Estoy constipada y embarazada. You might think that I just said that I’m constipated and that I’m embarassed, but what I really just said was I’m congested/have a cold and I’m pregnant. Neither of those are true, but these are just two very good examples of “falsos amigos”. “Falsos amigos” are Spanish words that sound like English words (or any other language) but mean something completely different. Lucky for me, it seems like English has the most these words. Most people think that you can just add “o” to any English word and you’ll be pretty close to what the Spanish word is, but “falsos amigos” prove this theory completely wrong.
One of the first “falsos amigos” that you learn is “embarazada”. Like I mentioned, it means pregnant, but sounds like embarrassed. Everyone seems to have a story about how they accidentally used “embarazado/a” instead of ponerse rojo or some other word for embarrassed. Another one you learn pretty quickly is “carpeta”. It actually means folder, but sounds like carpet, so at first you’re in class wondering why the teacher is talking about carpets until you realize (or look up) that “carpeta” means folder. And the actual word for carpet? Alfombra.
Here are a few more of the “falsos amgios” that makes my Spanish learning a bit of a nightmare.
Exito = success
Suceso = happening, occurrence, event
Largo = long
Actualmente = right now
Capa = Layer
Quitar = to remove
Remover = to stir or shake
Mole = soft
Libreria = bookstore
Maybe that gives you a bit of an idea of some of the complications of Spanish, but it’s all good times.
Disfruta!
(Enjoy!)
:)
Andrea
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