Falsos Amigos: False Spanish Cognates you should avoid like the plague
“Falsos amigos”, or literally, “false friends” (also referred to as “false cognates”), are words which sound like they mean the same thing in English as in Spanish. This is the case with true cognates, such as horrible, which does in fact mean “horrible”. However, does carpeta really mean “carpet”, and is it a good idea to say that you are “embarazada” if you feel embarrassed? Read on to find out the top “falsos” amigos that you should avoid like the plague!
5 inspiring polyglots share their language learning secrets
In recent years, there have surfaced a number of “hyper-polyglots” – people who can speak a large number of languages – on YouTube and other social media. There are plenty of videos of these guys speaking 8 different languages in one conversation. Pretty impressive, I’m sure you’ll agree. Fortunately for us, they are also very forthcoming with their advice about how to learn languages.
Spanish Phrases for Tourists
So you’re off to a Spanish speaking country? Lucky you! Make sure you pack some sun-cream, plenty of towels, and our guide to Spanish phrases for tourists! We’ve no idea what you’ll be doing of course, but hopefully you can find a use for our fine collection of phrases below.
Why I won’t be using CatAcademy
From the folks at Memrise comes a new Spanish learning app, CatAcademy. With the tagline “Helping humans to be less dumb”, CatAcademy uses the ever-popular cute cat meme to illustrate a range of Spanish phrases, using visual mnemonics to aid memorisation of vocabulary. I know it’s a bit of fun, but to me it perfectly illustrates a depressing slide to the lowest common denominator.
Funny Spanish Phrases and insults
Raise a smile with your Spanish speaking friends with this collection of funny Spanish sayings
Un poema para mi hermana
Hoy quiero contarles el motivo de mi ausencia en cumbiambera. He iniciado una maestrÃa en Derecho Internacional Comparado, aquà en la costosa ciudad de Londres, pero gracias al apoyo de mi familia, mis amigos y desde luego de Rob he podido iniciar este proyecto que habÃa trazado desde que obtuve mi diploma como abogada en Colombia.
