Errores con falsos amigos | Spanish (Spain) Grammar

A falso amigo (false friend) is a Spanish word that looks like an English word and means something different. Every English-speaking learner produces a few of these errors before they finally start hearing the difference. This page is the error-pattern version of the false-friends lesson — the top fifteen wrong sentences English speakers actually produce, paired with the fix and a one-line why.

The companion page Falsos amigos espa ñol-inglés is the comprehensive lexical reference, organised by category. If you want the full glossary, go there. If you want to know which fifteen mistakes to stop making right now, you are on the right page.

Each block follows the same shape: a wrong Spanish sentence (an English speaker said it, thinking the cognate worked), the corrected version, and a brief explanation of why the cognate misfired.

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The false-friend instinct is almost always wrong because it is almost always right. Eighty percent of English-Spanish lookalikes really do share their meaning, which is why the twenty percent that don't are so dangerous — your cognate strategy has been reinforced enough that you stop questioning it.

1. embarazada — pregnant, not embarrassed

The textbook case. Embarazada shares an etymological root with embarrassed, but in modern Spanish it means pregnant with absolute consistency. Telling your Spanish host Estoy embarazada when you mean I'm embarrassed is a story they will retell.

❌ Estoy muy embarazada por haber llegado tarde.

Says: 'I'm very pregnant for having arrived late.' Sounds catastrophic. Wanted: I'm very embarrassed for arriving late.

✅ Me da mucha vergüenza haber llegado tarde. / Estoy muy avergonzado/-a por haber llegado tarde.

I'm really embarrassed for arriving late. — dar vergüenza is the most natural construction; avergonzado/-a is the adjective.

2. molestar — to bother, not to molest

Molestar is a perfectly polite, high-frequency verb meaning to bother, to disturb, to annoy. It has no sexual or criminal connotation. The English molest in its criminal sense translates as agredir sexualmente or abusar de.

⚠️ Perdona si te he molestado anoche, fue sin querer.

The Spanish is correct and means 'sorry if I bothered you last night.' Listed here because English speakers often AVOID this perfectly polite verb out of fear, reaching for clumsy alternatives. The error is the avoidance, not the sentence.

❌ Una persona me molestó en el metro — quiero denunciarlo.

If the speaker meant 'a person sexually assaulted me on the metro,' molestar is far too mild — it just means 'bothered.' For criminal assault use agredir sexualmente or abusar de.

✅ Una persona me agredió sexualmente en el metro — quiero denunciarlo.

A person sexually assaulted me on the metro — I want to report it. — agredir sexualmente / abusar de for the English criminal 'molest.'

3. constipado — having a cold, not constipated

Medical false friend, highest-risk category. Constipado (or resfriado) means having a head cold — runny nose, congestion. Estreñido is constipated in the digestive sense. Mixing these in a doctor's office sends treatment in the wrong direction.

❌ Doctor, llevo tres días constipado y no consigo ir al baño.

Mixed signal: constipado = head cold; the second clause clarifies digestive constipation. The doctor will look confused or treat both.

✅ Doctor, llevo tres días estreñido y no consigo ir al baño.

Doctor, I've been constipated for three days and can't manage to go to the bathroom. — estreñido is the correct word.

4. éxito — success, not exit

Éxito means success, never exit. The exit door is salida. This one rarely produces a misunderstanding (context usually saves you) but produces baffled looks reliably.

❌ Disculpe, ¿dónde está el éxito de emergencia?

Asks: where's the emergency success? The fire warden will not know what to do.

✅ Disculpe, ¿dónde está la salida de emergencia?

Excuse me, where's the emergency exit? — salida for exit; éxito means 'success' (la película fue un éxito = the film was a hit).

5. sensible — sensitive, not sensible

Sensible in Spanish means sensitive — emotionally, physically (sensitive skin), or technically (sensitive instrument). The English sensible (level-headed, reasonable) is sensato in Spanish.

❌ Mi padre es muy sensible: nunca toma decisiones precipitadas.

Says: 'my father is very sensitive (emotional): he never makes rushed decisions.' The two clauses don't fit — sensitivity doesn't explain caution.

✅ Mi padre es muy sensato: nunca toma decisiones precipitadas.

My father is very sensible (level-headed): he never makes rushed decisions. — sensato for the English 'sensible.'

6. actualmente — currently, not actually

Actualmente means currently, nowadays, at the moment. For the English discourse actually (introducing a correction or factual contrast), Spanish uses en realidad or de hecho.

