Lingo Lobby

There are many words in spanish that look identical or spelt the same as english words but actually may mean something completely different.These words are called falsos amigos (false friends). It’s important as spanish learners (who speak english as 1st language or primarily speak english) to be aware of these falsos amigos to avoid misconfusion and maybe embarassment.Falsos amigos happen due to something called the availablity heuristic. An availability heuristic is a mental shortcut that relies on readily available , immediate examples that may come to a person’s mind when thinking of a specific topic , idea , concept , decision or even words. An spanish speaker who speaks english may see the word “pie” and think of a delicious tart apple pie instead of the spanish equivalent for foot. The english native thinks of a desert instead of foot because they have already used the word pie to describe a dessert, making it the most readily “available” meaning in their head.

TOP 20

Éxito – Success

Arena – Sand

Actual / Actualmente – Current / Currently

Sensible – Sensitive

Largo – Long

Sano – Healthy

molestar – To bother

El Pie / Los Pies – Foot / Feet

Cuestión – Issue

Realizar – to carry out

Memoria – memory

Asistir – To Attend

Estar embarazada – To be pregnant

Soportar – To tolerate , put up with

Recordar – to remember

Once – eleven (11)

Carta – letter

Compromiso – commitment

Ropa – clothing

Decepción – disappointment

Don’t let falsos amigos trip you up when speaking spanish!