Cognates and False Friends
Many words look or sound like words you already know, because languages borrow from each other and share ancestors. Some of those lookalikes mean something else entirely, so a resemblance is a first guess and not an answer.
What a learner can do afterwards
- Guess an unfamiliar word from its likeness to a known one, then check the guess against the sentence
- Give an example of a lookalike word that means something different in the two languages
- Say why a guess from a lookalike still needs checking
1 · Read
You have matched letters to sounds. Use the new language's sounds when reading a familiar-looking word. Cognates are words in different languages that come from the same earlier word. English animal and Spanish animal are an example. Cognates often look or sound alike, but their meanings can change over time.
False friends look or sound alike across languages but have different meanings. Spanish pan means bread. English pan can mean a cooking dish. The spelling matches, but using the English meaning would change what you understand. A shared word origin does not promise matching meanings today.
English bat can name a flying animal or a stick for hitting a ball. These are homonyms: words with the same spelling and sound but different meanings. Both are English words. False friends compare words across languages.
Make a guess, then read the whole sentence. A sentence about eating Spanish pan supports bread as the meaning. Context gives clues, but it may leave more than one meaning possible. Check a bilingual dictionary and choose a meaning that fits. If you are still unsure, read more or ask someone who knows the language.
After checking a word, record its language, meaning and a sentence that uses it. Include the language so you do not mix a false friend with the English word. Return to the note on another day and try using the word in your own sentence.
Cognates share a word origin. False friends have different meanings. Check a lookalike using its sentence and a dictionary or someone who knows the language.
Lesson, questions and flashcards written for this dataset.
Readings and flashcards written for this dataset. The readings use independently written explanations and examples, rather than adapted article text.
More to read
Which bat?
Read: 'I saw a bat.' Was it a flying animal or a stick for hitting a ball? This sentence leaves both meanings possible.
Now add: 'It spread its wings.' That clue points to the animal. A sentence about hitting a ball would point to the other meaning.
The two English words are homonyms. Their spelling and sound match, but their meanings differ. False friends compare words across languages instead. Spanish pan means bread, while English pan can mean a cooking dish.
Notice the language before choosing a meaning. Then use the passage and check any meaning you are unsure about.
Keep the language with the word
Imagine finding a note that says only 'pan'. You cannot tell whether the writer meant the Spanish word or the English word.
A fuller note could say: 'Spanish pan: bread.' Add a sentence showing how the word was used. Check the meaning before recording it.
When you return to the note, cover the meaning and try to recall it. Then uncover it and compare. If you mixed it up with an English cooking pan, correct the meaning in your practice sentence.
A note gives you something to check against. It does not have to be a long list.
When a dictionary gives several meanings
A bilingual dictionary helps you check a word in another language. Sometimes its entry gives several meanings. That does not mean every meaning fits your sentence.
Read the sentence again with each possible meaning. Keep the meanings that make sense and set aside those that do not.
If more than one still fits, look at the surrounding passage. Another sentence may give you a useful clue. You can also ask someone who knows the language.
Do not choose a meaning only because it appears first in the entry or resembles an English word. The meaning needs to fit how the word is being used.
A familiar spelling is a clue
English animal and Spanish animal come from the same earlier word. They are cognates. Their shared spelling can help you recognise the Spanish word, but you still read it using Spanish sounds.
Cognates are connected by word history. Their meanings can change, so a shared origin does not promise that every use will match.
False friends are words that resemble one another across languages but have different meanings. Spanish pan and English pan show the problem: one can mean bread and the other a cooking dish.
Use resemblance to suggest a meaning. Check that meaning against the sentence and a dictionary or someone who knows the language.
2 · Watch
En anglaisTake it off screen
Where it sits
Optional connections
This opens up
Where this leads
Jobs that lean on this skill. Follow one to see everything it is built on.
8 questions wait behind this lesson, each with its answer explained. Every answer feeds the sky: stars light as they are learned, and dim when it is time to come back.