EP-English False Friends

As you can see, I’ve created a new page under Words of the Week which is meant as a repository of EP-English false friends. There are obviously a lot more than the ones you see now, but the list will be enlarged with time.

I’d also love if this could be a group effort; I’m sure you’ve all ran into certain false friends in the past during your studies, so you can pitch in with a few new word pairs in the comments (words from all variants of English are allowed; only words otherwise known in Portugal, the PALOP or East Timor will be accepted).

• Abstra(c)to (adj.): abstract, conceptual (abstract [n.] = [o] resumo)
  • arte abstra(c)ta: abstract art
  • resumo de um artigo cient

• A(c)tual: present, current (actual = real, verdadeiro)
  • notícias atuais: current news
  • atualizar: to update (i.e. to bring up to date, to make current)

• Amassar: to knead [dough], to bash (to amass = acumular, juntar)

• [a] Arma: gun (arm = [o] braço; army = [o] exército)

• [o] Cargo: job, position, post (cargo [i.e. load] = [a] carga)

• [o] Cigarro: cigarette (cigar = [o] charuto)

• [a] Oficina: workshop (office = [o] escritório)