English Words in Spanish: False Friends and Cognates Free Flashcards

Some English words slip into Spanish looking like helpful little friends – until they trip you up. Embarazada doesn’t mean embarrassed, and actualmente doesn’t mean actually. These are false friends, and they love to mess with your confidence just when you think you’re getting the hang of things. But here’s the good news: once you know the tricksters, they’re easy to avoid.

This list rounds up around 80 of the most common English words that have sneaky Spanish lookalikes – plus the cognates that genuinely mean what you’d expect. Each entry gives you a clear meaning and a natural example sentence, so you see exactly how the word behaves in real Spanish, not some dusty textbook line.

Hola, language detectives — this list is packed with tricky look-alikes, sneaky meanings, and a few easy wins, so scroll to the bottom to grab the free printable English words in Spanish false friends vocabulary list PDF and the free downloadable printable English words in Spanish false friends flashcards.

Want more than one list? Browse our Spanish section for more Yak Yacker study pages, printable lists, and quiz-friendly review material.

Quick Quiz

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Browse the Full List

Word	Meaning	Example
El freelance	el ˈfɾi.lans	freelancer
El fútbol	el ˈfut.βol	football, soccer
El hardware	el ˈaɾd.wer	hardware
El hit	el ˈit	hit (song)
El hockey	el ˈxo.kej	hockey
El internet	el inteɾˈnet	internet
El jacuzzi	el xaˈku.si	jacuzzi, hot tub
El jazz	el ˈjas	jazz
El lead	el ˈlid	lead (sales)
El link	el ˈliŋk	link (URL)
El look	el ˈluk	look, style
El mail	el ˈmejl	email (short form)
El mall (LatAm)	el ˈmal	mall, shopping center
El manager / mánager	el ˈma.na.xeɾ	manager
El marketing	el ˈmaɾ.ke.tiŋ	marketing
El meeting / mitin	el ˈmi.tin	meeting
El outfit	el ˈaut.fit	outfit
El parking / párking	el ˈpaɾ.kiŋ	parking lot
El pitch	el ˈpitʃ	pitch, sales presentation
El pop	el ˈpop	pop (music)
El pub	el ˈpab	pub
El reality	el reˈa.li.ti	reality show
El rock	el ˈrok	rock (music)
El selfie / la selfie	el ˈsel.fi / la ˈsel.fi	selfie
El show	el ˈʃou / el ˈtʃou	show

Free English Words in Spanish False Friends Vocabulary List and Flashcards

You can download the English words in Spanish false friends vocabulary list with the purple vocab-list button, and the English words in Spanish false friends flashcards with the teal flashcards button. Both are 100% free with no signup.