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Spanish English Cognates Flash Cards

Sunday, September 2nd, 2012

Teaming up with Luz B. Gallego, we published our first Kindle book: Spanish English Cognates Flash Cards.

In this book we included 1,500 pairs of essential Spanish English cognates. The cognates are presented in flash cards format. An alphabetical list of the cognates were also provided at the later part of the book. You can order your own copy here


Purchase “Spanish-English Cognates Flash Cards” (Kindle Edition) from Amazon

Posted in Bing Recommends, Intermediate Spanish, Spanish Vocabulary | Comments Off

Opposite Spanish Words

Thursday, August 23rd, 2012

We collected about 50 pairs of opposite Spanish words. This list is free for download.

Spanish English Spanish English
largo long corto short
verdadero true falso false
todo everything nada nothing
cerca close lejos far
ancho wide estrecho narrow
alto tall bajo short
gordo fat, obese delgado thin, skinny
listo smart tonto dumb
izquierda left derecho right
temprano early tarde late
rápido fast despacio slow
difícil difficult fácil easy
duro hard suave soft
subir to go up bajar to go down
guapo good looking feo ugly
interesante interesting aburrido boring
buen, bueno good mal, malo bad
mejor better peor worse
negro black blanco white
fuerte strong débil weak
siempre always nunca never
simpático pleasant, nice antipático unpleasant, not nice
ganar to win perder (e/ie) to lose
despierto awake dormido asleep
abierto open, opened cerrado closed
cubierto covered descubierto uncovered
grande big (size) pequeño small (size)
caliente hot frío cold
mucho a lot, much poco small (amount)
inicio start fin end
empieza begins termina ends
exacto right equivocado wrong
vacío empty lleno full
presente present pasado(a) past
dentro in fuera out
claridad light oscuro dark
rico rich pobre poor
barato cheap caro expensive
saludable well (healthy) indispuesto sick, unhealthy
arrancar start parar stop
ligero light pesado heavy
alegre happy triste sad
valiente brave cobarde cowardly
hacia adelante forward hacia atrás backward
perdido lost encontrado found
joven young viejo old
menor younger mayor older
mojado wet seco dry
limpio clean sucio dirty
amor love odio hate
más more menos less
aparecer appear desaparecer disappear
escrito written hablado spoken
nuevo new usado used
paz peace guerra war

Where to go next?


  1. PDF download:
    Opposite Spanish Words

  2. Common Spanish-English Cognates

  3. Common Spanish Adjectives

  4. Common Spanish Nouns

  5. Recommened Learn Spanish Resources

Posted in Beginning Spanish, Spanish Vocabulary | Comments Off

Spanish Words for Weather

Friday, August 17th, 2012

People talk about weather all the time. Thus to build up your Spanish vocabulary, it is important to
learn these Spanish words that are related to weather.



altamente highly
atmósfera atmosphere
aviso advisory
brisa breeze
calor hot
centímetro centimeter
chaparrón downpour
chubasco squall, downpour
ciclón cyclone
clima climate
desconocido unknown
disperso scattered
despejado cloudless, clear
escarcha frost
este east
fresco cool
frío cold
granizada hailstorm
granizo hail, sleet
huracán hurricane
inundación flood
kilómetro kilometer
humedad humidity
leve light
llover to rain (v.)
lluvia rain
mapa map
mayormente mostly
metro meter
milla mile
mínimo minimum
neblina fog
nevada snowfall
nevar to snow (v.)
niebla fog
nieve snow
norte north
nube cloud
nublado cloudy
occidente west
oeste west
oriente east
parcialmente partly
pie foot
poniente west
posibilidad possibility
precipitación precipitation
presión air pressure
pronóstico forecast
pulgada inch
rocío dew
satélite satellite
sol sun
soleado sunny
sur south
temperatura temperature
tempestad (thunder) storm
terremoto earthquake
tiempo weather, time
tormenta storm
trueno thunder
ventisca snowstorm
visibilidad visibility
viento wind
vientos helados wind chill

Where to go next?


