False Friend: Sopa vs. Soap

Hello, and-- wait, is it Wednesday?! Whoops! It's Word Wednesday, so I need to write a False Friend, and quickly, since it will be Thursday in one hour. Let's see, here's a good one, and it even came up in a class earlier today. It's often a pronunciation problem, but if you change the pronunciation, you change the word. But first... QUICK! What is in this picture? 

If you said "soup," you're excused to go. If you said "soap," then you should probably read the rest of today's post:

False Friend: sopa vs. soap
This SPANISH word...	Looks like this ENGLISH word...	...but they are DIFFERENT because...
sopa	soap	This is pretty easy to correct. (Click on the words in green for their pronunciation.) Sopa in Spanish is "soup" in English. It is what you order in a restaurant, and the word rhymes with "loop" and "stoop." On the other hand, "soap" in English is jabón in Spanish. You use it to wash and clean your hands, for example. "Soap" rhymes with "hope," "rope," and "dope."

So, now that you've read this post, you can eat a nice bowl of soup... but first, be sure to wash your hands with plenty of soap!

Hmm... just to check, QUICK! What is this a picture of?

If you said "soup," then you should probably start reading at the top again, and repeat as necessary!

If you have any questions, please leave a comment below. If you have suggestions for other False Friends or Common Errors, please tell me. 

Thanks for reading, and have a great day!

(Image Credits: First and Second Picture)

False Friend: Resumen vs. Resume (and Résumé)

If you've play video games, a screen like this may look familiar.
"Pause" means to stop or take a break, "resume" means to start playing again.

Hello again, and welcome to Word Wednesday--although it's almost Thursday, so I need to type fast! It's been a while since we specifically looked at a False Friend, so today we'll talk about a common vocabulary problem. If you're not sure what a False Friend is, check out this introductory post. Today we'll look at the difference between resumen in Spanish and the words resume and résumé in English: 

False Friend: resumen vs. resume
This SPANISH word...	Looks like this ENGLISH word...	...but they are DIFFERENT because...
resumen	resume or résumé	In Spanish, a resumen is something that converts a lot of information or text into a smaller unit. The English word for this is a summary, and the verb is to summarize: "I didn't have time to read the whole book, but I found a summary that gave me the basic information." The words resume and résumé are completely different. Resume is a verb. If you stop doing an action and then start doing it again later, you resume the action: "Every day during the conference we took a one-hour lunch break, and then the presentations resumed in the afternoon." Résumé is a noun. The word résumé is sometimes written without the accent marks (like "resume"), but that can cause confusion for pronunciation, since the two words aren't pronounced the same. (Click here for pronunciation: resume résumé.) A résumé is a document that you give to businesses when you are looking for a job. It contains information about your biographical history, your studies, and your work experience: "I just got fired, so I have to look for a new job. But first I need to update my résumé or else I'll never get a job!"

I wish I could have given you a quicker summary of these words, but they're complicated. Thanks for reading, and now you can resume whatever you were doing before you started reading this blog! If you have any questions, please leave a comment below. If you have suggestions for other False Friends or Common Errors, please tell me. 

Thanks for reading, and have a great day!

False Friend: Profesor vs. Professor

Is the man in the white lab coat a teacher or a professor? (Image)

Hello! Today we have another False Friend. If you're not sure what a False Friend is, check out this introductory post. Today we'll look at the difference between profesor in Spanish and professor in English. We'll look at the word "teacher" next Monday, since this topic comes up in almost every class I teach.

False Friend: profesor vs. professor
This SPANISH word...	Looks like this ENGLISH word...	...but they are DIFFERENT because...
profesor	professor	In Spanish, at least in Costa Rica, profesor/a can be used for any kind of teacher or instructor: "La profesora de cuarto grado habló con sus alumnos." ("The fourth grade teacher spoke with her students.") In English, professor (note the spelling) refers to a person who has a PhD (doctorate of philosophy) degree from a university. Normally a person becomes a professor after studying in the university for at least 7 years total. The word can be used for a man or a woman, and it can also be used as a personal title: "I got bad grades in my university Chemistry classes, but at least my professor was good. She was always helpful and patient." OR "Professor Smith will be giving a lecture on tropical ecosystems." You can refer to any instructor or teacher who isn't a professor as a "teacher," but "teacher" is just a job description and generally not a title. We'll look more at this on Monday.

