LanguagesMi ciudad y el transporte18 min★★ difficulty

Cognates and false friends

Hundreds of Spanish words are guessable from English. A handful look guessable and are not, and those are worth knowing by name.

Part of your national curriculum

Reading: Deduce meaning from a variety of texts, using context and knowledge of word patterns and cognates

Lesson overview

What you'll learn in this lesson

Deduce meaning from a variety of texts, using context and knowledge of word patterns and cognates

Key learning points

• Reliable patterns
• False friends
• Using context

This lesson at a glance

18 minutes
19 parts to scroll through
4 quick checks
Marked quiz at the end
Gentle pace: short sittings with pauses

Words to know

deducemeaningvarietycontextknowledge

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Part 1 of 19 · Discover5%

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Part 1 of 19

Visual introduction

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Cognates and false friends

Hundreds of Spanish words are guessable from English. A handful look guessable and are not, and those are worth knowing by name.

In a nutshell

Deduce meaning from a variety of texts, using context and knowledge of word patterns and cognates

Learning cycle

Part 2 of 19

Learning cycle 1 of 2

Part 1 · Reliable patterns

A short piece of teaching, then a check to make sure it has landed.

Explore the idea

Part 3 of 19

Learn

Reliable patterns

English -tion becomes Spanish -ción: nation/nación, station/estación. English -ty becomes -dad: city/ciudad, university/universidad. English -ly adverbs become -mente: rapidly/rápidamente.

Reset break

Part 4 of 19

Pause

That's sitting 1 of 5 done

Stretch, get a drink, look out of the window. There is no timer and nothing is counting down — your place is saved, so you can come back in five minutes or tomorrow.

Stop here for now

Explore the idea

Part 5 of 19

Learn

False friends

embarazada means pregnant, not embarrassed. éxito means success, not exit (salida). librería is a bookshop; a library is biblioteca. actualmente means currently, not actually. sensible means sensitive.

Quick check

Part 6 of 19

Quick check

What does 'librería' mean?

Give me a hint

Quick check

Part 7 of 19

Quick check

English -tion usually becomes which Spanish ending?

Give me a hint

Reset break

Part 8 of 19

Pause

That's sitting 2 of 5 done

Stretch, get a drink, look out of the window. There is no timer and nothing is counting down — your place is saved, so you can come back in five minutes or tomorrow.

Stop here for now

Learning cycle

Part 9 of 19

Learning cycle 2 of 2

Part 2 · Using context

A short piece of teaching, then a check to make sure it has landed.

Explore the idea

Part 10 of 19

Learn

Using context

When a word is unfamiliar, ask three questions: what kind of word is it (noun, verb, adjective)? Is there a root you know? What would make sense here? Two of the three are usually enough.

Quick check

Part 11 of 19

Quick check

What does 'éxito' mean?

Give me a hint

Reset break

Part 12 of 19

Pause

That's sitting 3 of 5 done

Stretch, get a drink, look out of the window. There is no timer and nothing is counting down — your place is saved, so you can come back in five minutes or tomorrow.

Stop here for now

Quick check

Part 13 of 19

Quick check

What does 'actualmente' mean?

Give me a hint

Explore the idea

Part 14 of 19

Worked example

Worked example: decoding a sentence

'Actualmente la biblioteca municipal organiza una exposición.' Actualmente is a false friend — currently. Biblioteca is library, not bookshop. Municipal and exposición are near-cognates. Result: 'Currently the town library is organising an exhibition.' One false friend would have changed the whole meaning.

Challenge round

Part 15 of 19

Game · Sort it

Which of these are true?

Drag each card into the right column. Tap a card first if dragging is fiddly.

True

Not true

Reset break

Part 16 of 19

Pause

That's sitting 4 of 5 done

Stretch, get a drink, look out of the window. There is no timer and nothing is counting down — your place is saved, so you can come back in five minutes or tomorrow.

Stop here for now

Challenge round

Part 17 of 19

Game · Recall cards

You meet 'rapidement' for the first time. It most likely means...

Card 1 of 4

Mastery quiz

Part 18 of 19

Marked quiz

End of lesson quiz: Cognates and false friends

4 questions, marked with the reasoning shown. No timer.

1. You meet 'rapidement' for the first time. It most likely means...
2. What is a cognate?
3. What does the French word 'librairie' actually mean?
4. What is the best strategy for guessing an unknown French word in a text?

Lesson round-up

Part 19 of 19

Lesson round-up

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Part 1 of 19 · Watch & discover

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Deduce meaning from a variety of texts, using context and knowledge of word patterns and cognates