🤔 False Cognates Guide
False friends are words that look or sound similar between languages but have different meanings. They're one of the most common sources of language-learning mistakes — and sometimes embarrassing ones.
What Are False Cognates?
False cognates (also called "false friends" or faux amis in French) are words in two languages that look or sound similar but have different meanings. They often share a common etymological root but diverged in meaning over centuries.
The classic example: Spanish embarazada looks like "embarrassed" but actually means "pregnant." Saying "Estoy embarazada" when you mean "I'm embarrassed" can cause significant confusion!