False friends: son palabras que se parecen (escritas o pronunciadas) a palabras de otro idioma pero que tienen distinto significado. Por eso decimos que son nuestros “falsos amigos” ya que nos pueden llevar a confusiones y “engaños”.
Dos de las más conocidas son:
To be constipated (estar estreñido), en español pensaríamos que la traducción es “estar constipado” (¡¡muy lejos de la realidad!!)
“I’ve been constipated for three days so I am going to have a couple of Activia yoghurts”
To be embarrassed (estar avergonzado), y no estar embarazada.
“I acted like a fool at the party, I feel so embarrassed now!”
More false friends:
Actually: realmente
“ I’ve lived in Spain nearly all my life but actually I was born in Scotland”
Eventually: finalmente, después de un largo periodo de tiempo.
She refused to go out with me but I insisted and eventually she agreed.
Argument: discusión, pelea
“My children are always having arguments at lunchtime”
Sensible: sensato
“Despite of being so young, he is a really sensible guy”
Sensitive: sensible
“She is too sensitive, she is always crying!”
To realize: darse cuenta de algo
“When I realized the time it was too late”
Ahora veamos cómo se dicen las siguientes palabras en inglés:
Estar constipado: to have a cold
“I have a cold, so I am afraid I can’t go for a swim today”
Estar embarazada: to be pregnant
“A lot of my friends are pregnant right now”
Actualmente: currently/ nowadays/at the moment/now/at present
“I’m currently working as an English teacher”
“Nowadays it is difficult to find a good job”
Eventualmente: possibly
“I could possibly go to visit you”
Argumento: plot
“I loved the plot of that scary film”
Realizar: to make
“The theatre group made an outstanding performance”
“I’m going to make a phone call as soon as we finish”
(More false friends coming soon!!)
