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Browse Spanish English Dictionary

admin — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 17:25:07 +0000

The browse function is now ready for the Spanish English Dictionary. Here are the browse links:

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Browse ESDICT

admin — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 19:04:55 +0000

You can now browse through the ESDICT English Spanish Dictionary. The browse function will be added soon for the Spanish English Dictionary as well. Here are the browse links:

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

False Spanish English Cognates

admin — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 04:53:46 +0000

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?

Download the current page of false Spanish English cognates in PDF
Learn More about Spanish English cognates
Purchase the list of the most common Spanish-English Cognates. (And get a list 255 false Spanish English cognates as well.)

An Advanced Spanish Course

admin — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 14:38:44 +0000

If you are moving towards advanced Spanish and you are on a tight budget, here is one book that you can consider to invest: Ultimate Spanish Advanced. Ultimate Spanish Advanced

This is a revised CD/book edition published by Living Language. There are 8 CDs with a 400-page book. Here are some of the reviews (good and bad) posted on Amazon:

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

Intensely Advanced Spanish Course, March 8, 2006

By	Dan A. Yates "DakotaIV" (Utah)

I’m a gringo who can speak & understand Spanish as a 2nd language, but my skills are rusty & native speakers have told me I have a strong accent. I’ve taken numerous Spanish CD programs during the last 2 years. This program is by far the most challenging. You need to understand Spanish or this program won’t work for you. If you can watch a Spanish TV station and at least understand most of what is being said, this program will work for you. If not, go for something more intermediate. There are 8 CDs in pairs of 2 CDs. In the first set, you listen to a dialogue of native speakers in "real-time" speed and then the same dialogue is spoken more slowly for you to repeat in Spanish. In the second set, a very similar dialogue is presented along with grammatical lessons and more repeating or translating sentences. My only frustration with the CDs is that I’m quite often not quick enough to repeat the entire phrase before the CD moves on to the next phrase. Some of the sentences are so long that I wouldn’t be able to remember the entire sentence in English. This is easily overcome — I’ve just had to replay several lessons over and over before I was able to "check off" all my comprehension, translation and speaking assignments. For added interest, each dialogue is set in a specific country and centers around a genuine cultural point of interest. The book is very helpful. It expands on local dialects and regional interests for the targeted country in each lesson. The book includes exact translations of the dialogues on the CDs. This is the best audio course I’ve found to practice and improve my Spanish skills. I highly recommend it for gringos who can already communicate and want a truly advanced challenge to expand vocabulary & speaking skills.

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

Not quite the ultimate, but very good, September 11,
2005

By	Bad Bernanke "Bad Bernanke" (Chandler, AZ USA)

I read, write and speak Spanish reasonably well, but like many individuals whose first language is English, I have my moments trying to follow Spanish spoken to me. This set has really been helpful in "tuning" my ear to listen to the spoken word as I prepare for another trip to Mexico. It is also a pretty decent review of Spanish grammar and vocabulary. Because I am perhaps more visual, I find the written materials to be a great help for my learning — I really have not been successful with just oral materials. I actually purchased this after using a Living Language beginning French set and found it very helpful in beginning to recapture the French I studied 30 years ago in high school and then 20 years ago in a night course.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

Great product for intermediate-level speakers,
September 8, 2005

By	S. Frey "International Raconteur" (California, USA)

I am really enjoying these CDs…some people said that the Spanish was spoken too quickly…if that’s your feeling, I say you’re not an advanced speaker and you’d be better off looking for an intermediate level product. I wish that actual native spanish speakers spoke so clearly! It’s true that folks do speak more quickly than your average spanish language training CD, and that’s a good thing - the hardest part of "speaking" Spanish, for me, is understanding what other people are saying! Also, some reviewers mentioned that the CDs use the "vosotros" form - that’s true, it does, but not too much, and it is used in some parts of the world, so I think it’s a plus to have it in there. Overall, I would give this product 4.5 stars - but that’s not an option, so I’m going with 5. I would like to have seen more content - more practice with grammar rather than vocabulary, etc. - but overall a great product for intermediate-advanced students.

Ultimate Spanish Advanced

At the price of ~US$80, this is a book that I am feeling comfortable to recommend to advanced Spanish learners.

Buy Ultimate Spanish Advanced (CD Package)

ESDICT Learn Spanish Blog Just Moved

admin — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 23:30:44 +0000

We just moved the ESDICT Learn Spanish Blog from http://www.esdict.com/learn_spanish/ to http://blog.esdict.com/. The reason for this move is the user-friendly interface of WordPress blogging software.