  1. PDF download:
    Spanish Words for Weather

  2. Common Spanish-English Cognates

  3. Common Spanish Adjectives

  4. Common Spanish Nouns

  5. Recommened Learn Spanish Resources

Posted in Beginning Spanish, Spanish Vocabulary | Comments Off

Spanish Words for Animals

Saturday, August 11th, 2012

The following list gives the common Spanish words for animals. This list, together with other lists,
hopefully can help you build up your Spanish vocabulary.

la abeja bee
el águila eagle
la araña spider
la ardilla squirrel
el arenque herring
el atún tuna
el avestruz ostrich
la avispa wasp
la ballena whale
el bisonte bison
el bogavante lobster
el búfalo buffalo
el búho owl
el burro donkey
el buey ox
el caballo horse
la cabra goat
el calamar squid
el camello camel
el cangrejo crayfish, crab
el canguro kangaroo
el caracol snail
la carpa carp
el castor beaver
la cebra zebra
el cerdo pig
el ciervo deer, stag
el ciervo volante stag beetle
el cisne swan
el cocodrilo crocodile
el cochinillo piglet
el colibri hummingbird
el conejo rabbit
la cucaracha cockroach
el cuervo raven
el chimpancé chimpanzee
el delfín dolphin
el elefante elephant
el erizo hedgehog
el escorpión scorpion
el faisán pheasant
la foca seal
la gallina hen
el gallo cock, rooster
el ganado livestock
el gato cat
la gaviota gull, seagull
el gorila gorilla
el grillo cricket
el gusano worm
el halcón falcon
el hámster hamster
la hiena hyena
el hipopótamo hippo
la hormiga ant
el insecto insect
el jaguar jaguar
la jirafa giraffe
el lagarto lizard
la langosta locust
el león lion
el lobo wolf
el loro parrot
el mapache raccoon
la mariposa butterfly
la medusa jellyfish, medusa
el mono monkey
la mosca fly
el mosquito gnat, mosquito
el murciélago bat
la nutria otter
la oca goose
la onza cheetah
el oso bear
el oso polar polar bear
la ostra oyster
la oveja sheep
el pájaro bird
el paajarito little bird
la paloma dove
la panda panda
la pantera panther
el pato duck
el pavo turkey
el pavón peacock
el pelícano pelican
el perro dog
el pez fish
el pingüino penguin
el pulpo octopus
el pollo chicken
la rana frog
la rata rat
el ratón mouse
el renacuajo tadpole
el rinoceronte rhino, rhinoceros
el ruiseñor nightingale
el salmón salmon
el sapo toad
la serpiente snake
el ternero calf
el tiburón shark
el tigre tiger
el topo mole
el toro bull
la tortuga turtle
la trucha trout
la vaca cow
la víbora viper
el zorro fox

Where to go next?


  1. PDF download:
    Spanish Words for Animals

  2. Common Spanish-English Cognates

  3. Common Spanish Adjectives

  4. Common Spanish Nouns

  5. Recommened Learn Spanish Resources

Posted in Spanish Vocabulary | Comments Off

False Spanish English Cognates

Saturday, October 25th, 2008
The convertible words between Spanish and English are called “cognates“. These Spanish English cognates usually have the same roots. The Spanish English cognates are a hidden gem for English speakers who are learning Spanish (or for Spanish speakers who are learning English).

However, there are also many “false Spanish English cognates“. These pairs of words look similar in Spanish and English but their actual meanings can be very different. It is not uncommon for English speakers to use these false cognate words incorrectly without knowing it. To avoid making such mistakes in Spanish, it is to the student’s advantage to learn and master these Spanish English false cognates.

Following is a list of 56 common false Spanish English cognates. You can download a PDF of this false Spanish English cognates list at the end of this page.
Word Explanation (if any)

advertencia
n. warning, piece of advice, reminder, or preface
advertisement
 n. un anuncio

aguardar
to wait for
guard
 guardar; defender; proteger

argumento
n. reasoning (as in a courtroom)
argument
 n. 1) argumento (in the sense of reasoning);
2) discusión, pelea, disputa, or polémica (in the sense of disagreement)

asesor

n. advisor
assessor
 n. evaluador

asunto
n. subject, topic
assumption
 n. suposición

atender
(Latin America) to attend; (Spain) to pay attention to, to heed, or to care for
attend

 asistir

billete
n. item of paper money
bill
 Besides money, bill has several other meanings in English: cuenta; proyecto de legislación.

bizarro
adj. 1) valient, gallant, brave, or 2) generous
bizarre

 adj. extraño or raro

cámara
n. 1) a camera, 2) a camera operator, 3) a chamber.
camera
 n. a still camera: una cámara

carrera
n. running, race; row, line; beam, girder, joist; route, ride, journey, course; avenue; career; university studies
career

 n. una carrera profesional, una profesión (Note that career does not have the many meanings that ‘carrera’ has.)

