50 False Friends: English Words That Trick Portuguese Speakers

You're reading an English text and you spot a word that looks exactly like a Portuguese word you know. Confidence spikes. You translate it instantly — and you're completely wrong.

Welcome to the world of false friends (falsos cognatos) — words that look or sound similar in two languages but have different meanings. They're one of the biggest traps for Portuguese speakers learning English, and getting them wrong can lead to anything from mild confusion to genuinely embarrassing situations.

This list covers 50 of the most common and most dangerous false friends between English and Portuguese, grouped by category, with example sentences showing correct usage.

What Makes a False Friend?

Most false friends come from shared Latin or Greek roots. Portuguese and English both borrowed heavily from Latin, so thousands of cognates do exist (words that look similar AND mean the same thing — like animal, history/história, national/nacional). The false friends are the exceptions: same Latin origin, but each language's word evolved in a different direction.

False Friends: People and Relationships

1. pretend / pretender

• English: pretend = to fake, simulate ("She pretended to be asleep.")
• Portuguese: pretender = to intend, to plan ("Pretendo viajar em junho." = "I plan to travel in June.")
• Correct English: "I intend to travel in June."

2. parents / parentes

• English: parents = mother and father only
• Portuguese: parentes = relatives (broad family)
• Correct English: "My parents" = meus pais. "My relatives" = meus parentes.

3. pregnant / prenhante
OK, this one's well-known, but still trips people up.

• English: pregnant = grávida
• Portuguese: embaraçada = embarrassed (NOT pregnant!)
• Common error: "I'm embarrassed" → saying "Estou grávida" in Portuguese, or "I'm pregnant" when trying to say "estou embaraçada"

4. sensible / sensível

• English: sensible = having good judgment, reasonable ("She made a sensible decision.")
• Portuguese: sensível = emotionally sensitive, or physically sensitive
• Correct English for sensível: "sensitive" — "He's very sensitive about that topic."

5. gentle / gentil

• English: gentle = soft, mild, kind in manner ("He has a gentle voice.")
• Portuguese: gentil = kind, courteous, gracious
• Note: These overlap but aren't identical. "Gentil" maps closer to "kind" or "gracious" in English.

False Friends: Education and Work

6. library / livraria

• English: library = a place to borrow books for free (biblioteca)
• Portuguese: livraria = a bookstore
• Correct English: "Where's the library?" means "Onde fica a biblioteca?"

7. lecture / leitura

• English: lecture = a formal academic talk or speech
• Portuguese: leitura = reading (the act of reading)
• Correct English for leitura: "reading" — "I enjoy reading." / "Gosto de leitura."

8. professor / professor

• English: professor = a university-level teacher (not used for K-12)
• Portuguese: professor = any teacher at any level
• Correct English for a school teacher: "teacher"

9. graduation / graduação

• English: graduation = the ceremony marking the end of studies
• Portuguese: graduação = undergraduate degree program
• Note: "I'm doing my graduation" sounds odd in English. Say "I'm doing my undergraduate degree" or "bachelor's degree."

10. resume / resumo

• English: resume = a professional CV (job application document)
• Portuguese: resumo = summary, abstract
• Correct English for resumo: "summary" or "abstract"

False Friends: Actions and Verbs

11. assist / assistir

• English: assist = to help ("Can you assist me?")
• Portuguese: assistir = to watch, to attend ("Assisti ao jogo." = "I watched the game.")
• Correct English for assistir: "watch," "attend," "see"

12. realize / realizar

• English: realize = to become aware of, to understand ("I realized I was wrong.")
• Portuguese: realizar = to carry out, to achieve, to execute ("Vamos realizar o projeto." = "We'll carry out the project.")
• Correct English for realizar: "carry out," "execute," "achieve"

13. push / puxar

• English: push = empurrar
• Portuguese: puxar = pull
• This one gets people at doors everywhere. Doors labeled "Push/Pull" confuse Brazilian visitors every time.

14. support / suportar

• English: support = to help, back up, be in favor of ("I support your decision.")
• Portuguese: suportar = to tolerate, to endure, to bear ("Não aguento mais." / "Não suporto isso.")
• Note: "I can't support this noise" sounds weird in English. Say "I can't stand this noise."

