False friends · L1 → English

False Friends by Language

A false friend is a word in your language that looks like an English word but means something different — the classic false cognate. They are the most dangerous kind of vocabulary: the sentence stays grammatical, spellcheck stays silent, and the meaning quietly changes. These pages collect 100 of them across five languages, each with the exact English error it produces.

• Spanish false friends

  20 words

  • embarazada is not «embarrassed» — it means pregnant
  • constipado is not «constipated» — it means having a cold
  • éxito is not «exit» — it means success

  All 20 Spanish traps →

• German false friends

  20 words

  • Gift is not «gift» — it means poison
  • Handy is not «handy» — it means mobile phone
  • Chef is not «chef» — it means boss

  All 20 German traps →

• French false friends

  20 words

  • blesser is not «bless» — it means to injure, to hurt
  • journée is not «journey» — it means day
  • demander is not «demand» — it means to ask

  All 20 French traps →

• Italian false friends

  20 words

  • morbido is not «morbid» — it means soft
  • casino is not «casino» — it means mess, chaos
  • caldo is not «cold» — it means hot

  All 20 Italian traps →

• Japanese false friends

  20 words

  • マンション (manshon) is not «mansion» — it means apartment / condo
  • バイキング (baikingu) is not «Viking» — it means buffet (all-you-can-eat)
  • カンニング (kanningu) is not «cunning» — it means cheating on a test

  All 20 Japanese traps →

Why lookalike words betray writers — and how linguists classify them — in the glossary entry on false cognates. The broader pattern they belong to is L1 interference.