Lesson of the Week: Amigos Falsos - False Cognates

Beware of words that are not what they seem! A word that looks or sounds similar to one in English but actually has a totally different meaning is called a false cognate. Below are some of these tricky little guys.

spanish word	actual english definition	how to really say English version
actualmente	at present	actually - la verdad es que
asisistir	to attend	assist/help - ayudar
carpeta	folder	carpet - alfombra
chocar	to crash	choke - ahogar/sofocar
embarazada	pregnant	embarassed - avergonzado
éxito	success	exit - salida
largo	long	large - grande
parientes	relatives	parents - padres
realizar	to actualize	realize - darse cuenta
recordar	remember	record - grabar
sensible	sensitive	sensible - razonable, sensato
soportar	put up with	support - mantener
últimamente	lately	ultimately - al final
vaso	drinking glass	vase - jarrón

Worksheet/Activity: Spanish False Cognates

Quiz: False Spanish Cognates

Learn the fun way: The Complete Musical Spanish

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