French False Friends for Spanish Speakers
Vocalyra teaching team · Last updated:
If you speak Spanish, French vocabulary will often look familiar. Most of those similar words really do mean the same thing, but a handful do not, and some of them can create awkward moments. Here are eight pairs worth learning on purpose.
Eight Pairs That Cause Real Mistakes
| French word | Real meaning | Looks like (ES) | Say instead in French |
|---|---|---|---|
| embarrassé | embarrassed, awkward | embarazada (pregnant) | enceinte |
| constipé | constipated | constipado (having a cold) | enrhumé |
| large | wide | largo (long) | long, longue |
| attendre | to wait | atender (to attend to, to serve) | s'occuper de, servir |
| rester | to stay | restar (to subtract) | soustraire |
| le sol | the ground, the floor | el sol (the sun) | le soleil |
| une tasse | a cup | una tasa (a rate) | un taux |
| les parents | parents, also relatives | los parientes (relatives) | la famille, les proches |
Example Sentences
- Elle est enceinte de six mois. (She is six months pregnant.)
- Je suis enrhumé, je reste à la maison. (I have a cold, I'm staying home.)
- La rue est large mais pas très longue. (The street is wide but not very long.)
- Le taux de change a baissé. (The exchange rate went down.)
- Le soleil brille, le sol est sec. (The sun is shining, the ground is dry.)
Rester is the most frequent of these in daily speech: Je reste ici means I'm staying here. To subtract, French uses soustraire or enlever.
How to Remember Them
Group the pairs by risk. The two health words (embarrassé, constipé) are the most embarrassing to get wrong, so learn enceinte and enrhumé first. The size words (large, long) appear constantly in descriptions, so practice them with real objects around you.
Quick self-check
How do you say "I have a cold" in French?
Show answer
Je suis enrhumé (or enrhumée).
A road is 20 meters wide. Large or long?
Show answer
Large.
What does Je reste à Paris mean?
Show answer
I'm staying in Paris.
How do you say "the sun" in French?
Show answer
Le soleil.
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