So, in the picture above, is the person in the white lab coat a teacher or a professor? Possibly both. He's definitely a teacher, but if he has a PhD, then he's also a professor. In this case, the picture information says his name is Professor Hellmuth Stachel --we capitalize "professor" since it's his title. Because he has a doctorate degree, we can also call him "Doctor Hellmuth Stachel," but in academia it's more common to say "professor" instead of "doctor," since "doctor" can cause confusion with medical doctors.

If you don't understand this, you can ask me or your normal English teacher or professor. But remember that I'm  not a professor, because I only have an M.A., not a PhD. If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions for other False Friends or Common Errors, please tell me.

Thanks for reading, and have a great day!

False Friend: Costumbre vs. Custom and Costume

This is one of my favorite costumes: I just put on glasses and a wig, and Ryan Sitzman instantly becomes "Bryan Fitzman," Ryan Sitzman's Bizarro-style arch-enemy and nemesis!

Hello! It's been a long time since we looked at a False Friend, so I wanted to talk about one that I noticed in two of my classes recently. But first, if you're not sure what a False Friend is, check out this introductory post. Today we'll look at the difference between costumbre in Spanish and the words "custom" and "costume" in English. Let's take a look:

False Friend: costumbre vs. custom and costume
This SPANISH word...	Looks like this ENGLISH word...	...but they are DIFFERENT because...
costumbre	custom & costume	In Spanish, a costumbre is a habit or a custom. It is something that you are used to doing, or something that you do frequently. In English, if you do something frequently, you can say it is a habit or a custom, or that you are accustomed to doing something. For example, you could say: "When she's nervous, she has a habit of spinning her hair and biting her fingernails." OR "I am accustomed to studying English at least one hour per day." The word "costume" in English has a completely different meaning. It's like a disguise, or some clothing you put on so that you look like someone or something else. For example, many people wear costumes on Halloween. The equivalent Spanish word would be "disfraz." "Costume" can also refer to traditional clothing in a region, but this meaning is less common.

One more note: the pronunciation of "custom" and "costume" is a bit tricky for some students. If you click on each word, it'll take you to dictionary.com, where you can hear their pronunciation.

So, I hope you make it a habit to read my blog. If you want, try reading Sitzman ABC in a Superman costume --I heard it's 50% more interesting that way! Thanks for reading, and have a great day!

False Friends: Actual/Actualmente vs. Actual/Actually

Hello! I was on vacation for the last month or so, so I apologize that I didn't do any blog posts. I did put up a few things on Sitzman ABC's Facebook page, so if you want to follow that, you can do it by clicking here. 

What's another way to say this phrase in English? How would you say it in Spanish? Image Credit

Today we have another False Friend. If you don't know what a False Friend is, see this introductory post. Today we're going to look at the difference between actual and actualmente in Spanish and actual and actually in English. This is one of the most common False Friends I notice my students having problems with: 

False Friend: actual/actualmente vs. actual/actually
This SPANISH word...	Looks like this ENGLISH word...	...but they are DIFFERENT because...
actual / actualmente	actual / actually	These two words look exactly the same, but they have different pronunciations and meanings: In Spanish, actual is a word used to indicate something relevant at this present time, right now: "Mi trabajo actual es bastante difícil." If you want to say the same thing in English, instead use the word current or present: "My current/present job is rather difficult." Also: "We are studying current events in our Social Studies class." The adverb forms of these words are currently and presently: "I'm currently (right now) working on my Sitzman ABC blog." In English, the words actual and actually indicate a contradiction. They mean the same thing as real or really in this context. For example: Jane: "Pete, you have a beautiful car!" Pete: "Actually, I think it's ugly."

