📖LearnModule 14 · Lesson 21 of 30Proficient User · CEFR C2, continuedUnit 5 · El matiz
Los falsos amigos
Module 14 of the free Spanish course (CEFR C2, continued), lesson 21 of 30: The dangerous false friends are the ones that almost work. On this page: 10 words with their genders and respellings, the rule, a watch-out line and the audio — the study notes behind the workbook's QR.
The words
Spanish
English
Say it
actualmente
currently
ahk-twahl-MEHN-teh
sensible
sensitive
sehn-SEE-bleh
asistir a
to attend
ah-sees-TEER ah
embarazada
pregnant
ehm-bah-rah-SAH-dah
constipado
having a cold
kohns-tee-PAH-doh
la carpeta
the folder
lah kar-PEH-tah
eventualmente
possibly (Spain); eventually (the Americas)
eh-behn-twahl-MEHN-teh
el falso amigo
the false friend (word)
ehl FAHL-soh ah-MEE-goh
la discusión
the argument (quarrel)
lah dees-koo-SYOHN
mal traducido
mistranslated
mahl trah-doo-SEE-doh
Respellings follow the course’s say-it key; the stressed syllable is in capitals. Print this lesson’s flashcards (PDF) — the words on the front, the English and respelling on the back.
La regla · The rule
The dangerous false friends are the ones that almost work. Actualmente is currently. Sensible is sensitive. Asistir a is to attend. Embarazada is pregnant. Constipado is having a cold. La carpeta is a folder.
Y también · And also
Eventualmente is the trap that moves: in Spain it means possibly; in much of Latin America it now means eventually too, so read the country before you read the word. And pretender, from Module 2, is still to claim.
Ojo · Watch out
embarazada is pregnant, never embarrassed (that is avergonzada); constipado is having a cold; la carpeta is a folder, not a carpet. asistir a is to attend; to assist is ayudar.
Do it now — on paper
Say all 10 words aloud twice from the respelling, then once from the Spanish spelling alone — begin with actualmente.
Copy every word with its accents on paper; then cover the English column and write each meaning back from the Spanish.
Write two sentences of your own that get the watch-out line right, then the two practice pages of workbook lesson 21 in Module 14 are the written half of this page.
This free course is the reading half. The writing half — write-in lessons, daily practice pages with built-in review, self-checks and a full answer key — is the companion workbook series, The Spanish Ladder: one workbook per module, fifteen in all, released band by band with the Basic band (Modules 1–5) first.
Keep these words
Turn this lesson’s words into flashcards, then space your reviews — the two habits the research behind our study guides backs hardest.