Tuesday, March 2, 2010

False Friends (part 2)

Here are some more of those mean false friends!

1.Spanish largo vs English large
Spanish largo means long, while English large means grande or importante.

  • Tienes que medir el largo del pasillo. = You have to take measurements to find out how long the hall is.
  • I have a very large garden = Tengo un jardín muy grande.

2. real vs English real
Real means royal, while real translates as vervadero or auténtico.

  • La familia real vive en Madrid. = The royal family lives in Madrid.
  • You’re a real friend. = Eres una verdadera amiga.

3. raro vs rare
Raro usually means strange or odd, while English rare means poco común or excepcional.

  • Mi vecino tiene un perro muy raro. = My neighbour has a strange dog.
  • These stamps are very rare. = Estos sellos son excepcionales.

4. recordar vs record
Recordar means remember or recall, while record means grabar.

  • Tienes que recordar lo que me prometiste ayer. = You have to remember what you promised me yesterday.
  • You need to record that in the CD. = Tendrías que grabar esto en el CD.

5. suceso vs success
Suceso is an event, incident or outcome, while success refers to un éxito or triunfo.

  • El fatal suceso se comenta en todas partes. = The fatal incident was talked about everywhere.
  • Their latest work has been a success. = Su último trabajo ha sido un gran éxito.

And as I mentioned before this is just a small taste of all the false friends you can find out there in the English/Spanish world!

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