PT-ES false friends: words that look the same but aren't

"Embarazada" doesn't mean embarrassed in Spanish. Discover the 30 most common false friends between Portuguese and Spanish and avoid awkward situations.

You've been in Spain for six months, you communicate well in Spanish, but every now and then a word slips out and the person on the other side makes a strange face. Or you understand what someone said, but the context makes no sense at all. The culprit is likely a false friend — those words that sound the same in both languages but mean completely different things.

What are false friends?

In linguistics, "false cognates" are words in two languages that have a similar form but distinct meanings. Because Portuguese and Spanish are sister languages derived from Latin, they have a huge number of these treacherous pairs.

The similarity creates a false sense of security: you understand 70% of what you read in Spanish without having studied it at all. But it is precisely the 30% that look the same — and are not — that cause the most embarrassing misunderstandings.

The false friends that cause the most confusion

Embarazada × Embaraçada

This is the most dangerous one. In Portuguese, "embaraçada" means embarrassed or in a complicated situation. In Spanish, embarazada means pregnant.

Saying "estou embaraçada" in Spanish is announcing a pregnancy. And embarazo isn't embarrassment — it's pregnancy.

Borracha × Borracha

In Portuguese, borracha is an eraser or the elastic material (latex, rubber). In Spanish, borracha means drunk (feminine of borracho).

Asking for a "borracha" at a Spanish stationery store will cause confusion. What you want is a goma de borrar.

Exquisito × Esquisito

In Spanish, exquisito means delicious, refined, of high quality. In Portuguese, "esquisito" means strange, eccentric, or suspicious.

An exquisito restaurant in Madrid is an excellent restaurant. "Esquisita" food in Brazil is something you are wary of.

Polvo × Polvo

In Portuguese, polvo is an octopus. In Spanish, polvo means dust — and it is also vulgar slang for sexual intercourse.

"Tem polvo aqui?" in Spanish is not asking about the animal.

Constipado × Constipado

In Portuguese (especially European), "estar constipado" means to have a cold. In European Spanish, constipado can indicate constipation. In a doctor's office, say resfriado or catarro to avoid confusion.

Escritório × Escritorio

In Spanish, escritorio is the desk you work at. What we call an escritório — the room where you work — is called oficina or despacho in Spanish.

"Estou no escritório" becomes Estoy en la oficina.

Polegar × Pulgar

In Portuguese, polegar. In Spanish, pulgar. There is no direct equivalent for "polegar" in Spanish — it's just a difference in form. But largo, which you might intuit as "wide," means long in Spanish. And ancho is wide.

Vaso × Vaso

Here, both languages use the same word, but with different emphases. In Spanish, vaso is primarily a drinking glass. The plant pot that you know as vaso in Portuguese is maceta in Spanish.

Quick reference table

Spanish Word	Meaning in ES	Confused with PT
embarazada	pregnant	embarrassed
borracha	drunk	eraser/rubber
exquisito	delicious	strange/weird
polvo	dust / (sexual slang)	octopus
constipado	can mean = constipation	cold
escritorio	desk	office (room)
largo	long	wide
vaso	drinking glass	plant pot
oficina	office (room)	auto repair shop
embarazo	pregnancy	embarrassment
coger	to take/grab (neutral in ES)	sexual connotation in BR
tortilla	omelet (in Spain)	corn tortilla
piso	apartment	floor/story
bicho	animal/insect	same as PT
enfermo	sick	no direct equivalent

The special case of "coger"

In Spain, coger is an absolutely neutral and everyday verb: coger el autobús (take the bus), coge una silla (take a chair). It is probably the most used verb in Peninsular Spanish.

In Latin American Spanish — and therefore in the intuition of Brazilians — coger has an explicit sexual connotation. Use it freely in Spain. In mixed contexts with Latin Americans, prefer agarrar or tomar.

Tortilla: two countries, two dishes

In Spain, tortilla is almost always the tortilla española — a thick potato and egg omelet. The corn tortilla you know from Mexican and Central American cuisine is called tortilla de maíz to distinguish it.

If you order a tortilla at a Spanish restaurant, you will get an egg and potato dish, not a wrap.

False friends in numbers and measurements

• Billón in Spanish = trillion in Portuguese (10¹²). It is not a billion.
• Millar = one thousand units. It is not a million.
• Siglo = century. "El siglo XXI" = the 21st century.

How to avoid awkwardness

1. Be wary of the obvious — if a word sounds identical, confirm it before using it in a formal situation.
2. Write down those that catch you — list the false friends that have actually caused you confusion.
3. Use context — many false friends become obvious through the context of the sentence.
4. Ask — Spaniards are used to foreigners and won't judge you for asking for confirmation.

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