❌ Actualmente, no me gusta el café — siempre me ha sentado mal.

Says: 'currently I don't like coffee — it's always disagreed with me.' The two halves contradict — 'currently' implies a recent state, but 'always' implies long-standing. The speaker meant 'actually.'

✅ En realidad / De hecho, no me gusta el café — siempre me ha sentado mal.

Actually, I don't like coffee — it's always disagreed with me. — en realidad or de hecho for the corrective English 'actually.'

7. eventualmente — possibly, not eventually

Eventualmente means possibly, contingently, in the event of. It does not mean eventually in the English sense of in the end, after a while. For that, Spanish uses al final or con el tiempo.

❌ Eventualmente aprenderás español si sigues practicando.

Says: 'possibly you'll learn Spanish if you keep practising' — non-committal, suggests it might not happen. The speaker meant 'you'll get there in the end.'

✅ Al final / Con el tiempo aprenderás español si sigues practicando.

Eventually you'll learn Spanish if you keep practising. — al final or con el tiempo for the English 'eventually.'

8. soportar — to tolerate, not to support

Soportar is to bear, tolerate, endure, put up with. The English to support (a person, a cause, a decision) is apoyar. To physically support a weight is also soportar, which adds to the confusion.

❌ Soporto mucho a mi mejor amiga, siempre estoy a su lado.

Says: 'I really put up with my best friend.' Insulting. The speaker meant: I really support her.

✅ Apoyo mucho a mi mejor amiga, siempre estoy a su lado.

I really support my best friend, I'm always by her side. — apoyar = moral, emotional, political support.

9. pretender — to intend, not to pretend

Pretender means to intend, to aspire to, to claim, to attempt. The English to pretend (to fake, to feign) is fingir or hacerse el / la / los / las.

❌ Pretendía estar enfermo para no ir al trabajo.

Says: 'I intended to be ill so I wouldn't have to go to work' — which sounds like the speaker tried to make themselves ill. They meant: I pretended to be ill.

✅ Fingí estar enfermo / Me hice el enfermo para no ir al trabajo.

I pretended to be ill so I wouldn't have to go to work. — fingir or hacerse el/la for 'to pretend (fake).'

10. asistir — to attend, not to assist

Asistir (a) means to attend an event, lecture, meeting. The English to assist (to help) is ayudar.

❌ Mi compañero me asistió con la mudanza el sábado.

Says: 'my colleague attended (the event of) my move on Saturday' — opaque, faintly wrong. The speaker meant: helped me.

✅ Mi compañero me ayudó con la mudanza el sábado.

My colleague helped me with the move on Saturday. — ayudar for 'help, assist.'

✅ Mañana asisto a una conferencia sobre inteligencia artificial.

Tomorrow I'm attending a conference on AI. — this use of asistir (a) is correct: attending an event.

11. discutir — to argue, not (neutrally) to discuss

Discutir in Spanish carries a stronger argumentative edge than English discuss. It usually implies disagreement or heated conversation. For neutral discuss (talk through a topic without conflict), Spanish prefers hablar de, comentar, or tratar.

❌ Mis padres y yo hemos discutido el plan de vacaciones tranquilamente.

Says: 'my parents and I have argued about the holiday plan calmly' — the verb suggests conflict, the adverb denies it. Sounds contradictory.

✅ Mis padres y yo hemos hablado del / comentado el plan de vacaciones tranquilamente.

My parents and I calmly talked through the holiday plan. — hablar de or comentar for neutral discussion.

12. compromiso — commitment, not compromise

Compromiso means commitment, obligation, prior engagement (and, in the right context, engagement to be married). For the English compromise (the meeting in the middle, both sides giving something up), Spanish uses acuerdo, transigencia, or the verbal phrase ceder por ambas partes.

❌ Después de horas de negociación, llegamos a un compromiso.

Says: 'after hours of negotiation, we reached a commitment.' Means something like 'we made a binding obligation' — close but wrong. The speaker meant 'a compromise solution.'

✅ Después de horas de negociación, llegamos a un acuerdo.

After hours of negotiation, we reached an agreement / compromise. — acuerdo is the natural Spanish word for a negotiated settlement.

13. realizar — to carry out, not to realize

Realizar means to carry out, to perform, to accomplish (a task, a project, a dream). The English to realize (to become aware, to grasp) is darse cuenta de.

