Explanation of "false cognates"

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Marianopolita

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False cognates are Spanish words that look like the English word (or vice versa) but do not have the same meaning. It was mentioned in one the threads and I thought it might be beneficial to expand a bit for those who did not understand the term. My advice is never to assume the meaning when in doubt "look it up". I will start off with ten words and please feel free to add to the list. Here are some common false cognates:

1) Librer?a= book store (not library). Library in Spanish is "biblioteca".

2) Sensible= sensitive (not sensible). Sensible in Spanish is "sensato".

3) Copia= copy (as in a photocopy of something). A ?copy? of book or magazine in Spanish is "ejemplar".

4) Gol =goal (for sports). Goal (as in objective) in Spanish is "meta". (I have heard people say "este a?o tengo muchos goles").

5) Efectivo= cash money (not effective or efficient). Effective in Spanish is "eficaz". (This is a common error as well).

6) Cualidad= quality (as in characteristics of a person) Calidad = quality of goods or products.

7) Molestar= to bother someone and not "molest" with the English meaning.

8) Largo= long (not large). Large in Spanish is "grande" (This is a common error as well).

9) Avisar = to let some one know (not advise). To give advice is the verb "aconsejar".

10) Realizar= to accomplish something (not realize). To realize is the verb "darse cuenta".


LDG.
 

gatoazul

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Colegio y college

Another one (I believe) would be Colegio:

Colegio = mostly used to mean private school in DR and for professionals' associations (as "colegio de abogados"). It doesn't mean the similar 'College' that means 'University'.
 

Hillbilly

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Pretty good examples, however I think that

"efectivo" might not be quite so false.

Used as an adjective it imeans effective or real or actual..

Efectivamente, does not mean lots of cash.:p

I do believe you can use it as in: "?l es muy efectivo en su trabajo." Or "El resultado efectivo fue un disastre."

But I am not a Spanish guru..

HB :p
 

Marianopolita

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Hillbilly,

I understand your point but as a noun "efectivo" means "cash" and in my example I was referring to the "noun" not the adjective.


LDG.

Hillbilly said:
"efectivo" might not be quite so false.

Used as an adjective it imeans effective or real or actual..

Efectivamente, does not mean lots of cash.:p

I do believe you can use it as in: "?l es muy efectivo en su trabajo." Or "El resultado efectivo fue un disastre."

But I am not a Spanish guru..

HB :p
 
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Marianopolita

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Gatoazul,

I agree with your example.


LDG.

gatoazul said:
Another one (I believe) would be Colegio:

Colegio = mostly used to mean private school in DR and for professionals' associations (as "colegio de abogados"). It doesn't mean the similar 'College' that means 'University'.
 

La Profe_1

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There are many others. I have a list with my English class materials. Two that I recall that are not listed are:

embarazada which is pregnant - not embarrased

preservativo which is a condom - not preservative
 

Chirimoya

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ooh, can I play?

I love these. I compiled a list similar to this when I was teaching someone English last year. I've taken out the ones already mentioned.

1. Asistir means to attend. Asisto a la oficina cada d?a, I go to the office daily. To say "to assist," use ayudar, to help.

2. Atender: Means to serve or to take care of, to attend to. If you're talking about attending a meeting or a class, use asistir.

3. Carpeta means a file folder (including the virtual kind) or a briefcase. "Carpet" is most often alfombra.

4. Compromiso means a promise, obligation, or commitment, it does not usually convey the sense that one have given up something to reach an agreement. There is no good noun equivalent of "compromise" that would be understood that way out of context, although the verb transigir conveys the sense of giving in to, yielding to, or tolerating another person.

5. Constipado: Una constipaci?n, though not very common, is one of the words that means a cold. Someone who is constipated is estre?ido.

6. Contestar: It's a very common verb meaning to answer. To contest something, use contender. A contest or a competition is concurso.

7. Decepci?n, decepcionar means disappointment or to disappoint. To deceive someone is to enga?ar a algui?n.

8. Delito: There's seldom much delightful about a crime. (Delito usually refers to a minor crime, as contrasted with a serious crime or crimen.)

9. Desgracia: In Spanish, this is little more than a mistake or misfortune. Something shameful is una verg?enza.

10. Disgusto: Derived from the prefix dis- (meaning "not") and the root word gusto (meaning "pleasure"), this word refers simply to displeasure or misfortune. If you need to use a much stronger term akin to "disgust," use asco or repugnancia.

