false friend
The term "false friend" describes words in different languages that appear similar but have different meanings, often causing confusion for language learners.
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Definition
B2Linguistics
(technical, academic)A word in one language that looks or sounds similar to a word in another language but has a different meaning.
Example
- The Spanish word 'embarazada' is a false friend for the English word 'embarrassed'; it actually means 'pregnant.'
Similar
Terms that have similar or relatively close meanings to "false friend":