Good luck! If you have any questions, please leave a comment below. If you have suggestions for other False Friends or Common Errors, please tell me. 

Thanks for reading, and have a great day!

False Friend: Asistir vs. Assist

An emergency call box for assistance (help). Photo Credit: Eric E. Johnson

Hello again! In a few days I'll post more about the Third Conditional, but for today we have another False Friend. If you're not sure what a False Friend is, check out this introductory post. I want to look at the difference between asistir in Spanish and assist in English. My students commonly confuse these two words: 

False Friend: asistir vs. assist
This SPANISH word...	Looks like this ENGLISH word...	...but they are DIFFERENT because...
asistir	assist	In English, assist is usually used as a verb. It is similar to the word help. For example: "If you have English problems, please tell me and I'll be happy to assist you." In Spanish, asistir is a verb that often means to go to or to attend. BUT, it can also mean to help, depending on the context. As nouns in English, an "assistant" is a helper, and "assistance" is help. Note that "attendance" is a noun form of "attend." Compare: "When her car broke down, Jane called her insurance company to ask for assistance." "It's important to go to every English class because 10% of my final grade is based on class attendance." As nouns in Spanish, asistencia can mean either "attendance" (in a class) or "assistance" (help, like in the photo above).

I hope that helps you. If you're confused or have any questions, please leave a comment below and I'll be happy to try to assist you! If you have suggestions for other False Friends or Common Errors, please tell me. 

Thanks for reading, and have a great day!

Introduction: False Friends

A sign for a "night club" in Costa Rica. Read this post to see how "night clubs" in Spanish and "nightclubs" in English are different! 

There's a common English phrase that I like: "With friends like these, who needs enemies?"* It means that sometimes the people who we think are our friends, are the people who hurt us most. This can be applied to language learning when talking about cognates, or specifically false cognates. 

Cognates are words that look identical or very similar in two languages. For example, the Spanish word "actor" is identical to the English word "actor," and their meanings are the same. Only the pronunciation is a little different. So, we could say that "actor" and "actor" are cognates. (Click here for a nice list of many English-Spanish cognates.)

False cognates --also called "false friends"-- are pairs of words that look similar, but in fact have different definitions and meanings. One example that causes problems for a lot of people is the word "once." In Spanish, once means "eleven," but in English, "once" means "one time." Another example is "actual." In Spanish, actual means "current," but in English, it means "authentic" or "real."

I notice my students getting confused by false friends very frequently. As you know, I already have a Common Errors section in this blog, but since false friends are quicker and more specifically related to vocabulary, I decided to start a False Friends page on this blog. I'll post more of these false friends and their explanations occasionally, but if you want to have a quick list now, you can check different extended lists here, here, and here.

So, here's our first False Friend: "night club" in Spanish vs. "nightclub" in English:

False Friend:
This SPANISH word...	Looks like this ENGLISH word...	...but they are DIFFERENT because...
"night club"	nightclub	Obviously, "night club" isn't really a native Spanish word, but it's used frequently, at least in Costa Rica. BUT, there's an important difference. If you go to a night club in Costa Rica, you're going to what's called a "strip club" in English, where strippers take off their clothes for money. In English, a "nightclub" is a place that normally serves food and alcohol in the evenings, and usually provides a place to dance. It's very similar to a "disco" or a "dance club." If you go "nightclubbing," it means you go out  dancing in the evening.**

I'll try to post more False Friends in the future, and you can find them by clicking on the "False Friends" tab at the top of this blog. If you have any questions or suggestions for additional False Friends, I'd love to hear from you.

Thanks very much for reading, and have a great day...or night; and if you're going to a night club, be careful!

*Apparently, this phrase may have originally come from German, since there's also a similar phrase in German: Mit solchen Freunden braucht man keine Feinde mehr.

**"Nightclubbing" is also the name of a song by Iggy Pop.