{"id":54140,"date":"2018-08-15T09:03:16","date_gmt":"2018-08-15T08:03:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gogoespana.com\/?p=54140"},"modified":"2023-12-14T14:47:50","modified_gmt":"2023-12-14T13:47:50","slug":"mistaken-spanish-words","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gogoespana.com\/en\/blog\/mistaken-spanish-words\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Commonly Mistaken Spanish Words and What to Say Instead"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s always a frustrating conversation when someone has been using mistaken Spanish words<\/strong>. You think you understand them but it turns out you’re talking about different topics. You’re getting more and more lost in the conversation and you’re not sure which Spanish words to use. You want explain how embarrassed you\u2019re feeling right now but be careful what you say next. Embarazada<\/em> is one of the most mistaken Spanish words on our list, so read on (carefully) and stop the conversational mix-ups!<\/p>\n

False Cognates in Spanish and English<\/h2>\n

A false cognate is a term in grammar that applies to two words in different languages that seem similar but actually have different meanings and origins. For example, vacaci\u00f3n\u00a0<\/em>and “vacation” are true cognates that sound similar and mean the same thing.\u00a0Most language learners use false cognates when starting out, so don\u2019t be too hard on yourself if you make these mistakes in Spanish, too. Take notes on our list of the most mistaken Spanish words<\/strong> below and you\u2019ll skip the awkward stares.<\/p>\n

\"mistaken
What’s the correct Spanish word for what these scientists are doing, realizar or darse cuenta?<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Realizar<\/em> doesn\u2019t mean \u201cto realize.\u201d Use darse cuenta<\/em> instead.<\/p>\n

This is one of the hardest verbs to learn in Spanish<\/strong> because these false friends sound incredibly similar. Realizar<\/em> seems like an exact translation of the verb \u201crealize\u201d but unfortunately this is not the case. Take the following sentence for example: \u201cEl cient\u00edfico realiza pruebas cient\u00edficas que son revolucionarias<\/span><\/span>.\u201d You may think this says the scientist has realized that the tests were revolutionary, but the verb realizar<\/em> means “actualize.” The real meaning of the sentence is that the scientist has actualized or made real his tests and they were revolutionary. To say ‘realize’ as in notice, use the Spanish verb darse cuenta<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Carpeta<\/em> doesn\u2019t mean \u201ccarpet.\u201d Use alfombra<\/em> instead.<\/p>\n

Some Spanish learners<\/strong> think you can take any English word and stick an -a on the end to speak Spanish. Spanish is an easy language to learn (especially if you practice Spanish using apps<\/a>) but that method is just too simple! Using carpeta<\/em> to mean “carpet” is proof that this method doesn\u2019t work, as \u201ccarpet\u201d in Spanish is alfombra<\/em>. However, it won\u2019t take long to remember that carpeta<\/em> means \u201cfolder\u201d when you\u2019re stuffing your carpeta<\/em> full of lessons from your language school in Spain<\/a>. With enough practice, you\u2019ll never make the mistake in Spanish of asking guests to wipe their feet on your folder!<\/p>\n

Embarazada<\/em> doesn\u2019t mean \u201cembarrassed!\u201d Use avergonzado\/a<\/em> instead.<\/p>\n

This false cognate is one of the most embarrassing Spanish mistakes<\/strong> you can make! Your Spanish level is growing but you still feel embarrassed by your clumsy Spanish. You admit you feel “embarazada” to your class. Your classmates stare strangely at you, looking amused. You just announced to the class that you’re pregnant! Clearly, this Spanish mistranslation can create a lot of confusion. Use the word avergonzado\/a<\/em> to correctly say you’re embarrassed. It will come in handy after you realize you\u2019ve accidentally claimed to be pregnant!<\/p>\n

\"mistaken
Don’t feel too embarrassed for mistaking the word embarazada<\/em>!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Largo<\/em> doesn\u2019t mean \u201clarge.\u201d Use grande<\/em> instead.<\/p>\n

This false friend<\/strong> to the English word ‘large’ is so similar that it\u2019s almost not fair. After all, there\u2019s only a one letter difference between \u201clargo\u201d and \u201clarge\u201d and both are size adjectives. The difference is that largo<\/em> means \u201clong\u201d and the English large<\/em> translates to \u201cgrande.\u201d A good way to remember is to visit some of Spain\u2019s food markets<\/a> and check out the \u201carroz largo.\u201d You’ll see that this popular rice is long, not big.<\/p>\n

Ultimamente<\/em> doesn\u2019t mean “ultimately.” Use al final<\/em> instead.<\/p>\n

This is one of the hardest false cognates<\/strong> to remember. Imagine you\u2019re recounting the story of a night out in Spain<\/a>. Your Spanish is flawless and you begin telling your friend how it ended. Ultimamente<\/em> seems like the perfect translation for “ultimately” and pops into your head first. However, you\u2019d be explaining what\u2019s happening lately<\/em> instead of what happened in the end. In Spanish, al final<\/em> translates to finally or ultimately. Al final<\/em> is a true cognate and translation of “finally.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s always a frustrating conversation when someone has been using mistaken Spanish words. You think you understand them but it turns out you’re talking about different topics. You’re getting more and more lost in the conversation and you’re not sure which Spanish words to use. You want explain how embarrassed you\u2019re feeling right now but […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":128,"featured_media":54149,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2049],"tags":[1516,1542,1648,1663],"class_list":["post-54140","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-learn-spanish","tag-learn-spanish","tag-mistaken-spanish-words","tag-spanish-language","tag-spanish-mistakes"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gogoespana.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54140","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gogoespana.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gogoespana.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gogoespana.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/128"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gogoespana.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=54140"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/gogoespana.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54140\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":54154,"href":"https:\/\/gogoespana.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54140\/revisions\/54154"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gogoespana.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/54149"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gogoespana.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=54140"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gogoespana.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=54140"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gogoespana.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=54140"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}