Top 40 False Cognates in Spanish That Will Trip You Up and Confuse You

Updated on March 11, 2020.

If you have studied Spanish for a little while, you’ve likely noticed the many similarities between English and Spanish, especially the words we call cognates. Owing to both languages’ Latin roots, it’s pretty easy to identify the meaning of new words in Spanish, for the most part! Watch out for the trickiest part of learning Spanish: the false cognate. This word looks like it means the same thing in English when in reality, it does not!

The Guessing Game

How many times have you not known a word in Spanish and tried to just put a Spanish ending on the English one and hoped for the best? This often works (like with education and educación), but not always. Numerous false cognates, or false friends, exist that create confusion and miscommunication.

Possibly the most common example of this is embarrassed and embarazada.

They look similar, so they must mean the same thing, right? Wrong! Embarazada is actually pregnant, and the correct translation of embarrassed would be avergonzado(a).

List of False Cognates in Spanish

Can you see how false cognates can cause a lot of problems? Let’s look at some more.

1. Actual — actual

English word: Actual

Spanish translation: Exacto / real

Example: The actual translation is different. — La traducción exacta es diferente.

Spanish word: Actual

English translation: Current

Example: This is my current number. — Este es mi número actual.

2. Advertisement — advertencia

English word: advertisement

Spanish translation: anuncio

Example: There are too many advertisements. — Hay demasiados anuncios.

Spanish word: advertencia

English translation: warning

Example: My boss gave me a warning. — Mi jefe me dio una advertencia.

3. Assist — asistir

English word: assist

Spanish translation: ayudar

Example: Can you assist me with this? — ¿Me puedes ayudar con esto?

Spanish word: asistir

English translation: to attend 

Example: She only attended one class all semester. — Ella sólo asistió a una clase en todo el semestre

4. Bomber — bombero

English word: bomber

Spanish translation: bombardero

Example: The air force has 1,000 bomber aircraft. — La fuerza aérea tiene 1,000 aviones bombarderos.

Spanish word: bombero

English translation: firefighter

Example: The firefighters arrived to put out the fire. — Los bomberos llegaron a apagar el incendio.

5. Carpet — carpeta

English word: carpet

Spanish translation: alfombra

Example: The carpet is very dirty — La alfombra está muy sucia

Spanish word: carpeta

English translation: folder

Example: Put the papers in the blue folder. — Pon las hojas en la carpeta azul.

6. Choke — choque

English word: choke

Spanish translation: asfixiar

Example: The dust is choking him. — El polvo lo está asfixiando.

Spanish word: choque

English translation: to crash

Example: The car crashed into a motorcycle. — El carro chocó contra una motocicleta.

7. Code — codo

English word: code

Spanish translation: código

Example: What is the country code? — ¿Cuál es el código del país?

Spanish word: codo

English translation: elbow

Example: My elbow hurts. — Me duele el codo.

8. College — colegio

English word: college

Spanish translation: universidad

Example: This is my last year in college. — Este es mi último año en la universidad.

Spanish word: colegio

English translation: school

Example: I need to take my son to school. — Tengo que llevar a mi hijo al colegio.

9. Compromise — compromiso

English word: compromise

Spanish translation: acuerdo

Example: We need to find a compromise. — Necesitamos llegar a un acuerdo.

Spanish word: compromiso

English translation: commitment/engagement

Example: Sorry, I can’t go. I already have a commitment. — Perdón, no puedo ir. Ya tengo un compromiso.

10. Constipated — constipado

English word: constipated

Spanish translation: estreñido

Example: My stomach hurts, I’m constipated. — Me duele el estómago. Estoy estreñido.

Spanish word: constipado

English translation: stuffed up

Example: I’ve been stuffed up for five days. — He estado constipado por cinco días.

11. Contest — contestar

English word: contest

Spanish translation: luchar por

Example: He will contest the championship belt. — Él va a luchar por el cinturón de campeonato

Spanish word: contestar

English translation: to answer

Example: Should I answer the doorbell? — ¿Debería contestar la puerta?

