Five “False Friends” to Avoid Before Going to Spain
If you don’t know what a “false friend” is, it’s what we linguists use to describe words that sound the same in two languages, but mean something totally different. For example: “actualmente” in Spanish actually means “currently”. This mistake is simple and wouldn’t cause much problem, but other mistakes can be significantly more awkward.
So here are five “false friends” that can hopefully save you some serious future embarrassment.
1. Exitado
By far the most common mistake made by English speakers who are starting to understand some basic rules of the Spanish language. As tourists or expatriates, we will often get asked what we think of Spain or what we look forward to most. The natural response in English is “I’m so excited to…”, so naturally it must be “estoy exitado” in Spanish. Right?
Well, technically you are saying you’re excited about something, but probably not in the way you are thinking. “Estoy exitado” actually means “I am horny.”
Who knows, maybe the Prado Museum or the Retiro Park does excite you that way. But if not, then “estoy ilusionado” is the best way to go.
2. Discusión
I’d argue this one is a little less high-stakes than the one above, but is still helpful to know. I once made this mistake by telling a coworker I had a “discusión” with my boss. My coworker looked at me with shock, and a rumor subsequently spread about how me and my boss had gotten in a fight and even that I was considering leaving because of it.
As you can imagine, I was shocked when my boss pulled me in to ask about these rumors. After some back-tracking, we realized that the error was telling my co-worker I had a “discusión”, not a “conversacion”. As you might be able to guess by now, “discusión” translates to “argument “ or “fight”.
If you say “discusion” in any context, Spaniards will naturally be surprised.
3. Embarazada
A common mistake to make when practicing Spanish or talking about your language progression in general, is to describe yourself as “embarazada”. When you make a mistake or pronounced something wrong, it’s natural to feel embarrassed and make light of that by mentioning it saying “estoy embarazada”. However, that does not translate to “I’m embarrassed”, but instead “I am pregnant.”
I don’t know about you, but telling someone I’m pregnant is not how I react to mistakes. If, like me, you would rather say “I’m embarrassed”, then say “me da verguenza” or “estoy avergonzada/avergonzado.”
4. Constipación
This false friend is more dangerous for a Spanish speaker going to English, but it’s still a nice one to know so you don’t get horrified when a Spaniard says he or she is “constipado/constipada”.
The first time I heard a Spaniard say “estoy un poco constipado” I glared at him in horror and replied “why are you telling me this?” He was confused by my shock and a little offended by my lack of sympathy.
I learned later that he merely had a stuffy nose.
5. Polla
I’m breaking the rules of my own article here, as it’s not actually a false friend. But it’s a very easy and common mistake to make, so I though it’d be best to include it regardless.
As many of you know, “pollo” means chicken. Don’t stress out, there are no secret meanings or dangerous expressions with “pollo”. However, it’s very, very important to say “pollo”, because “polla” means “dick”.
I have a friend, who shall remain unnamed, who once ordered a “bocadilla con polla”. Let me just say the look on the server’s was unforgettable to say the least.
