What are false friends?by Colin Cairns, Callan Method teacher at ABC School
False friends are words that look or sound the same as or similar to words in a student’s first language but in fact are not so, causing the learner to make a mistake. Often, these errors can be quite amusing!
Here are some examples from Spanish and Italian…
SPANISH| Spanish word | English translation | English word | Spanish translation |
| BIZARRO | dashing, brave, gallant | BIZARRE | extraño |
| CONSTIPADO (n.) | a cold | CONSTIPATED | constipado (adj.) |
| EMBARAZADA | pregnant | EMBARRASSED | avergonzada |
| ROPA | clothes | ROPE | cuerda |
| SOPA | soup | SOAP | jabón |
| ÚLTIMAMENTE | recently | ULTIMATELY | al final |
ITALIAN| Italian word | English translation | English word | Italian translation |
| CREMA | custard | CREAM | panna |
| COCOMERO | watermelon | CUCUMBER | cetriolo |
| FIRMA | signature | FIRM | azienda |
| MORBIDO | soft | MORBID | morboso |
Do you have any other examples, perhaps from other languages?
