In Spanish lessons, you will learn that false friends are words or phrases in a foreign language that look similar to your native language, but actually have a different meaning. Because English has many cognates with Spanish, it can be easy to believe that every Spanish word that looks similar to English must have the same meaning.   

Due to etymological evolution, words with the same roots can end up adopting another meaning. Consider the difference between carpet in English and carpeta in Spanish, which actually means a folder or a file. Or fabric in English and fábrica in Spanish, which means a factory or a plant. You will be introduced to more of these in Spanish lessons.   

 Here are 8 key false friends in Spanish that you should avoid mistranslating.  

 

1 Embarazada means pregnant, therefore the adjective will always be feminine. It’s also a temporary state, so you must use the verb estar before it.   

“¿Sabes que Laura está embarazada? Su niño nacerá en dos meses”  

 

It’s common in Spanish lessons to wrongly use estar embarazado to mean being embarrassed. Instead, you should say:  

“Tener vergüenza” 

“Sentir vergüenza” 

“Estar avergonzado” (more formal) 

 “Cuando le acusaron de lo que había hecho, sintió tanta vergüenza que decidió no hablar” 

“Roberto tenía vergüenza siempre que hablaba en público porque era muy tímido». 

 

If a situation is embarrassing, you should say: 

“Ser incómodo”  

“la situación era tan incómoda que no supe qué decir”.  

 

Another suggestion for saying that a situation is embarrassing would be ser (una situación) embarazosa. This is more formal than previous suggestions.  

 

2 Un Tópico is seen as authentic in Spanish. In fact, it’s just a stereotype.   

“Es un tópico que los argentinos sean tan habladores”  

“¿Los catalanes son tacaños? No lo sé, quizás es un tópico” 

 

More accurate translations of topic are the words tema  or asunto: 

“¿Cuál es el tema del debate? La eutanasia” 

 “El tema de la clase de hoy es la conjugación de algunos verbos irregulares” 

 

3 Actualmente does not mean actually, and this is where English speakers get confused. Actualmente is an adverb that means nowadays or these days, and it’s used for situations taking place in the present.  

“Actualmente, no podemos vivir sin teléfono móvil” 

 

In the same way, actual means new or current: 

“Hay una tendencia más realista en el cine actual” 

 

When you want to say actually in Spanish, the most common expressions are: “de hecho”, “en realidad”, “realmente” o “en verdad” 

 

4 Sensible is the Spanish word for sensitive, not sensible.  

“es una persona extremadamente sensible, es mejor que no le digas lo que piensas” 

“era un asunto demasiado sensible para ser tratado en público” 

 

In fact, the English word sensible used to refer to being aware of something. This shows how meanings can change over time. To say sensible in Spanish, you should use the words sensato or razonable. Both words can apply to the quality of being sensible, or a situation being sensible. The word sensibility is translated as sensatez in Spanish.  

 “Lo más sensato cuando viajases evitar viajar a países en conflicto” 

 “Creo que Carlos es una persona muy sensata y prudente, y sabe lo que tiene que hacer” 

 

5 Pretender means wishing to do something. You can also use it when you have the objective of trying to do something. Pretender is a synonym for wanting, but is less frequently used.  

“El próximo año pretendo subir el Everest, aunque no sé si lo lograré”, “Pretende ser el nuevo presidente del gobierno, pero no tiene suficientes votos” 

 

Therefore, pretender should not be confused with to pretend, as I often hear during Spanish lessons. To say ‘pretend’ in Spanish, you should use the following verbs: hacer ver que, fingir, or aparentar. 

“She pretended not to see me”- “Ella hizo que no me veía” 

“I pretended to be her sister” – “Fingí que era su hermana” 

“Everyone tried to pretend it was not happening”- “Todo el mundo intentaba aparentar que no pasaba nada” 

 

6 Éxito means success. When combined with a verb, you get tener éxito, or to be successful.  

“Ha tenido mucho éxito con su nuevo proyecto musical, pero a mi me gustaba más anteriormente” 

“Me entrené durante meses para participar en la maratón, y tuve mucho éxito”  

 

Do not translate éxito as meaning exit in English. Instead, you should use the word salida to mean an exit from a closed space, such as a supermarket or a cinema.  

 

7 Realizar is a formal way of saying to do something, when the stated objective requires development. Another translation would be to carry out [something].  

“Realizamos este proyecto el año pasado” “We carried out this project last year” 

 

On the contrary, the English verb to realise should be translated as “darse cuenta de”:  

“Me di cuenta del error y lo solucioné inmediatamente” 

 “¿Te das cuenta de que tenemos que ir a clase?” 

 

8 Constipado in Spanish means having a cold, but it’s common to hear students in Spanish lessons mistake it for meaning being constipated.  

 “Ha llegado el invierno y ya estoy constipada” 

 

This false friend can lead to ridiculous situations for obvious reasons. So, before going to a doctor, ensure you know the correct phrase for your symptoms. 

 

To learn more about false friends and true cognates between Spanish and English, be sure to take my online Spanish lessons. That way, you can avoid common mistakes and learn the right expression for every situation.  

Happy learning!