False Friends with English | Portuguese (Brazil) Grammar

A false friend (falso cognato) is a word that looks like one you know but means something else. Because Portuguese and English share a huge Latin-derived vocabulary, the genuine cognates lull you into trusting every lookalike — and that's exactly when the false ones bite. Each word on this page can flip your sentence into something you never meant. Learn them as a set; they are high-frequency and the errors are embarrassing.

Why English false friends are so dangerous

The trap isn't that the words are obscure — it's that they're common and you feel certain about them. Puxar looks like "push," so you push a "puxe" door by pulling it. Atualmente looks like "actually," so you say the opposite of what you mean. The defense is conscious memorization, not intuition. Below, each false friend is paired with the word you actually wanted.

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When a Portuguese word looks suspiciously like an English one with a meaning that would be convenient, distrust it. The convenient guess is wrong often enough that the safe move is to check the ones on this list until they're automatic.

The verbs (the most dangerous)

pretender = to intend / to plan (NOT to pretend). To pretend is fingir.

❌ Não acredite nele, ele está pretendendo estar doente.

Wrong word — 'pretender' means intend, not pretend.

✅ Não acredite nele, ele está fingindo estar doente.

Don't believe him, he's pretending to be sick.

✅ Eu pretendo viajar em julho.

I intend to travel in July.

puxar = to pull (NOT to push). To push is empurrar. This is the one on every door in Brazil: puxe (pull) vs empurre (push).

✅ A porta não abre se você empurrar — tem que puxar.

The door won't open if you push — you have to pull.

assistir = to watch / attend (NOT to assist). To assist/help is ajudar. Note assistir usually takes a: assistir a um filme, though colloquial BR often drops it.

❌ Eu vou assistir você a carregar as malas.

Wrong — 'assistir' here means watch, not help.

✅ Eu vou ajudar você a carregar as malas. / Ontem assisti a um filme ótimo.

I'll help you carry the bags. / Yesterday I watched a great movie.

realizar = to carry out / to accomplish (and, more recently, "to realize/notice," but the core BR sense is to carry out). To realize/notice is most safely perceber or dar-se conta.

✅ A empresa vai realizar o projeto no próximo ano.

The company will carry out the project next year.

✅ Só percebi o erro depois. / Só me dei conta do erro depois.

I only realized the mistake afterward.

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The verbs are deadlier than the nouns because they sit at the core of your sentence. Mislabel a noun and you sound odd; misuse 'pretender' or 'assistir' and you state the opposite of what you meant. Prioritize the four verbs above.

The nouns

parentes = relatives (NOT parents). Parents are pais.

❌ Vou passar o Natal com meus parentes — minha mãe e meu pai.

Confusing — 'parentes' means relatives in general, not specifically parents.

✅ Vou passar o Natal com meus pais. / Tenho muitos parentes no interior.

I'll spend Christmas with my parents. / I have lots of relatives in the countryside.

livraria = bookstore (NOT library). A library is a biblioteca.

❌ Vou à livraria pegar emprestado um livro.

Wrong place — you borrow books from a biblioteca, not a livraria.

✅ Comprei o romance na livraria. / Peguei o livro emprestado na biblioteca.

I bought the novel at the bookstore. / I borrowed the book from the library.

colégio = (typically) primary/secondary school (NOT college). College/university is faculdade or universidade.

✅ Meu filho está no colégio; minha filha já está na faculdade.

My son is in school; my daughter is already in college.

costume = habit / custom (NOT a costume/outfit). A costume is a fantasia (e.g., for Carnaval).

✅ Tenho o costume de acordar cedo. / Ela usou uma fantasia de bruxa.

I have the habit of waking up early. / She wore a witch costume.

The adverbs and adjectives

atualmente = currently / nowadays (NOT actually). Actually is na verdade / na realidade.

❌ Atualmente, eu não disse isso.

Wrong — this means 'currently I didn't say that', which is nonsense.

✅ Na verdade, eu não disse isso. / Atualmente moro em São Paulo.

Actually, I didn't say that. / I currently live in São Paulo.

eventual / eventualmente = occasional / occasionally, possibly (NOT eventual / in the end). "Eventually" (in the end) is no fim / acabar + gerund.

✅ Há eventuais atrasos no metrô. / No fim, ele acabou aceitando.

There are occasional delays on the metro. / In the end, he ended up accepting.

esquisito = weird / strange (NOT exquisite). Exquisite is requintado or primoroso.

❌ Que restaurante esquisito — a comida é maravilhosa!

Contradictory — 'esquisito' means weird, not exquisite.

✅ Que cara esquisito. / Que restaurante requintado.

What a weird guy. / What an exquisite restaurant.

sensível = sensitive (NOT sensible). Sensible (level-headed) is sensato / razoável.

✅ Ela é muito sensível, chora com facilidade. / Foi uma decisão sensata.

She's very sensitive, cries easily. / It was a sensible decision.

educado = polite, well-mannered (NOT educated). Educated (schooled) is instruído / culto.

✅ Que menino educado, agradeceu a todos.

What a polite boy, he thanked everyone.

Quick reference table

Looks like	Actually means	The word you wanted
pretender	to intend	pretend = fingir
puxar	to pull	push = empurrar
assistir	to watch / attend	assist = ajudar
realizar	to carry out	realize = perceber, dar-se conta
parentes	relatives	parents = pais
livraria	bookstore	library = biblioteca
colégio	(high) school	college = faculdade
costume	habit	costume = fantasia
atualmente	currently	actually = na verdade
esquisito	weird	exquisite = requintado
sensível	sensitive	sensible = sensato
educado	polite	educated = instruído

Common Mistakes recap

❌ Vou à livraria pegar um livro emprestado e depois assistir meu amigo a estudar.

Two false friends — livraria (bookstore) and assistir (watch, not assist).

✅ Vou à biblioteca pegar um livro emprestado e depois ajudar meu amigo a estudar.

I'll go to the library to borrow a book and then help my friend study.

❌ Atualmente eu pretendi estar doente.

Incorrect — 'currently I intended to be sick'; both words misused.

✅ Na verdade eu fingi estar doente.

Actually I pretended to be sick.

These dozen words cause more comprehension breakdowns than any grammar rule. Drill them until the real meaning is your first instinct. For false friends going the other way (Spanish ↔ Portuguese) see False Friends Between BR and Spanish; for verb-specific traps see False Friend Verbs.

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