Learn the answer to the question 'What are the most common English-Spanish false friends?'
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| Hi everybody! Rosa here. Welcome to Ask a Teacher, where I'll answer some of your most common Spanish questions. |
| The question for this lesson is, What Are “False Friends”? |
| There are lots of words that look similar in English and Spanish, but they don't always mean the same thing. "False friends" is a great name for them, because they can be deceptive! |
| Here are some of the most common false friends. Beware of these so you can avoid misunderstandings when speaking Spanish with others. |
| Asistir doesn't mean "to help." That's ayudar. Asistir means "to attend." For example, "To attend a concert" would be asistir a un concierto. |
| Likewise, un asistente is "an attendee" and asistencia means "attendance." |
| In a more shocking example, molestar isn't as bad as it sounds. It simply means "to bother." And you won't find un éxito in a building. Un éxito means "a success." |
| For your studies, lectura is another one that's easy to misinterpret. Lectura means "reading." A lecture is una conferencia or una clase. |
| Another example is una carpeta, which isn't a carpet, it’s "a folder." And una librería is actually a bookstore—so don't expect to borrow anything for free! The word for “library” is actually biblioteca. |
| And watch how you use actual, because actual means "current." Actualmente means "currently." |
| Be careful with embarazada, too. "Embarrassed" is avergonzado for men and avergonzada for women. Don't use embarazado if you're a man because it means "pregnant." |
| If you see sopa on a restaurant menu, don't be alarmed—it means "soup." If you hear someone say delito, though, which may be mistaken for “delight,” you should be concerned, because it actually means "crime." |
| Last but not least, constipado can be confusing. As an adjective, it means "constipated," but as a noun, el constipado refers to the common cold. |
| Pretty interesting, right? |
| I hope that answers the question! If you have any more questions, leave them in the comments and I'll try to answer them! |
| ¡Hasta la próxima! |
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