cartera
n. wallet
card
 n. tarjeta; naipe

colorado
adj. red or reddish
colored

 adj. de color

comodidad
n. comfort
commodity
 n. producto agrícola, especialmente mercancía

conexión
n. a physical or logical connection, not human connection
connection

 n.1) conexión, 2) (when referring to human connection) relación

conformar
to be in agreement, but also to adapt
conform
 adaptar, pero no significa estar de acuerdo

conveniente
adj. suitable, fitting, proper, useful, or advantageous
convenient

 adj. cómodo, práctico, útil, or accesible

convenir
to be in one’s interest; to be suitable
convene
 convocar

crudo
adj. raw, cruel
crude

 adj. bruto, sin pulido

decente
adj.1) honest, 2) decent
decent
 adj. decente; gentil; amable

decepción
n. disappointment (verb form: decepcionar = to disappoint)
deception

 n. un engaño, un fraude

desgracia
n. misfortune, mishap, accident, setback, bad luck
disgrace
 n. deshonra, ignominia

digno
adj. worthy
dignified

 adj. distinguido

disco
n. 1) disco, 2) disk, discus, traffic-light, or (audio) record
disco
 n. disco, discoteca, sala de baile

divisar
to discern
devise

 idear, inventar, hacer con imaginación

editor
adj. publishing;
n. publisher, editor
editor
 n. editor, director, redactor

elaborar
to make, to manufacture
elaborate
 entrar en más detalle

excitar

to excite sexually
excite
 entusiasmar or provocar

excusar
to exempt; to excuse (rarely used)
excuse

firma

n. 1) (commonly) a signature, 2) a firm
firm
 adj. firme, sólido, duro, seguro;
n. una firma or una empresa

forzoso
adj. necessary, obligatory
forced
 adj. involuntario, forzado

fundir
to melt, to smelt
found

 establecer, fundar

fútbol
n. soccer
football
 n. el fútbol americano

grosería
n. (only refers to) rudeness, crudeness, or vulgarity
grocery store

 n. tienda de abarrotes/comestibles

ignorar
v. to not know, to be unaware of
ignore
 v. no hacer caso de, desatender, or dejar a un lado

informal
adj. unreliable (person)
informal

 adj. sin etiqueta o ceremonia

joven
adj. young (person)
juvenile
 adj. inmaduro

librería
n. bookstore
library

 n. biblioteca

librero
n. a bookseller or bookcase
library
 n. una biblioteca

macro
n. picture, door or window frame
mark

 n. mancha; señal or símbolo escrito; una característica sobresaliente

minorista
n. (Caribbean and South American) retail or retail seller
minority
 n. la minoría;
adj. minoritario

negocio
n. a business, deal, or transaction
negotiation
 n. una negociación

oculto

adj. 1) hidden, concealed, or secret, 2) occult
occult
 adj. oculto or misterioso

ordinario
adj. 1) ordinary, common, coarse (in reference to a person);
2) fine or ok, as in answer to ¿Cómo estás?
ordinary
 adj. normal or corriente

pareja
n. couple
pair

 n. par

patrón
n. 1) a boss or owner; 2) a pattern or standard
patron
 n. patrocinador or cliente

pie
n. foot.
pie

 n. pastel

pila
n. small battery; basin
pile

plata
n. silver; money
plate

 n. lámina; plato

presente
n. current, present. There is no ‘gift’ meaning
present
 n. presente. ‘Gift’ in Spanish is ‘regalo’.

procurar
to try and to manage to do something (rarely means to procure)
procure

 obtener, conseguir

propio
adj. one’s own; also proper
proper
 adj. apropiado

red
n. network
red

 n. the color rojo;
adj. rojo

ropa
n. clothing
rope
 n. una cuerda or una soga

suceder
to happen or to follow, come next
succeed
 1) tener éxito, triunfar; 2) suceder

trato
n. treaty, contract, but also social treatment
treatment
 n. tratamiento

vaso
n. a glass or tumbler
vase
 n. un florero or jarrón

Where to go next?



  1. Download the current page of false Spanish English cognates in PDF

  2. Learn More about Spanish English cognates

  3. Purchase the list of the most common Spanish-English Cognates. (And get a list 255 false Spanish English cognates as well.)

Posted in Intermediate Spanish, Spanish Vocabulary | Comments Off