At least the way they are spelled, your tendency is to think that they mean the same thing, and they mean something totally different.īL: Using false friends can of course lead to some very interesting situations.

You start learning of words that you don’t even know. Thanks so much for being here, Alejandro.Īlejandro Escalona: Bryan, a pleasure, thanks for having me today.īL: As someone who speaks both English and Spanish, you must have had your own experiences with false friend words.ĪE: Oh yeah, since I started learning English when I was a little boy in my country, Venezuela, in South America. To do this, I have invited Alejandro Escalona, from Voice of America’s Spanish service. The term is “false friend.”īryan Lynn: Today we will discuss some examples of false friends in English and Spanish. There is a term used to describe words in different languages that have the same spelling - or look very similar - but have completely different meanings. Cultural differences and context also affect which words are right to use.Īnd sometimes the way a word looks can trick us. Sometimes, a language may not have a comparable word with the exact meaning that you are looking for. This can be difficult for several reasons. An important part of language learning is trying to find the right words to communicate correctly in every situation.

She is very brave in spanish