15. intend / entender

• English: intend = to plan to do
• Portuguese: entender = to understand
• Correct English for entender: "understand"

16. attend / atender

• English: attend = to be present at ("I will attend the meeting.")
• Portuguese: atender = to answer (phone), to serve (customer), to meet (needs)
• Correct English for atender (phone): "answer"

17. exit / exitoso

• English: exit = saída (a way out)
• Portuguese: êxito = success. Exitoso = successful.
• Correct English for êxito: "success," "successful"

False Friends: Descriptions and Adjectives

18. actual / atual

• English: actual = real, existing ("The actual number was lower.")
• Portuguese: atual = current, present ("O estado atual das coisas." = "The current state of things.")
• Correct English for atual: "current," "present," "today's"

19. eventually / eventualmente

• English: eventually = finally, after a long time ("He eventually found the answer.")
• Portuguese: eventualmente = occasionally, sometimes, possibly
• This is a major source of confusion. "Eventualmente, você visita?" doesn't mean "Will you eventually visit?" — it means "Do you visit sometimes?"

20. sympathetic / simpático

• English: sympathetic = feeling compassion for someone's suffering
• Portuguese: simpático = friendly, likeable, pleasant
• Correct English for simpático: "friendly," "nice," "pleasant"

21. polite / polido

• English: polite = cortês, educado (well-mannered)
• Portuguese: polido = polished, shiny (as in a surface) OR someone well-bred
• Correct English: "polite" = "well-mannered" is fine; "polido" in Portuguese = "polished/refined"

22. versatile / versátil
Close but different range of use:

• English: versatile = able to do many things ("She's a versatile musician.")
• Portuguese: versátil = similar, but also means "fickle" or "changeable" in some regional dialects.

23. envious / invejoso

• These are similar in meaning, but learners often confuse "envious" with "nervous."
• English: envious = feeling envy ("I'm envious of her talent.")
• Tip: "I'm nervous" ≠ "Estou nervoso" in all contexts. "Nervoso" in Brazilian Portuguese often means agitated or upset, not specifically nervous.

False Friends: Objects and Things

24. magazine / maçaneta
Not a classic false friend but a trap:

• English: magazine = revista
• Portuguese: maçaneta = doorknob (sounds a little like "magazine" to some learners)

25. bedroom / quarto
Not a false friend, but dormitory is:

• English: dormitory = a large sleeping room in a school/university (não quarto particular)
• Portuguese: dormitório = any bedroom or sleeping room
• Correct English for quarto: "bedroom," "room"

26. fabric / fábrica

• English: fabric = tecido, material (cloth)
• Portuguese: fábrica = factory
• Correct English for fábrica: "factory," "plant"

27. paste / pasta

• English: paste = a thick adhesive or spreadable substance
• Portuguese: pasta = folder (for documents), or pasta (the food)
• Correct English for pasta folder: "folder"

28. journal / jornal

• English: journal = a personal diary or academic publication
• Portuguese: jornal = newspaper
• Correct English for jornal: "newspaper"

29. record / recorde

• English: record = a disc of music, or a verb meaning to capture audio/video
• Portuguese: recorde = record (as in world record, breaking a record)
• Note: English "record" (noun, meaning achievement) does overlap with recorde. But "record" in English also has many other meanings.

More High-Frequency False Friends

30. collar / colar

• English: collar = the part of a shirt around the neck
• Portuguese: colar = necklace, OR to paste/glue

31. cry / criar

• English: cry = to weep, to shed tears
• Portuguese: criar = to create, to raise (children/animals)

32. boot / bota

• English: boot = a high shoe, OR (British) the trunk of a car
• Portuguese: bota = boot (shoe) ✓ — this one actually overlaps! But watch out in British contexts.

33. chance / chancelar

• English: chance = opportunity, possibility ("Give it a chance.")
• Portuguese: chancelar = to cancel officially, to seal

34. envelop / envelope

• English: envelop (verb) = to surround, cover completely
• English: envelope (noun) = carta/envelope ✓
• Portuguese: envelopar = not standard

35. fate / fato

• English: fate = destino
• Portuguese: fato = fact (in European Portuguese) or suit/outfit

36. grasp / raspar

• English: grasp = to seize, understand
• Portuguese: raspar = to scrape

37. gripe / gripe

• English: gripe = to complain
• Portuguese: gripe = flu (influenza)

38. marvelous / maravilhoso
Close!

