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.
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 |
