Are there any specific false friends that are particularly tricky for beginners
There are many specific false friends that can be particularly tricky for beginners, especially because they look or sound familiar but have very different meanings from what learners might expect. Some classic examples involve words that look like English words but mean something else in another language, or English words that differ in meaning from their apparent foreign equivalents.
Particularly Tricky False Friends for Beginners
- The English word “actual” means “current” or “real at this moment,” whereas in many other languages like Spanish or French, its equivalent means “real” or “true,” which can cause confusion.
- “Sensible” in English means “practical” or “reasonable,” but in other languages like Spanish or French, it can mean “sensitive” or “emotional.”
- The German word “Gift” means “poison,” which is very misleading for English speakers who think it means “present” or “gift.”
- The Spanish phrase “Estoy embarazada” looks like it means “I am embarrassed,” but it actually means “I am pregnant,” a classic embarrassing false friend.
- Another German example is “Chef,” which means “boss” or “manager,” not a cook.
These false friends create common traps for beginners because learners assume the words hold the same meaning as their familiar language. Understanding and memorizing these tricky false friends can greatly improve language comprehension and prevent misunderstandings or embarrassing situations when learning a new language. 2, 4, 6
If interested, lists of the most common tricky false friends for major language pairs (English-German, English-Spanish, etc.) are widely available and recommended for learners to study deliberately.