❌ Realicé que había dejado las llaves en el coche.

Says: 'I carried out that I had left the keys in the car' — grammatically broken; realizar doesn't take a que-clause this way.

✅ Me di cuenta de que había dejado las llaves en el coche.

I realized I'd left my keys in the car. — darse cuenta de + que-clause for the English 'realize.'

✅ Hemos realizado el proyecto en seis meses.

We carried out the project in six months. — realizar for 'to carry out, perform.'

14. excitado — aroused, not excited

Excitado in modern Spanish strongly implies sexual arousal, not the general English excited. For the neutral sense (looking forward to something), use emocionado, entusiasmado, or ilusionado.

❌ Estoy muy excitado por el viaje a Sevilla la semana que viene.

Says: 'I'm very aroused about next week's trip to Seville' — unintentionally explicit. Spanish hosts will react.

✅ Estoy muy emocionado / ilusionado por el viaje a Sevilla la semana que viene.

I'm really excited about next week's trip to Seville. — emocionado, entusiasmado, ilusionado for everyday 'excited.'

15. introducir — to insert, not to introduce (people)

Introducir means to insert, to put in — a physical action. For introducing one person to another, Spanish uses presentar.

❌ Te voy a introducir a mi novia mañana.

Says: 'I'm going to insert you into my girlfriend tomorrow.' Catastrophically wrong. Spanish listeners try to keep a straight face.

✅ Te voy a presentar a mi novia mañana.

I'm going to introduce you to my girlfriend tomorrow. — presentar for introducing people.

✅ Introduce la tarjeta en el cajero.

Insert the card into the ATM. — introducir for physical insertion is correct.

A note on register mismatch

A few false friends produce errors not of meaning but of register. Discutir isn't wrong for neutral discussion, just heavier than English speakers expect. Excitado in technical or literary contexts can mean excited (excited electrons in physics), but in everyday speech the sexual reading dominates. The rule of thumb: when a Spanish word looks like an English word but the meaning is socially sensitive (medical, sexual, emotional, political), pause and check. The cost of being wrong in those categories is real.

Common Mistakes

The fifteen numbered items above already form a long error catalogue. Three more patterns that don't fit the numbered list but still hit English speakers:

❌ Me ha recordado el cumpleaños de mi hermano.

Recordar = to remember, OR to remind. The ambiguity sometimes produces sentences where the speaker meant 'record' (audio/video).

✅ He grabado el cumpleaños de mi hermano.

I recorded my brother's birthday. — grabar for audio/video recording. Recordar = remember, remind.

❌ Mi sopa preferida es la de Marsella.

Sopa = soup. The speaker may have wanted 'soap' (= jabón) — though context usually saves them.

✅ Mi jabón preferido es el de Marsella.

My favourite soap is Marseille soap. — jabón = soap, sopa = soup.

❌ Voy a la librería a sacar un libro.

Librería = bookshop, where you buy books, not borrow them. The speaker meant biblioteca = library.

✅ Voy a la biblioteca a sacar un libro.

I'm going to the library to take a book out. — biblioteca for the lending library; librería is a shop.

For the bigger picture — categories of false friends, the medical group, the peninsular-specific coger and tirar issues, the deceptive adverbs in detail — see the comprehensive Falsos amigos español-inglés reference.

Key Takeaways

The top fifteen errors come from a handful of word families: emotion/state (embarazada, excitado, sensible, molestar), medical (constipado, droga), action verbs (soportar, pretender, asistir, realizar, introducir), and discourse (actualmente, eventualmente, discutir, compromiso).
Medical false friends are the highest-risk group — constipado (cold, not constipated), estreñido (constipated), intoxicado (poisoned, not drunk).
Two false friends are socially explosive: embarazada (pregnant), excitado (aroused). Avoid them by reflex unless you mean exactly that.
For the English discourse markers actually and eventually — actualmente and eventualmente are not your friends. Reach for en realidad / de hecho and al final / con el tiempo.
For the action verbs support, pretend, assist, realize, introduce, the Spanish cognate is almost certainly wrong. Memorize the alternatives: apoyar, fingir, ayudar, darse cuenta de, presentar.
When in doubt, the safe move is to rephrase instead of guessing at the cognate. If the Spanish word feels suspiciously familiar in a high-stakes context (doctor, host family, business meeting), use a circumlocution and check the dictionary later.

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