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