Making Mistakes in Spanish

When learning to speak Spanish some of the mistakes which people make can be quite amusing! While most of the time you may just get a confused look from the person who you are talking to, sometimes the consequences are far funnier as you say something with an entirely different meaning!

The phrase “Estoy embarazada” for example is often mistaken to mean “I am embarrassed.” However when uttering this sentence you may be congratulated, or perhaps met with looks of horror! The Spaniards could even go so far as to ask you “¿Quién es el padre?” (Who is the father?) Estoy embarazada actually means I am pregnant!

One of my friends here in Salamanca had an entertaining misunderstanding which stemmed from confusing two similar sounding words. He asked the barmaid for a “chupeton” expecting to me given a shot of alcohol. Little did he realize he should actually have asked for a “chupito.” Instead of asking for a shot he had asked the barmaid for a lovebite!

I too have made mistakes confusing various words. I was explaining how much the Spanish weather had surprised me and that I hadn´t expected to need to wear gloves. However I got baffled looks from my friend as I described how I was wearing peas! I had confused the word for gloves, “guantes” with that for peas “guisantes.”

Another time when I was asked what I was cooking in the oven, I said I was going to have a “papa al horno” intending to describe a jacket potato. My housemates found this very funny and started joking with me about how an oven wasn´t really the best place for the Pope, who they refer to as “El Papa!”

Although the word “papa” is used for potato in Latin America, the Spaniards say “patata.” In this case though I had made a mistake my housemates were actually aware of what I was talking about and just thought it was funny to make a joke.

Essentially when you are learning to speak a language it is inevitable that you are going to make some mistakes. Some words to watch out for are those known as “false friends.” As they are similar to English words you would expect to have one meaning but actually have another one entirely. Here are a few:

• Carpeta = folder (Alfombra = carpet)
• Contestar = to answer (Contender = to contest)
• Embarazada = pregnant (Tener vergüenza = to be ashamed)
• Éxito = success (Salida = exit)
• Fábrica = factory (Tela = fabric)
• Ganga = bargain (Pandilla = gang)
• Once = eleven (Una vez = once)
• Ropa = clothing (Cuerda = rope)
• Sopa = soup (Jabón = soap)

Even though you may make some mistakes when speaking it is all part of the fun and no reason to keep quiet! Practice makes perfect after all!