11. Etiqueta is a label, not a ticket.

12. ?xito: It's a hit or a success. If you're looking for the way out, look for una salida.

13. F?brica: That's a place where they fabricate items, namely a factory. Words for "cloth" include tejido and tela. n.b. in the DR Factoria is used for rice mill.

14. Introducir: This isn't truly a false cognate, for it can be translated as, among other things, to introduce in the sense of to bring in, to begin, to put, or to place. For example, se introdujo la ley en 1998, the law was introduced (put in effect) in 1998. But it's not the verb to use to introduce someone. Use presentar.

15. Pretender: The Spanish verb doesn't have anything to do with faking it, only to try. To pretend, use fingir or simular.

16. Realizar, realizac?n: The verb can be used flexibly to indicate something becoming real or becoming completed: Se realiz? el rascacielos, the skyscraper was built. To realize as a mental event can be translated using darse cuenta ("to realize"), comprender ("to understand") or saber ("to know"), among other possibilities, depending on the context.

17. Reclamar: to complain.

18. Recordar means to remember or to remind. The verb to use when recording something depends on what you're recording. Possibilities include anotar or tomar nota for writing something down, or grabar for making an audio or video recording.

19. Sano means healthy. Someone who is sane is en su juicio or "in his right mind."

20. Suceso: Merely an event or happening, sometimes a crime. A success is un ?xito.

Adapted from Spanish teaching websites like spanish.about.com
 

Marianopolita

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Chirimoya

Nice list. Some of the false cognates made me laugh. I don't know if you have ever been to Miami but whenever I go I hear examples of the words you gave used incorrectly of course. A common error from your list is "carpeta". I give up. There is no hope. Also certain phrases that are a literal translation from English to Spanish have become acceptable. For example "Have a nice day" in Spanish spoken in the USA. Take a wild guess.


LDG.
 
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andrea9k

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What about notorio and notorious... have just fallen here!

notorio = noticeable, evident. Notorious stands for dishonorable, or bad reputation...

Shame on me!

Jess.
 

Chirimoya

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Lesley D said:
Nice list. Some of the false cognates made me laugh. I don't if you have ever been to Miami but whenever I go I hear examples of the words you gave used incorrectly of course. A common error from your list is "carpeta". I give up. There is no hope. Also certain phrases that are a literal translation from English to Spanish have become acceptable. For example "Have a nice day" in Spanish spoken in the USA. Take a wild guess.


LDG.

I've only been to the airport in Miami but I felt 'at home' in that when I addressed people in English I got that same vibe, also common in my home town: they think you're being 'comparona' by not speaking Spanish.

No surprise then that no one wished me a nice day. :cry: How is it said?
 

juancarlos

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I don't know in Miami since I've never lived there- even though I'm Cuban- but here in California I hear people say- Que tenga un buen dia. Is that right or wrong? I would say: Que le vaya bien. Although it does not sound right either. Lesley, what is the proper way to wish someone a nice day in Spanish?
 

Marianopolita

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Chirimoya y Juancarlos

I love Miami and Spanish definitely rules there. However, there is a big difference in the generations of speakers for obvious reasons. I was there on vacation last month for a week and I made many mental observations of phrases and words that were said which were obvious parallels of the English expressions and sometimes an English word turned into a Spanish one like ?carpeta" but resulting in a ?false cognate? however still used even though the true meaning is different.

Juancarlos- ?Que tenga un buen d?a? is what is called a ?calque?. It is a loan translation from one language to another. ?Que le vaya bien? is the standard phrase in Spanish for ?Have a nice day? or common in South America is ?Que le vaya bonito?. However the SA usage is very colloquial.

BTW ?Que tenga un buen d?a? es lo que se dice en Miami tambi?n.


Def. of ?calque? - a compound, derivative, or phrase that is introduced into a language through translation of the constituents of a term in another language.

- the etymology of ?calque?: French, literally, copy, from calquer to trace.


LDG.
 
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Marianopolita

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Chiri,

What I meant was the way how they say "have a nice day" in Miami. Forget about speaking English there. Leave it on the plane. If you go to any Spanish establishment people will speak to you in Spanish in Miami. I tested my theory by speaking English in the stores that I went to and everyone answered me in Spanish. Once again it made me laugh. I gave up after one day.


LDG.

