Spanish-Portuguese False Friends to Keep an Eye Out For
Despite their shared Latin roots, Spanish and Portuguese aren’t perfect twins. Thousands of words appear similar, but some have diverged in meaning over time, becoming what linguists call “false friends.” These deceptive cognates look alike but carry different meanings.
Not all false friends are complete opposites though. Many retain shades of their original meaning and are used in distinct contexts.
Furthermore, a Portuguese word might have multiple meanings, with the less common one resembling (and misleadingly translating to) a dominant Spanish term. These, too, qualify as false friends.
Let’s explore some common examples of these tricky word pairs in Spanish and Portuguese.
Here’s an analogous read for English-Portuguese false friends: 50+ English-Portuguese False Friends to Keep an Eye Out For.
Common Spanish-Portuguese False Friends
Spanish | Portuguese | |
1 | acordarse recall; remember | acordar wake up |
2 | barata cockroach; cheap | barata cheap |
3 | cadera hip | cadeira chair |
4 | cena dinner | cena scene |
5 | embarazada embarrassed; ashamed | embaraçada pregnant |
6 | escoba broom | escova brush |
7 | escritorio desk | escritório office |
8 | exquisito | esquisito |
9 | largo long | largo large |
10 | oficina office | oficina workshop |
11 | polvo dust | polvo octopus |
12 | propina tip | propina tuition fee (pt-pt); bribery (pt-br)* |
13 | rato a little while | rato mouse |
14 | rojo red | roxo purple |
15 | rubio blond | ruivo redhead, ginger |
16 | traer bring | trair betray |
Olá! I'm Pedro and I'm your Portuguese teacher.
Learning European Portuguese? Portuguesepedia is an all-in-one platform providing a wealth of learning resources, from bite-sized video lessons to immersive idiomatic dips. Perfect your pronunciation and listening comprehension with listening drills and solidify your grammar with in-depth articles. Start your Portuguese journey today!
Share this article
Get my guide "Key Strategies to Learn Portuguese" for FREE.