False Cognates - Cognados Falsos
Let's see who can find the most interesting false cognates. These are words in our new language that would seem to have the same meaning as they do in our first language. I once came accross the word "suburbio," and I thought it would mean the same as "suburb" in English, but it acutally means "shanty town." These meanings are quite different, so they are false cognates. Have you come accross any of these? Please try to respond in both Spanish and English.
Vayamos a ver quién puede encontrar los cognados falsos mas interesantes. Éstos son palabras en nuestra idioma nueva que parecería tener el mismo sentido que ellos hacen en nuestra primera lengua. Me encontré con la palabra -suburbio,- pensé que significaría el mismo como -suburb- in inglés, pero esto realmente significa el -barrio de chabolas.- Estos sentidos son completamente diferentes, así que son cognados falsos. ¿Han encontrado alguna de éstas? Por favor trate de responder tanto enspañol como inglés.
21 Answers
Hay muchos ejemplos:
un billón: in Spanish it means a trillion (1,000,000,000,000), and mil millones means a billion
una receta: In Spanish means a cooking recipe or medicine prescription, and recibo means receipt
últimamente: not ultimately (in the sense of finally) as we think in English, but rather "recently" or lately. a fin de cuentas or al final are good for saying finally in spanish.
le recomiendo a todo el mundo buscar por un libro que se llama "Breaking Out of Beginner's Spanish" escrito por Joseph J Keenan. Es un gran libro, y tiene un capítulo fantástico sobre este tema, el tema de los cognados falsos, o cómo se llama el autor "the tricksters" //// I recommend everyone look for a book called "Breaking out of beginner's spanish" by Joseph J Keenan. It's a great book, and it has a fantastic chapter on this topic, the topic of false cognates, or as the author calls them "the tricksters"
This one can be a little confusing for a traveller.
dirección = address (not direction as you might suspect)
Actual (the Spanish word, not the English word) is "current", "modern", or "present"
Los líderes de los países del mundo deben conocer los problemas actuales del mundo.
The leaders of the world's countries should be familiar with the problems of the world.
Decepción
"Una decepción" is a disappointment, not a "deception" as one would think.
"Estaba muy decepcionada." (I was very disappointed)
embarazada is not "embarrassed"Ella está embarazada = she's pregnant Another one ester constipado means to have a cold
Enterar = to find out or to get it/understand. Not to enter.
Also very similar is enterrar = to bury or forget
Delito - crime
Fumar marihuana es un delito menor.
Smoking marijuana is a misdemeanor.
Actual (not actual) – current, present day
Licenciado – a law graduate, attorney
Editor (not editor) - publisher?
To pretend y pretender
efectivo = Cash (as noun) and Actual/Real (as adjective)
Quisiera pagar en efectivo - I would like to pay in cash.
Los resultados harán efectivos - The results will be carried out.
nb: while one of the definitions includes 'effective', it is a false cognate as a noun.
Here's an example of false cognate confusion in practice. As LagartijaVerde mentions, 'Estoy constipado' means 'I've got a cold.', not... what you'd think...
So, an English guy who hadn't been in Spain very long was on his first date with a Spanish girl. She was lovely. She didn't speak English, but his Spanish was reasonable, if not great, and they were getting on very well until, out of the blue, she turned her big brown eyes on him and said ruefully, 'Estoy constipada.'
'Yuck!', he thought, 'Too much information!' and basically left as soon as possible, didn't phone her, etc.
Some time later, he told his story to a friend who had been here a bit longer, who promptly fell about laughing, and then explained False Cognate Number 1.
Oops.
Alguien me contó una pequeña historia de un problema con un cognado falso.
Como explica LagartijaVerde, en inglés 'Estoy constipado' significa 'I've got a cold.'
Adelante...
Un inglés recién llegado en España tiene su primera cita con una chica española. Quedan encontrarse en un bar un fin de semana. Ella es linda y muy simpatica, y a pesar de que no habla inglés, y que el inglés por su parte es principiante en español, se congenian. Pasen un buen rato hasta, de modo inesperado y con una mirada algo avergonzada, la chica dice al chico - Lo siento: estoy constipada.
El inglés está asombrado, y se pregunta as su mismo - ¡Puaj! ¿Porqué me cuenta del estado de sus intestinos? ¡Qué rara!
Y lo más pronto, se despide a ella, y después no la llama más.
Poco tiempo después, nuestro protagonista se encuentra con un amigo que ha pasado más tiempo en España. Le cuenta a él la história del fracaso con la chica rara. Y cuando su compañero acaba de reírse a carcajadas, le presente a Romeo ´El Cognado Falso Numero 1.'
¡Uy!
Estaba embarazada de cuatro meses . She was four months pregnant.
I was really embarrassed. Me dio mucha vergúenza.
pariente - parent
Es pariente mio. / He’s a relative of mine.
My parents are Irish. / Mis padres son irlandeses.
actual - actual
La situación actual del pais. / The country’s present situation.
The film is based on actual events. / La película está basada en hechos reales.
Careful with these false friends,
Actualmente = currently, presently, nowadays
Actually = en realidad, realmente, exactamente, de hecho
Últimamente = lately, recently
Ultimately = finally, eventually
soportar - support
No lo soporto. / I can’t stand him.
My mum has always supported me. / Mi madre siempre me ha apoyado.