12. Delight — delito

English word: delight

Spanish translation: deleite/deleitar

Example: The song delighted me. — La canción me deleitó.

Spanish word: delito

English translation: crime

Example: My cousin commited a crime. — Mi primo cometió un delito

13. Disgrace — desgracia

English word: disgrace

Spanish translation: vergüenza

Example: What a disgrace! — ¡Qué vergüenza!

Spanish word: desgracia

English translation: misfortune/tragedy

Example: What a tragedy! — ¡Qué desgracia!

14. Disgust — disgusto

English word: disgust

Spanish translation: asco

Example: That disgusts me. — Eso me da asco

Spanish word: disgusto

English translation: annoyance

Example: He couldn’t hide his annoyance. — No pudo esconder su disgusto.

15. To envy — enviar

English word: to envy

Spanish translation: envidiar

Example: Everyone envies her. — Todos la envidian.

Spanish word: enviar

English translation: to send

Example: I sent you a letter. — Te envié una carta.

16. Exit — éxito

English word: exit

Spanish translation: salida

Example: The exit is to the right. — La salida está a la derecha.

Spanish word: éxito

English translation: success

Example: To have success, you must work hard. — Para tener éxito, debes trabajar duro.

17. Fabric — fábrica

English word: fabric

Spanish translation: tela 

Example: This fabric is so soft. — Esta tela es muy suave.

Spanish word: fábrica

English translation: factory

Example: There is a factory near my house. — Hay una fábrica cerca de mi casa.

18. Familiar — familiar

English word: familiar

Spanish translation: conocido / familiar

Example: He looks familiar. — Él me parece conocido.

Spanish word: familiar

English translation: family / family member

Example: They are my family members. — Ellos son mis familiares.

19. Grape — grapa

English word: grape

Spanish translation: uva 

Example: I love grapes. — Amo las uvas.

Spanish word: grapa

English translation: staple

Example: I ran out of staples. — Se me acabaron las grapas.

20. To introduce — introducir

English word: to introduce

Spanish translation: presentar

Example: I want to introduce you to my friend. — Quiero presentarte a mi amigo.

Spanish word: introducir

English translation: insert

Example: Insert the card. — Inserte la tarjeta

21. Large — largo

English word:  large

Spanish translation:  grande

Example:   The dog is very large. — El perro es muy grande.

Spanish word:  largo

English translation:  long

Example: I want long hair. — Quiero tener pelo largo. 

22. Lecture — lectura

English word:  lecture

Spanish translation:  clase / conferencia

Example:   Do you want to attend the lecture with me? — ¿Quieres asistir a la conferencia conmigo?

Spanish word: lectura

English translation: reading

Example: We’re going to start with the first reading — Vamos a comenzar con la primera lectura.

23. Library — librería

English word: library

Spanish translation: biblioteca

Example: I love going to the library. — Me encanta ir a la biblioteca.

Spanish word: librería

English translation: book store / office supply store

Example: Do you want me to buy you something from the book store? — ¿Quieres que te compre algo de la librería?

24. Mayor — mayor

English word: mayor

Spanish translation: alcalde

Example: Who is the mayor? — ¿Quién es el alcalde?

Spanish word: mayor

English translation: bigger/ older

Example: He is my older brother. — Él es mi hermano mayor.

25. Molest — molestar

English word: molest

Spanish translation: abusar (sexualmente)

Example: We provide support for people who were molested. — Nosotros damos apoyo a las personas que fueron abusadas.

Spanish word: Molestar

English translation: to annoy

Example: Stop annoying me! — ¡Deja de molestarme!

26. Nude — nudo

English word: nude

Spanish translation: desnudo

Example: He sleeps in the nude. — Él duerme desnudo.

Spanish word: nudo

English translation: knot

Example: I can’t untie the know. — No puedo desatar el nudo.

