factory.
- Example: This dress is made of soft fabric (Este vestido está hecho de tela suave).
- Library ≠ Librería
- A library is a place where you borrow books, while ‘librería’ in Spanish is a bookshop where you buy them.
- Example: I borrowed this book from the library (Saqué este libro de la biblioteca).
- Sensible ≠ Sensible
- In English, sensible means rational or practical, but ‘sensible’ in Spanish means sensitive.
- Example: She made a sensible decision (Ella tomó una decisión sensata).
- Eventually ≠ Eventualmente
- Eventually means finally or in the end, while ‘eventualmente’ in Spanish means possibly or occasionally.
- Example: We’ll get there eventually (Llegaremos allí finalmente).
- Sympathetic ≠ Simpático
- Sympathetic in English means understanding or compassionate, but ‘simpático’ in Spanish means nice or friendly.
- Example: She was very sympathetic when I lost my job (Ella fue muy comprensiva cuando perdí mi trabajo).
- Actual ≠ Actual
- Actual in English means real or true, but ‘actual’ in Spanish means current.
- Example: The actual cost was higher than expected (El coste real fue más alto de lo esperado).
- Assist ≠ Asistir
- To assist means to help, while ‘asistir’ in Spanish means to attend.
- Example: The nurse assisted the doctor during surgery (La enfermera ayudó al médico durante la cirugía).
Understanding these false friends can help you avoid common mistakes and improve your English comprehension skills and help to avoid making minor mistakes in the exam, so study them well and practice them in the quiz below:
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