False Friends

False friends are words that look similar in your language and English but mean completely different things. Spanish speakers say "actually" when they mean "currently," because "actualmente" means now. German speakers say "become" when they mean "get," because "bekommen" means to receive.

These mistakes are especially dangerous because the wrong word is still a real English word, so your listener never asks for clarification. They simply misunderstand you in silence.

The fix: build a false friends list for your language pair. Note the misleading word, what it really means in English, and the word to use instead. Review it weekly.