27. Parent — pariente

English word: parent

Spanish translation: padre / madre

Example: I’m a new paret. — Soy padre primerizo.

Spanish word: pariente

English translation: relative

Example: She is my distant relative. — Ella es mi pariente lejana.

28. Pie — pie

English word: pie

Spanish translation: pastel / pay 

Example: I baked an apple pie. — Hice un pastel de manzana.

Spanish word: pie

English translation: foot

Example: I have a mole in my foot. — Tengo un lunar en mi pie.

29. To probe — probar

English word: probe

Spanish translation: sondear / investigar

Example: We will continue to probe into his past. — Seguiremos investigando su pasado.

Spanish word: probar

English translation: to try

Example: Do you want to try my food? — ¿Quieres probar mi comida?

30. To realize — realizar

English word: to realize

Spanish translation: darse cuenta

Example: I just realized what time it is. — Acabo de darme cuenta de la hora.

Spanish word: realizar

English translation: to do / carry out

Example: We will do the project together. — Vamos a realizar el proyecto juntos.

31. To record — recordar

English word: to record

Spanish translation: grabar

Example: She recorded the class. — Ella grabó la clase.

Spanish word: recordar

English translation: to remember

Example: Do you remember the answer? — ¿Recuerdas la respuesta?

32. Red — red

English word: red

Spanish translation: rojo

Example: I like the red one. — Me gusta el rojo.

Spanish word: red

English translation: net / network

Example: We used the net to go fishing. — Usamos la red para ir a pescar.

33. Rope — ropa

English word: rope

Spanish translation: cuerda

Example: Tie the rope. — Ata la cuerda.

Spanish word: ropa

English translation: clothes

Example: I need new clothes. — Necesito ropa nueva.

34. Salad — salado

English word: salad

Spanish translation: ensalada

Example: Would you like a salad? — ¿Quisieras una ensalada?

Spanish word: salado

English translation: salty / savory

Example: I don’t like it, it’s too salty. — No me gusta, está muy salado.

35. Sensible — sensible

English word: sensible

Spanish translation: sensato / prudente

Example: I’m not very sensible. — No soy muy sensato.

Spanish word: sensible

English translation: sensitive

Example: My teeth are very sensitive. — Mis dientes son muy sensibles.

36. Sin — sin

English word: sin

Spanish translation: pecado

Example: Stealing is a sin. — Robar es pecado.

Spanish word: sin

English translation: without

Example: I want a hamburger without any tomato. — Quiero una hamburguesa sin tomate.

37. Soap — sopa

English word: soap

Spanish translation: jabón

Example: I need to buy soap. — Necesito comprar jabón.

Spanish word: sopa

English translation: soup

Example: The soup is very hot. — La sopa está muy caliente.

38. Success — suceso

English word: success

Spanish translation: éxito

Example: He has had great success. — Él ha tenido gran éxito.

Spanish word: suceso

English translation: event / incident

Example: The event happened at 8 in the morning. — El suceso ocurrió a las 8 de la mañana.

39. To support — soportar

English word: to support

Spanish translation: apoyar

Example: They are a great support group. — Ellos son un gran grupo de apoyo.

Spanish word: soportar

English translation: to put up with

Example: I have to put up with their bad mood. — Tengo que soportar su mal humor.

40. Ultimately — últimamente

English word: ultimately

Spanish translation: a la larga

Example: A la larga, la decisión es tuya. — Ultimately, the decision is yours.

Spanish word: últimamente

English translation: lately

Example: I have had medical issues lately. — He tenido problemas médicos últimamente.

Don’t Stress, Just Practice!

Phew! That’s a lot of false cognates in Spanish. Don’t stress, though! Most of us learn these through trial and error. It’s okay if you confuse these, too. Keep practicing, and be sure to talk with one of our certified Spanish teachers if you have any questions. Sign up for a FREE class now!

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