• Courses

    Courses

    Spanish
    Portuguese
    Japanese
    Arabic
    French
    Mandarin Chinese
    Italian
    Hindi

    VIP Courses

    English as a Second Language
    Dental English
    Medical English

    19601088_10212241117799051_1319076055630407744_n
  • Registration
  • Dentistry English Test
  • Payments
  • About Us
  • Contact us
    Contact Us
    (678) 324-8760
    admin@thelanguageisland.com
    RegisterLogin
    The Language Island
    • Courses

      Courses

      Spanish
      Portuguese
      Japanese
      Arabic
      French
      Mandarin Chinese
      Italian
      Hindi

      VIP Courses

      English as a Second Language
      Dental English
      Medical English

      19601088_10212241117799051_1319076055630407744_n
    • Registration
    • Dentistry English Test
    • Payments
    • About Us
    • Contact us

      Blog

      • Home
      • Blog
      • Blog
      • Commonly-Confused Spanish Words

      Commonly-Confused Spanish Words

      • Date January 26, 2016

      languageisland5

      This week we’re going to look at some easily-confused Spanish words. While Spanish doesn’t have as many of these types of words as English does, it does possess enough that it is worth reviewing some of the more common ones.

       

      Agujero, Aguja, and Agujetas

      These three similarly-spelled words each have distinctive meanings. Agujero/agujeros means hole/holes. Aguja/agujas refers to a needle or needles. Agujetas refers to “muscle soreness or stiffness” (It can also mean “shoelace” in Mexican Spanish.)

       

      Caballo and Cabello

      These nearly identical words have very different meanings. Caballo means “horse.” Cabello, on the other hand, is used to refer to the hair on your head. (Pelos, the word for all types of hair, also appears on this list.)

                                        

      Caro and Carro

      Caro means “expensive,” while carro means “car.” Make sure you roll your “Rs” when speaking about the latter, especially if you are talking about how expensive a new car is!

       

      Hombro, Hombre, and Hambre

      Let’s go through these one at a time. Hombro means “shoulder,” hombre means “man,” and hambre means “hungry.”

       

      Pelas and Pelos

      Pelas is a slang term for money in Spain. Pelo(s) refers to all types of hair(s).

       

      Papá and Papa

      Sometimes the presence or absence of an accent mark can change the entire meaning of a word. Papá means “dad” or “daddy” as you might expect. However, Papa (no accent) is the Spanish word for the Pope, the leader of the Roman Catholic Church.

       

      Pulpa and Pulpo

      The feminine pulpa means “pulp,” while the masculine pulpo means “octopus.” Mixing these up probably won’t cause any offense. However, a server in a restaurant might wonder why you are asking for less “octopus” in your orange juice or the fried “pulp” appetizer.

       

      También and Tampoco

      Both of these words are used to show agreement but with different types of statements. También is used to show agreement with a positive statement. Tampoco is used to show agreement with a negative statement.

       

      Tú and Tu

      As with papá and Papa, the accent mark makes all the difference here. Tú is the informal subject pronoun for “you.” Tu (with no accent) is a possessive adjective that precedes a noun in order to show possession.

       

      Ves and Vez

      Ves is the present tense “tú” (informal you) form of the verb “ver” (to see). Vez is a noun that refers to the time when something specific happened.

      Tag:atlanta, atlanta georgia, close words in spanish, common confused words, common words, confusing spanish words, confusing words, differences between spanish words, english, english island, english school, island, learn spanish, Spanish, spanish similar words, spanish words

      • Share:
      author avatar
      thelanguageisland

      Previous post

      French Vocabulary Quiz Round Three
      January 26, 2016

      Next post

      Commonly-Confused Spanish Words
      February 8, 2016

      You may also like

      Even More English Words with Foreign Language Origins
      30 September, 2017

      This week, we’re going explore another six everyday words rooted in languages other than English. Modern English contains many such loanwords that have been “borrowed” from other languages. While English loanwords usually …

      italia
      Italian Vocabulary Quiz Round 2
      30 September, 2017
      italia
      Italian Words with Multiple Meanings
      30 September, 2017

      Search

      Our Courses

      • Spanish
      • Portuguese
      • Japanese
      • Arabic
      • Russian
      • Italian
      • Hindi
      • Mandarin Chinese

      Like Us On Facebook

      Facebook Pagelike Widget

      Education WordPress Theme by ThimPress. Powered by WordPress.

      Become A Teacher?

      Join our Team!

      Get Started Now
      [miniorange_social_login shape="longbuttonwithtext" theme="default" space="4" width="240" height="40"]

      Login with your site account

      Lost your password?

      Not a member yet? Register now

      Register a new account

      Are you a member? Login now