English for Spanish speakers · part 7 of 22
Spanish–English false friends
A false friend looks like a Spanish word but means something else. These cause more errors — and more embarrassment — than any genuinely hard vocabulary, precisely because they feel safe. They deserve explicit teaching time.
| English word | Students expect | It actually means | They meant |
|---|---|---|---|
| actually | actualmente (currently) | in fact, in reality | currently |
| sensible | sensible (sensitive) | practical, reasonable | sensitive |
| library | librería (bookshop) | place you borrow books | bookshop |
| embarrassed | embarazada (pregnant) | ashamed, awkward | pregnant |
| exit | éxito (success) | way out | success |
| success | suceso (event) | achievement | event |
| fabric | fábrica (factory) | cloth, material | factory |
| assist | asistir (to attend) | to help | to attend |
| pretend | pretender (to intend) | to fake | to intend / to court |
| eventually | eventualmente (possibly) | in the end, finally | possibly / occasionally |
- embarrassed ≠ embarazada. "I am embarrassed" means feeling awkward — not pregnant.
- actually ≠ actualmente. Actually means in fact; the word for currently is currently.
Don't drown students in the full list at once. Teach this core set, and cultivate a mild suspicion whenever a Latin-looking English word solves a problem too conveniently.