How many times have you pretended to speak Spanish?
Mucho tequila!
Si, Por favor!
You have probably done quite well if you tried one of those, but have you ever thought that you could be saying something completely different to what you intend?
Spanish and English have literally thousands of cognates (words that are basically the same in both languages having the same etymology and similar meanings)
But combinations such as decepción and “deception” are so-called false cognates (known more precisely as “false friends” or falsos amigos) word pairs that look like they might mean the same thing but don’t. They can be confusing, and if you make the mistake of using them in speech or writing you’re likely to be misunderstood.
Following is a list of some of the most common, funny or interesting false friends:
* Actual: This adjective (or its corresponding adverb, actualmente) indicates that something is current, at the present time. Thus the day’s hot topic might be referred to as un tema actual. If you wish to say something is actual (as opposed to imaginary), use real (which also can mean “royal”) or verdadero.
* Asistir: Means to attend or to be present. Asisto a la oficina cada día, I go to the office daily. To say “to assist,” use ayudar, to help.
* Atender: Means to serve or to take care of, to attend to. If you’re talking about attending a meeting or a class, use asistir.
* Carpeta: Although this can refer to a type of table cover, it doesn’t have anything to do with carpets. It most often means a file folder (including the virtual kind) or a briefcase. “Carpet” is most often alfombra.
* Compromiso: Meaning a promise, obligation, or commitment, it does not usually convey the sense that one have given up something to reach an agreement. There is no good noun equivalent of “compromise” that would be understood that way out of context, although the verb transigir conveys the sense of giving in to, yielding to, or tolerating another person.
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* Despertar: This verb is usually used in the reflexive form, meaning to wake up (me despierto a las siete, I wake up at seven). if you’re desperate, there’s a true cognate you can use: desesperado.
* Embarazada: It might be embarrassing to be pregnant, but it isn’t necessarily. Someone who feels embarrassed tiene vergüenza or se siente avergonzado.
* Emocionante: Used to decribe something that’s thrilling or emotionally moving. To say “emotional,” the cognate emocional will often do fine.
* Fábrica: That’s a place where they fabricate items, namely a factory. Words for “cloth” include tejido and tela.
* Introducir: This isn’t truly a false cognate, for it can be translated as, among other things, to introduce in the sense of to bring in, to begin, to put, or to place. For example, se introdujo la ley en 1998, the law was introduced (put in effect) in 1998. But it’s not the verb to use to introduce someone. Use presentar.
* Pretender: The Spanish verb doesn’t have anything to do with faking it, only to try. To pretend, use fingir or simular.
* Realizar, realizacón: The verb can be used flexibly to indicate something becoming real or becoming completed: Se realizó el rascacielos, the skyscraper was built. To realize as a mental event can be translated using darse cuenta (“to realize”), comprender (“to understand”) or saber (“to know”), among other possibilities, depending on the context.
* Recordar: Means to remember or to remind. The verb to use when recording something depends on what you’re recording. Possibilities include anotar or tomar nota for writing something down, or grabar for making an audio or video recording.
* Sopa: Soup, not soap. Soap is jabón