• English: marvelous = wonderful ✓
• Portuguese: maravilhoso = wonderful ✓
• False friend alert: marvellous is spelled differently (British English), and the pronunciation differs enough to confuse. Not a meaning problem but a recognition one.

39. novel / novela

• English: novel = a long prose fiction book
• Portuguese: novela = a TV soap opera
• Correct English for novela: "soap opera"

40. ordinary / ordinário

• English: ordinary = common, typical ("an ordinary day")
• Portuguese: ordinário = can mean vulgar, crude, or low-class — much more negative than English "ordinary"

41. push / pressa

• English: push = to shove forward
• Portuguese: pressa = hurry, rush
• Not direct false friends but learners confuse "I'm in a rush" for "push."

42. rude / rude

• English: rude = impolite, disrespectful
• Portuguese: rude = rough, crude, uncivilized (similar but stronger)

43. since / sinais
Not classic, but:

• English: since = desde; because
• Trap: Translating "desde" as "since" always works; translating "since" as "desde" doesn't always work (e.g., "since I'm tired" ≠ "desde que estou cansado" — use "como" or "já que")

44. sport / suporte

• English: sport = esporte
• Portuguese: suporte = support, bracket
• Not a direct false friend, but learners mis-associate them

45. stamp / estampa

• English: stamp = a postal stamp, or to press hard
• Portuguese: estampa = a pattern, print (on fabric); also = illustration

46. store / estorvar

• English: store = a shop, or to save/keep
• Portuguese: estorvar = to obstruct, to hinder

47. tale / tala

• English: tale = a story
• Portuguese: tala = splint (medical); not the same at all

48. translate / transitar

• English: translate = to convert language
• Portuguese: transitar = to pass through, to travel through

49. trivial / trivial

• English: trivial = unimportant, minor
• Portuguese: trivial = trivial, but also = everyday, ordinary (slightly different connotation)

50. vacant / vago

• English: vacant = empty, unoccupied ("The position is vacant.")
• Portuguese: vago = vague, unclear ("Uma ideia vaga." = "A vague idea.")
• Correct English for vago: "vague"

How to Stop Falling Into False Friend Traps

1. Don't translate word-by-word. Read entire sentences and infer meaning from context.

2. Notice the function of the word. Is it acting as a verb, noun, or adjective? Portuguese realizar is a verb meaning to execute; English realize is a verb meaning to become aware. Same grammar, different meaning.

3. Build vocabulary in context. When you learn a word, learn a full sentence, not a translation. Voza's flashcard system always shows words in real sentences — see Vocabulary Practice.

4. Use a monolingual dictionary. When in doubt, look up the English word in an English dictionary (not a translator). This forces you to understand the word's meaning from the inside out.

5. Notice register. Some false friends differ in connotation even if the core meaning is close. English ordinary is neutral; Portuguese ordinário can be insulting. Always check.

Test Yourself

Can you spot the errors in these sentences?

1. "I will assist to the conference tomorrow." (Error: assist → attend)
2. "The actual president signed the law." (Probably means current → The current president)
3. "I'm very sensible — I cry at movies." (Probably means sensitive → I'm very sensitive)
4. "My parents are coming to visit — cousins, aunts, uncles, everyone." (Error: parents should be relatives/family)
5. "She's very sympathetic — everyone at the office loves her." (Probably means friendly/likeable → sympathetic)

Keep Learning

False friends are one piece of the vocabulary puzzle. The other key piece: understanding how the words you do share (true cognates) can accelerate your vocabulary fast. Explore Voza's Vocabulary Section to see the cognate patterns that give you a head start, and check out How to Think in English Without Translating for the methodology behind fluent vocabulary use.

Knowing these 50 false friends won't make you fluent overnight — but it will save you from some genuinely awkward conversations. Put them on flashcards, study one category per week, and you'll internalize them within a month.