Posts under "False Friends"

When in Buenos Aires…

Posted by polyana No Comments
Mar 30 2011

I know some of you are thinking, “I knew Buenos Aires was the capital of Brazil!” (kidding!), but I speak of Buenos Aires, a spanish or castellano speaking city, because last week, I saw in the Folha de São Paulo, that there’s been a study where Buenos Aires has ousted Orlando as Brazilians’ favorite international destination. That’s right… 9 de julio is a bigger hotspot than Mickey Avenue for Brazilians.

There are obviously many factors as to why this is, from finding a cheaper Hotel in Buenos Aires (in pesos) vs a hotel in Orlando (in USD), to plain just being closer for most and therefore more accessible on a long weekend… but this is also one more reason for Brazilians to be even more careful with their portunhol.  And since I know many of you may be learning Portuguese after learning at least “some Spanish,” I figured this would be a good opportunity to go over some false friends between Portuguese and Spanish! Complete list here: Lista de falsos amigos.

Exquisita vs Esquisita

The pattern goes -

word: (P) Portuguese definition in English (S) Spanish definition in English

1. aborrecer : (P) to upset, to rile (S) to bore, to annoy.

Both are negative, but different kinds!

2. azar: (P) bad luck (S) accident.

An azar (S) can be an azar (P), but definitely aren’t the same thing.

3. boato: (P) rumor (S) ostentation.

If something’s a rumor, than someone has to have been ostentatious about it? No? Bueller?

4. cena: (P) a scene (S) dinner.

Imagine an Argentine inviting a Brazilian to a cena! Oi?!

5. doce: (P) sweets (S) twelve.

12 sweets please. Doce doces, por favor.

6. galo: (P) rooster (S) someone who’s French.

Confusing this would be awkward…

7. logo (P) means right away, or “now”, and luego (S), means in a while, or “then”

A Brazilian employee would probably considered pretty productive if he/she were to confuse this in Argentina…

8. rato: (P) a rat (S) time/a while

Nada a ver!!!

9. sucesso (P) means success and suceso (S) means an event!

Alright, alright… travelling to Argentina can be an event and a success!!

… And last, but certainly not least because this one gets me EVERY time -

10. taça (P) means a glass, as in a wine glass, and tasa (S) means a tax!

Imagine me in a restaurant in Argentina and the waiter insisting there is no tax on the wine glass…

Actually…

Posted by Transparent Language No Comments
Jul 7 2008

Actually is a false cognate that is often confused by both Portuguese speakers when using English and by English speakers when using Portuguese.

So, actually, the word “actually” in Portuguese would be em realidade or na verdade. For example:

 

Vamos ao cinema. Você quer ver esse filme de ação, né?

Na verdade, quero ver esse filme de romance.

Let’s go to the movies. You want to see that action movie, don’t you?

Actually, I want to see that romantic movie.

 

However, in Portuguese, atualmente, the literal translation of actually, means currently, lately or nowadays.

Atualmente estou trabalhando muito. I’ve been working a lot lately.

Atualmente ele é o gerente da loja. He’s currently the store manager.

Part II: Transitioning from Spanish to Portuguese

Posted by Transparent Language No Comments
Mar 10 2008

Today we’ll take a look at some more false cognates in Spanish and Portuguese, continuing with tips about how to transition from Spanish to Portuguese.

SPANISH                    ENGLISH                PORTUGUESE

barata                          sale                     promoção
cucaracha                   cockroach               barata

Examples:
Hay una barata en esa tienda. There’s a sale at that store. Tem uma promoção nessa loja.

borrar                      to erase                     apagar
manchar                  to stain/smear             borrar

Examples:
Borré el documento entero. I erased the whole document. Apaguei o documento todo.
Manchaste tu camisa. You stained your shirt. Borrou sua camisa.

cuello                       neck                      pescoço
conejo                      rabbit                    coelho

Examples:
Me puse el collar en el cuello. I put the necklace around my neck. Coloquei o colar no meu pescoço.

propina                    tip                        gorjeta
soborno                   bribe                     propina

Example:
Dejaste una propina para el mesero? Did you leave the waiter a tip? Deixou uma gorjeta para o garçom?

And now for the false cognates to end all false cognates.
oficina                      office                                       escritório
taller                        workshop/repairs shop               oficina
escritorio                  desk                                         secretário           
                   

Example:
Estoy en la oficina. I’m at the office. Estou no escritório.
Llevaron el coche al taller. They brought the car into the repairs shop. Levaram o carro à oficina.
Dejé la propuesta en mi escritorio. I left the proposal on my desk. Deixei a proposta no secretário.

Part I: Transitioning from Spanish to Portuguese

Posted by Transparent Language 4 Comments
Mar 6 2008

Learning Portuguese is considerably easier if you have a background in Spanish, since much of the grammar and even the vocabulary is similar. However, here are some of the pitfalls of transitioning from Spanish to Portuguese.

SPANISH                   ENGLISH                PORTUGUESE

practicar                   practice                    treinar*

Example:

Tengo que practicar el inglés antes de que yo vaya para Inglaterra.
I have to practice English before I go to England.

Tenho que treinar o inglês antes de ir para Inglaterra.

*praticar does exist, but it means to do something over and over again. It’s better to use treinar.

cruzar*                      cross                       atrevessar

Example:
Vamos a cruzar la calle.
Let’s cross the street.
Vamos atrevessar a rua.

*cruzar, in some contexts in Portuguese, means streets or lines that cross; in others, it means “to have relations with”

acordarse               to remember               lembrar-se
despertarse             to wake up                 acordar

Example:

Me acuerdo bien de mi niñez.
I remember my childhood well.
Me lembro bem da minha infância.

Me despierto a las siete todos los dias.
I get up at 7 every day.
Acordo às sete todo dia.

apellido                       last name                sobrenome
apodo                          nickname                 apelido

Example:
Nuestro apellido es Sánchez.
Our last name is Sánchez.
Nosso sobrenome é

Sánchez.

No tengo apodo.
I don’t have a nickname.
Não tenho apelido.

exquisito                   delicious                delicioso
extraño                      weird                     esquisito

Example:
El pollo está

exquisito.
The chicken is delicious.
O frango é delicioso.

Ese muchacho es un poco extraño.
That boy is a little weird.
Esse garoto é

um pouco esquisito.

Obrigado

Posted by Transparent Language 46 Comments
Nov 7 2007


Obrigado means thank you in Portuguese.

The first word many people learn in Portuguese, obrigado is certainly extremely useful.

Since the word is the past participle of the verb obrigar, it is necessary to use the appropriate gender of the word. Males should say obrigado and females ought to use obrigada. As one might imagine, this is a common mistake among beginner Portuguese learners.

Some have speculated that the word obrigado is cognate with the Japanese word for thank you, arigatou (gozaimasu). I’ve heard this one a lot; let me save you a lot of hassle and debate: there is no such connection, though some insist that there is. As I understand it, the coincidence is really amazing; beyond sounding exactly alike, and being commonly used for the same purpose, arigatou and obrigado have even another level of commonality. Arigatou “…is based on two
Chinese characters, one meaning “difficult” and the other “to be”. In other words, I’m so indebted to you, I’m having a hard time even existing over here…” [source].

Given that obrigado literally means ‘I am obligated [to you],’ the coincidence is really spooky. One word derives from Latin (obligare) and the other from ancient Japanese, and yet the two words sound almost the same, literally mean close to the same thing which in both cases is different from the common usage of the word, which is the same for both words. Wow.

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