Top 20 False Cognates for ESL Students
False cognates are the Achille's heel for ESL students. For languages like Spanish and English, most of the words that look and sound the same do have the same meaning, making them an instinctive way to learn a new language. This is because the two languages share many of the same Latin and Greek roots. Spanish-speaking English Learners who grow accustomed to using their first language as a basis for learning English can start assuming that all words that sound the same also share the same meaning. Of course, this is not the case, as anyone who has ever confused the proverbial "embarazada" with "embarrassed" can tell you.
We've been getting many requests to have more content related to false cognates. We hear your feedback and are working on a new false cognates database as we speak, so please stay tuned!
For now, here is a preview of the most frequently confused false cognates, for Spanish-speaking ESL students. We've also created a handy sheet for you to print out and display in the classroom.
English Word | Correct Spanish Word | Confused With | English Translation |
---|---|---|---|
actually | en realidad | actualmente | currently |
assist | ayudar | asistir | to attend |
attend | asistir | atender | to attend to |
bizarre | extraño | bizarro | gallant |
carpet | alfombra | carpeta | folder |
choke | estrangular | chocar | to collide |
deception | engaño | decepción | disappointment |
embarrassed | avergonzado | embarazada | pregnant |
exit | salida | éxito | success |
idiom | modismo | idioma | language |
Comments
false cognates
You've confused False cognates with false friends. They are two very different things.
Spanish
Can't see all the words
congnet falso
super legal
Adult ESOL
I teach Adult ESOL. Frequently, my Spanish speaking students and I encounter this false cognate:
la advertencia vs. el anuncio.
Thank you!
cognate word not listed
"Tandem"
just thought i would mentionyou missed one.
William@lamaministry.org
I like this list
I like this list
english
very handy for my presentation on negative transfer
cognates
please help me ????????????????
Please and Thankyou
English word: Realize
English word: Realize
Correct Spanish Word/phrase: Darse Cuenta
Confused with: Realizar
Traduccion en Ingles: Hacer
false cognates
this will be handy for my paper on problems that native-speakers of Spanish have in English semantics
pedantic - pedante
pedantic - minucioso
pedante - pretentious
Assist = asistir =
Asistir = asistir - del latín assistere, pararse junto a [un lugar].) ayudar, socorrer
Confused false cognates
Frozen ---- Congelado
Confused false cognates
Frozen ---- Congelado
Open-English-L5 - Brazil
Very good. I am going to study and memorize .
Thanks for the help
Fabric - fábrica
Fabric - fábrica
Terrific - terrífico - genial
Terrific - terrífico - genial
thank you very much; it' been
thank you very much; it' been so helpul to me
question
is it letter( carta) a false cognate? I just read in an other web page . To me looks like some people are confuse with letra ( letra del abecedario)
ENGLISH
EXCELLENT MATERIAL
Avocado and Abogado
Avocado and Abogado
Spanish
Outstanding!
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