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Spanish is an attractive language to learn because many of its words look the same as or similar to their English equivalents. But beware! Many of these apparently similar words and expressions do not mean the same in Spanish as they do in English. These are called 'false friends'. Here are some examples.
A person who is described as sensible in Spanish is 'sensitive', not 'sensible'.
The English word 'sensible' is translated as sensato.
Someone who is described as simpático, is 'nice' or 'friendly'.
If you want to say that someone as 'sympathetic', use comprensivo.
The verb asistir looks as though it should mean 'to assist', but it actually means 'to attend'.
The English 'to assist' is translated as ayudar.
And as we have just used the word 'actually', beware of actualmente, which you may encounter quite frequently. It doesn’t mean 'actually'; it means 'nowadays'!
The nearest equivalent to the English 'actually' is realmente.
Although the word asignatura looks as if it means 'signature', it really means 'school subject'.
'Signature' is translated as firma.
And on the subject of school, if you 'pass' an exam, the verb is aprobar, which looks a bit like 'approve'. However, if we want to say that we 'approve of something' we use estar de acuerdo (to be in agreement). If you 'fail' an exam, the verb is suspender.
Representar is most commonly used to mean 'to perform', for instance in a concert. The noun is una representación.
If, in Spanish, you talk about diversión, it has nothing to do with a 'diversion' in the road (which is un desvío). Diversión means 'a good time' or 'a bit of fun'.
To 'realise' something in your mind is darse cuenta. Realizar is used to express the sense of carrying out an activity.
And finally, the word for 'train station' is estación but this is also used for 'season' (summer, winter, etc). So 'the four seasons' is translated as las cuatro estaciones.
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