Learning a foreign language can be tricky: Not only is there a completely new set of grammatical and syntactical rules to learn, but occasionally the vocabulary itself poses some unexpected difficulties.
False cognates, or false friends, are one of these pitfalls. These words (amigos falsos, faux amis, or falsche Freunde) remind Anglophones of familiar words, but their meanings bear little resemblance.
Below is a list of 20 Spanish, French, and German false cognates to pay close attention to when traveling, or talking with native speakers:
SPANISH FALSE COGNATES
False cognate: embarazada
Sounds like: embarrassed
Actually means: pregnant
False cognate: realizar
Sounds like: to realize
Actually means: to actualize
False cognate: éxito
Sounds like: exit
Actually means: success
False cognate: soportar
Sounds like: to support
Actually means: to put up with
False cognate: parientes
Sounds like: parents
Actually means: relatives
False cognate: recorder
Sounds like: to record
Actually means: to remember
FRENCH FALSE COGNATES
False cognate: bras
Sounds like: bra
Actually means: arm
False cognate: chair
Sounds like: chair
Actually means: flesh
False cognate: coin
Sounds like: coin
Actually means: corner
False cognate: blesser
Sounds like: to bless
Actually means: to injure
False cognate: chance
Sounds like: chance
Actually means: luck
False cognate: demander
Sounds like: to demand
Actually means: to ask for
False cognate: raisin
Sounds like: raisin
Actually means: grape
GERMAN FALSE COGNATES
False cognate: Bad
Sounds like: bad
Actually means: bathroom
False cognate: After
Sounds like: after
Actually means: anus
False cognate: Fabrik
Sounds like: fabric
Actually means: factory
False cognate: Gift
Sounds like: gift (present)
Actually means: poison
False cognate: hell
Sounds like: Hell
Actually means: light in color
False cognate: Jalousie
Sounds like: jealousy
Actually means: Venetian blind
False cognate: Konvict
Sounds like: convict
Actually means: seminary