False Friends in Italian

Ripetere does indeed mean to repeat. Avocado means avocado. There have been many a time where I’ve guessed a word relying solely on English and have added an Italian ending… and I’ve been right. And there have been many other times where I’ve guessed based solely on my English and have been very, sometimes embarrassingly, wrong. I’m guessing I’m not the only one. That’s why I thought it could be interesting to put together an episode of some of the most common false friends in Italian - the words that seem friendly because they’re so close to English but then turn around and trick you. 1.) Ultimamente - Recently, lately - I thought it meant ‘ultimately’, ALLA FINE 2.) Camera - Room - Not photography camera, macchina fotografica 3.) Casino - mess - Not casino where you gamble 4.) Preservativo - Condom - NOT a preservative (conservante) in foods or like jam (marmellata) 5.) Attualmente - now, currently - NOT actually, in realtà 6.) Le terme - thermal baths - NOT school term 7.) I parenti - relatives - NOT parents, genitori 8.) Scheda - sheet, card, note paper - NOT a schedule, orario 9.) Comprensivo - understanding - NOT comprehensive, completo, esauriente 10.) Crudo - Raw - NOT crude - rozzo, esplicito 11.) Educato - polite - NOT educated, erudito 12.) Libreria - bookstore - NOT a library, biblioteca 13.) Noioso - boring - NOT noisy, rumoroso 14.) Sensibile - sensitive - NOT sensible, ragionevole 15.) Fattoria - farm - Factory - fabbrica - 16.) Accidente - stroke, shock - NOT accident, incidente 17.) Attendere - to wait - NOT to attend (an event), andare a, partecipare a   For more Italian resources visit http://icebergproject.co/italian   Special thanks to The Creative Impostors Studios for producing this show. Like the podcast? Leave a review in Apple Podcasts! If you like the podcast, I would appreciate it a TON if you left a review. You can hit a star rating in your Podcasts app on your iPhone or go to the iTunes store and click Leave a Review on the show page.