Chirimoya said:
I've only been to the airport in Miami but I felt 'at home' in that when I addressed people in English I got that same vibe, also common in my home town: they think you're being 'comparona' by not speaking Spanish.

No surprise then that no one wished me a nice day. :cry: How is it said?
 

juancarlos

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So, Lesley, I was right after all. It's just that I have gotten so used to hearing " que tenga un buen dia", which I know it always sounded strange, that I was no longer sure about " que le vaya bien", which is what I would usually say.

Of course, this is also used sometimes, and depending on the tone in which it is said, to mean "I wish you good luck" or " I wish him good luck", but taking for granted that you are going to find a lot of difficulties in whatever it is you are trying to do. Or another way of saying, ok go ahead, pero no te arriendo las ganancias.

At other times, it is said to or about someone you really don't want to see again. Que le vaya bien, but implying ' stay away, I hope you never come back".
 

Hillbilly

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Chiri: A lesson from the

Dominican countryside

recordar ?A qu? hora se record? el ni?o? = What time did the baby wake up?

There are lots of these...hehehe:p:p

HB
 

Stodgord

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Lesley D said:
I love Miami and Spanish definitely rules there. However, there is a big difference in the generations of speakers for obvious reasons. I was there on vacation last month for a week and I made many mental observations of phrases and words that were said which were obvious parallels of the English expressions and sometimes an English word turned into a Spanish one like ?carpeta" but resulting in a ?false cognate? however still used even though the true meaning is different.

Juancarlos- ?Que tenga un buen d?a? is what is called a ?calque?. It is a loan translation from one language to another. ?Que le vaya bien? is the standard phrase in Spanish for ?Have a nice day? or common in South America is ?Que le vaya bonito?. However the SA usage is very colloquial.

BTW ?Que tenga un buen d?a? es lo que se dice en Miami tambi?n.



Def. of ?calque? - a compound, derivative, or phrase that is introduced into a language through translation of the constituents of a term in another language.

- the etymology of ?calque?: French, literally, copy, from calquer to trace.


LDG.


Lesley,

Is "que pase un buen dia" correct, or is that the same as "que tenga un buen dia"?
 

Marianopolita

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Juancarlos and Stodgord

Juancarlos,

Thanks for your elaborations on the meanings/ connotations of "que le vaya bien". I agree the usage and meaning depend on the situation.


Stodgord,

In my opinion "que pase un buen d?a" is just a variation of "que tenga un buen d?a". Grammatically speaking the phrase is correct however, it is still a calque of the English phrase as I explained in my previous post #13.


LDG.
 
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Chirimoya

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Some more I came across

Quieto, in Spanish, is not "quiet" but "still, unmoving" (the opposite of "inquieto", "restless").

Profundo usually means "deep", rather than "profound".

Fastidioso is "bothersome", not "fastidious"

Soportar is not "to support", but to "suffer" or "tolerate" something.

Pretender doesn't mean "to pretend", but to "try" or "aspire to".

Actualmente is "currently", not "actually", and "actualidad" is "news".

Lectura is the act of "reading", not a "lecture".

Recordar is not to "record", but to "remember".

Ilusi?n can be "illusion", as in "optical illusion", but is more often used to describe a state of mind: optimism, excitement, eagerness.

Regular does not always mean "regular". More often than not, it means "not so good" or "so-so". Speaking of which...

Soso, applied to food, means "bland", "lacking in salt".

Simp?tico is "friendly" or "charming", but not necessarily "sympathetic".

Oscuro is "dark", not "obscure".

Pariente is not just a "parent", but any relative.

Informal, when used to describe a person, means he is "unreliable", not that he is casually dressed.

Argumento is Spanish for a "argument" to prove a theory, or "plot" as in a movie plot, but not an argument between two people.

Discusi?n is an "argument" (usually a loud one), not a "discussion".

Rendici?n means "surrender", not "rendition"

Rape, which has led to many an inspired menu translation, refers to "monkfish" or "anglerfish".
 

mariel

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Lesley D said:
1) Librería= book store (not library). Library in Spanish is "biblioteca".

i make this mistake a LOT (but i correct it very quickly)

La Profe_1 said:
preservativo which is a condom - not preservative
can't "preservativo" be translated as "preservative" in the sense of the chemical preservatives in food?

another thing: what would be the translation of "efectivo" as in "el acuerdo es efectivo a partir del15 de octubre"?

how do you translate "false cognate" to spanish?
 
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