False friends in English
Words that look the same in your language and in English, but don't mean the same thing. Pick your language.
False friends are English words that look like words in your language but mean something different. For Spanish and Portuguese speakers, the common ones are actually (not "currently"), assist (not "attend"), pretend (not "intend") and push (not puxar, which is "pull"). They're spelled correctly, so a spell checker won't stop them.
Pick your language. Each list has close to 60 reviewed words, what the English look-alike really means, the word to use instead, and a wrong → right example. Both lists are searchable.
- Spanish–English false friends: actualmente, asistir, embarazada, realizar, carpeta and 52 more. Latin American Spanish.
- Portuguese–English false friends: puxar, esquisito, compromisso, taxa, pasta and 53 more. Brazilian Portuguese.
Five from each list
| You write | It means | Say instead |
|---|---|---|
| Actually I work at a bank. (actualmente) | in fact, really | Currently I work at a bank. |
| I can't assist the meeting. (asistir) | help | I can't attend the meeting. |
| Sorry to molest you. (molestar) | sexual abuse | Sorry to bother you. |
| The doctor gave me a receipt. (receta) | proof that you paid | The doctor gave me a prescription. |
| A familiar of mine is sick. (un familiar) | known (adjective) | A relative of mine is sick. |
| I have a compromise tonight. (compromisso) | a deal where both sides give up something | I have plans tonight. |
| Is there a delivery tax? (taxa) | money for the government | Is there a delivery fee? |
| The email was a bit exquisite. (esquisito) | very beautiful | The email was a bit weird. |
| I saved it in the pasta "Contracts". (pasta) | spaghetti and friends | I saved it in the "Contracts" folder. |
| I pretend to move next year. (pretender) | fake | I plan to move next year. |
How to stop making them
- Learn the top 10 for your language. A small group of words causes most of the trouble. Start with the top 5 at the top of your language's page.
- Be suspicious of easy words. If an English word looks exactly like your word and you never had to learn it, check it once.
- Read the sentence as an English speaker would. "I can't assist the meeting" means you can't help the meeting. If the literal meaning sounds odd, it's probably a false friend.
False friends are one kind of mistake. Others come from grammar, like "I am agree": see 10 English mistakes Spanish speakers make. For whole messages, start from a message template.
Questions
What is a false friend?
A word in English that looks or sounds like a word in your language but means something else. Embarrassed looks like embarazada, but it means "avergonzado". Teachers also say "false cognates".
Are false friends the same as false cognates?
In everyday use, yes. Linguists separate them (cognates share a root, some false friends don't), but for learning English you can treat them as the same thing.
Will you add more languages?
Spanish and Portuguese are the first two lists. We'll add more only when each list has been reviewed word by word.
Why doesn't spell check catch false friends?
Because they're real English words, spelled correctly. You need a check that reads the whole sentence and sees that the meaning is wrong.
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