by wrj7usvt » Sun Jan 29, 2012 8:56 pm
I'm posting in response to Unit 3 Question 4- False Friends.
I still don't speak Spanish fluently but here are some of the false friends I've come across so far in my teaching career here in Spain.
SYMPATHETIC: In English, this means you understand what someone is going through and the Spanish false friend is 'SIMPATICO' which means 'nice/friendly'.
EMBARRASSED: The false friend in Spanish is 'EMABARAZADA' and in English means 'pregnant'!
ACTUALLY: This is often mistaken for 'ACTUALIDAD' which means 'in reality' in Spanish
CASUALTY: In English, this is the A and E department of a hospital, but is Spanish 'CASUALIDAD' means 'coincidence'.
CONSTIPATED: This is mine and my students's favourite one! In Spanish, 'CONSTIPADO' means to have a blocked up nose but in English, it means to have 'toilet trouble'.
Also, it's not really a false friend, but my elementary adult classes sometimes confuse 'footing' in Spanish which means 'jogging' in English, because it looks like an English word.
I'm posting in response to Unit 3 Question 4- False Friends.
I still don't speak Spanish fluently but here are some of the false friends I've come across so far in my teaching career here in Spain.
SYMPATHETIC: In English, this means you understand what someone is going through and the Spanish false friend is 'SIMPATICO' which means 'nice/friendly'.
EMBARRASSED: The false friend in Spanish is 'EMABARAZADA' and in English means 'pregnant'!
ACTUALLY: This is often mistaken for 'ACTUALIDAD' which means 'in reality' in Spanish
CASUALTY: In English, this is the A and E department of a hospital, but is Spanish 'CASUALIDAD' means 'coincidence'.
CONSTIPATED: This is mine and my students's favourite one! In Spanish, 'CONSTIPADO' means to have a blocked up nose but in English, it means to have 'toilet trouble'.
Also, it's not really a false friend, but my elementary adult classes sometimes confuse 'footing' in Spanish which means 'jogging' in English, because it looks like an English word.
