Diseño del blog

20 sept 2023

Ana del Río

 Lost in Translation: False Friends

Welcome to another exciting chapter in your journey to mastering the beautiful Spanish language! In today's blog post, we're diving into a fascinating linguistic phenomenon: false friends. These linguistic traps can bewilder even the most seasoned learners, but fear not! Río Spanish School is here to shed light on this quirky aspect of language learning.

False friends, or "falsos amigos" in Spanish, are words that seem deceptively familiar in two languages but hold entirely different meanings. These linguistic doppelgangers can lead to hilarious misunderstandings if not navigated carefully. Imagine casually using the word "embarazada" in Spanish, thinking it refers to embarrassment, only to discover it actually means "pregnant"! Quite the mix-up, right?

Turning False Friends into True Allies:


Rather than seeing false friends as mere obstacles, embrace them as opportunities to deepen your understanding of the Spanish language. Each linguistic curveball you encounter is a step towards becoming a more confident and nuanced speaker. Remember, even native speakers stumble upon these linguistic tricks from time to time!

In this blog post, we'll uncover some of the most intriguing false friends. Have you ever found yourself caught in the web of a false friend, leading to an unintended linguistic mishap? After reading this post, you'll be well-equipped to steer clear of these language pitfalls:

Share these "falsos amigos" with your classmates!

Spanish English English Spanish
Decepción Dissapointment Deception Engaño
Molestar To bother To molest Acosar sexualmente
Argumento Plot Argument Pelea, discusión
Discusión Fight, argument Discussion Debate, conversación
Sensible Sensitive Sensible Sensato
Éxito Success Exit Salida
Compromiso Engagement, commitment Compromise Acuerdo
Lectura Reading Lecture Conferencia
Ahorrar To save To afford Permitirse
Constipado Cold (sick) Constipated Estreñido

Are you hungry for more examples of false friends? If you're eager to explore additional intriguing instances where languages play tricks on us, drop your requests in the comments below! We'd love to hear from you and delve into even more false friends in our upcoming blog post.


Stay tuned for Part Two of our False Friends series. Let's unravel the mysteries of language together!


At Río Spanish School - Malta we're passionate about guiding you through every twist and turn of language learning. Embracing the world of false friends is just one of the many exciting challenges you'll conquer on your path to Spanish fluency. Join our vibrant community of learners today and let's unravel the mysteries of language together. ¡Vamos a aprender!

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If you are a Spanish teacher and you want your students to learn how to talk about religious expressions in Spanish, check out our lastest teaching material available in our shop:

Explore our shop to find many other teaching materials:

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By Ana Del Rio Zolle • April 13, 2022
As Lorenzo Rubio González explains in Religious Topics in Colloquial Spanish, the familiarity of Spaniards with religion leaves many foreigners dumbfounded. And it is that we Spaniards have grown up surrounded by the Catholic Christian culture and, as is natural, it has impregnated the language with hundreds of expressions that have crystallized in the collective imagination.

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By Ana Del Rio Zolle • February 18, 2022
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In every group of friends there is someone who is always late, and if there isn't in yours, then it's you. Someone said there are two types of people: those who are late and those who are unhappy. This is because the first are more optimistic and think that they will have time to arrive on time.

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By Ana Del Rio Zolle • December 21, 2021
In Spain and in many other Hispanic countries, the Christmas celebrations don't finish o n 25th of December. We also celebrate, and it's the favorite of the children, The Epiphany, better known as The Three Wise Men Day, every 6th of January.
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