False friends are words that are spelled exactly or almost the same in both languages but have very different meanings in Spanish and English. These words might even be different parts of speech.

Do not allow yourself to become overconfident and think that every Spanish word that resembles an English one is automatically a cognate. The following table will give you some common false friends:

SPANISH / PRONUNCIATION / MEANING

asistir / ah-sees-teer / to attend
caro / kah-roh / expensive, dear
comer / koh-mehr / to eat
fábrica / fah-bree-kah / factory
flor / flohr / flower
hay / ah-yee / there is, are
librería / lee-breh-ree-yah / bookstore
joya / hoh-yah / jewel
mano / mah-noh / hand
pan / pahn / bread
sopa / soh-pah / soup
vaso / bah-soh / glass

When in doubt about the meaning of a word, always verify by using a bilingual dictionary.

Make sure to look at the part of speech so that you don’t confuse a noun with a verb, adjective, or adverb. Cross-check by looking up the word on both the Spanish and English sides of the dictionary.

You can easily guess the meaning of many Spanish words that begin with - e by simply dropping the initial e:

SPANISH / PRONUNCIATION / MEANING

escena / eh-seh-nah / scene
España / ehs-pah-nyah / Spain
especial / ehs-peh-see-yahl / special
espectáculo / ehs-pehk-tah-koo-loh / spectacle, show
espía / ehs-pee-yah / spy
esquí / ehs-kee / ski
estupendo / ehs-too-pehn-doh / stupendous

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