9 Spanish False Friends That Will Embarrass You in Public
Spanish false friends look like English words but mean something else. Learn the 9 most embarrassing ones, the correct version, and a memory hook for each.
Nativia Team
English gives you a head start in Spanish. Thousands of words look the same and mean the same. Then you hit the ones that look the same and mean something completely different, and you tell a room full of strangers that you are pregnant.
I have said at least four of the sentences below out loud. Here are the nine false friends that cause the most damage, with the fix and a hook so they stick.
Quiz ahead: A short self-test waits at the end of this article. Question 4 catches almost everyone, including people who have lived in Spain for a year.The embarrassing ones
1. Embarazada is not embarrassed
Estoy muy embarazado. (I am very pregnant.)
Embarazada means pregnant. Said by a man, it is a joke. Said by a woman at a work dinner, it is a rumor.
Correct: Me da mucha vergüenza. (I am really embarrassed.) or Estoy avergonzado. (I am embarrassed.)
Hook: an embarazada woman has a baby on board. Embarrassment has no baby.
2. Excitado is not excited
Estoy muy excitado por el viaje. (I am very aroused about the trip.)
Excitado describes sexual arousal in most of the Spanish-speaking world. Your host family will not forget it.
Correct: Estoy muy emocionado por el viaje. (I am really excited about the trip.)
Hook: emocionado has emotion in it. Excitado has something else in it.
3. Constipado is not constipated
Estoy constipado, ¿tiene algo? (I have a cold, do you have anything?)
This one flips the other way. In Spain, constipado means you have a head cold. If you actually meant the bathroom problem, the pharmacist hands you tissues.
Correct: Estoy estreñido. (I am constipated.)
Hook: constipado clogs your nose, estreñido clogs everything else.
The ones that make you sound off
4. Introducir is not introduce
Quiero introducir a mi novia. (I want to insert my girlfriend.)
Introducir means to insert or put something into something. People will understand you, but they will also picture it.
Correct: Quiero presentarte a mi novia. (I want to introduce you to my girlfriend.)
Hook: you introducir a coin into a machine. You presentar a person.
5. Realizar is not realize
Realicé que tenía razón. (I carried out that she was right.)
Realizar means to carry out or accomplish. Realizing something in your head is a different verb.
Correct: Me di cuenta de que tenía razón. (I realized she was right.)
Hook: realizar makes things real in the world. Darse cuenta makes things clear in your head.
6. Asistir is not assist
¿Me puedes asistir con la maleta? (Can you attend me with the suitcase?)
Asistir means to attend. Asistí a la reunión. (I attended the meeting.) Helping is ayudar.
Correct: ¿Me puedes ayudar con la maleta? (Can you help me with the suitcase?)
Hook: you asistir an event, you ayudar a person.
Watch out:
- Molestar means to bother or annoy, nothing worse. No quiero molestar. (I do not want to bother you.) is a polite everyday phrase.
- The English word you are thinking of is abusar de or acosar. Do not react to molestar the way English trained you to.
Reading is step one. Speaking is what makes it stick.
Practice this in a real conversation, with instant feedback.
The everyday traps
7. Actualmente is not actually
Actualmente, no me gusta la paella. (Currently, I do not like paella.)
Actualmente means currently, right now. It cannot correct someone or add emphasis the way actually does.
Correct: En realidad, no me gusta la paella. (Actually, I do not like paella.) or De hecho... (In fact...)
Hook: actualmente is about the actual moment in time.
8. Éxito is not exit
¿Dónde está el éxito? (Where is the success?)
Éxito means success. In an airport or theater, nobody can point you to it.
Correct: ¿Dónde está la salida? (Where is the exit?)
Hook: a hit song is un éxito. A door is una salida.
9. Sensible is not sensible
Mi jefe es muy sensible. (My boss is very sensitive.)
Sensible means sensitive, the easily hurt kind. The word for level-headed is sensato.
Correct: Mi jefe es muy sensato. (My boss is very sensible.)
Hook: sensible people feel. Sensato people think.
Self-test: catch the false friend
Every sentence below is new. Pick the version a native speaker would actually say.
Pick the right option in each sentence, then check your answers.
1.Your friend got the job. You tell her: Estoy muy por ti.
I am so excited for you.
2.You want to introduce your colleague to the group. Which is correct?
3.A lost tourist in the cinema asks for the way out: ¿Dónde está la ?
Where is the exit?
4.You sneeze all morning and tell your Spanish flatmate. Which one says you have a cold?
5.Correct a wrong assumption: , soy de Canadá, no de Estados Unidos.
Actually, I am from Canada, not the US.
6.Your sister only just noticed the time. Which one says she realized it?
Cheat sheet: 9 false friends and their fixes
Spanish false friends: what it really means and what to say instead
| Looks like | Actually means | Say this instead | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| embarazada | pregnant | avergonzado / me da vergüenza | Me da vergüenza. (I am embarrassed.) |
| excitado | aroused | emocionado | Estoy emocionado. (I am excited.) |
| constipado | having a cold | estreñido (for constipated) | Estoy constipado. (I have a cold.) |
| introducir | to insert | presentar | Te presento a Ana. (Let me introduce Ana.) |
| realizar | to carry out | darse cuenta de | Me di cuenta. (I realized.) |
| asistir | to attend | ayudar | ¿Me ayudas? (Can you help me?) |
| actualmente | currently | en realidad / de hecho | En realidad, no. (Actually, no.) |
| éxito | success | salida | La salida está allí. (The exit is there.) |
| sensible | sensitive | sensato | Es muy sensato. (He is very sensible.) |
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FAQ
What is a false friend in Spanish?
A false friend is a Spanish word that looks like an English word but means something different. They come from shared Latin roots that drifted in meaning over centuries, so the resemblance is real but the meaning is not.
Do false friends differ between Spain and Latin America?
A few do. Constipado means a cold almost everywhere, but in parts of Latin America people say resfriado instead and constipado is rarer. Excitado is risky everywhere, so use emocionado regardless of country.
How do I stop making these mistakes?
Say the correct sentence out loud several times in a realistic context, not just in a flashcard. Words you have spoken under mild pressure, like a role-play or a real chat, stick far better than words you have only read.
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