False Friends

False Friends – ‘Amigos Falsos’

Below is a list of common false friends, black English, blue Spanish. Your task is to create some amusing phrases illustrating common misunderstanding and thengive a phrase with an appropriate/correct meaning/word. Sometimes the difference is subtle; sometimes the connotation can be negative instead of positive.

---------------------------------------Example 1:

Actually: Actually we are experiencing economic problems at the bank. Presently we are experiencing problems at the bank. Both sentences make sense… If you don’t understand the examplelook up actually in a dictionary.
The listener responds – yes we truly do have some problems at the bank.
Actualmente tenemos problemas económicos en el banco. En realidad, tenemos problemas en elbanco..

Example 2:

I’m pretending to be a cat – ¡Estoy pretendiendo que soy un gato! ¡Socorro! ¿Él actúa como un gato??

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The list:

actuallyactualmente
advice avisar
agenda agenda
anxious ansioso
argument argumento
assist asistir
attend atender
avocado abogado
career carrera
carpet carpeta
casual casual
complexion complexióncompromise compromiso
conductor conductor
conservatory conservatorio
constipated constipado
costume costumbre
deception decepcionado
discussion discutir
disgust disgusto
diversion diversiónembarrassed embarazada/o
eventually eventual
excited excitar
extraordinary extraordinario

exit éxito
fabric fabrica
formal formal
genial genial
idiom idioma
informal informal
infront of en frente de
intend intentar
intoxication intoxicación
large largo
lecture lectura
library librería
marmalade mermelada
mascara máscara
media medias
misery miseria
molestmolestar
notice noticia
ordinary ordinario
parents parientes
particular particular
petrol petróleo
presume presumir
pretend pretender
professor profesor
propaganda propaganda
quiet quitar...