{"id":69821,"date":"2018-02-01T02:48:05","date_gmt":"2018-02-01T07:48:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/learn\/italian-false-friends\/"},"modified":"2025-01-21T20:12:53","modified_gmt":"2025-01-22T01:12:53","slug":"italian-false-friends","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/italian\/italian-false-friends\/","title":{"rendered":"13 Italian False Friends with English [Quiz Included]"},"content":{"rendered":"

Italian and English share a lot of similarities in vocabulary. But not all words that look similar between the two languages mean the same thing.<\/p>\n

These word pairs are called false friends, and they cause a lot of mistakes among English speakers who are learning Italian. Let’s look at some of the most commonly confused English and Italian false friends.
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What Are Italian False Friends?<\/h2>\n

Since Italian and English share roots, there are a lot of words in both languages that share a common Latin root. These words can be split up into two groups: cognates<\/strong><\/a> and false friends<\/strong>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Cognates<\/strong> have similar spelling and the same meaning <\/strong>between the two languages. For example, possibile<\/em> and possible or problema<\/em> and problem. They\u2019re not spelled exactly the same, but close enough that an English speaker can easily remember the Italian equivalent.\u00a0<\/p>\n

False friends<\/strong>, on the other hand, are words that are spelled and pronounced similarly but have totally different meanings<\/strong>. These can make learning a new language a bit more tricky.\u00a0The following list gives you the most common Italian false friends to watch out for.\u00a0<\/p>\n

False Verb Friends\u00a0<\/h2>\n

1. Annoiare<\/em>\u00a0vs. To Annoy<\/h3>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

If someone’s annoying you, using the verb annoiare<\/em> will still be an insult, but not the right one.\u00a0That\u2019s because annoiare<\/em> means to bore<\/strong>, not to annoy. To describe someone or something annoying in Italian, use irritare<\/em> or dare fastidio.<\/em><\/p>\n

2. Confrontare<\/em>\u00a0<\/em>vs. To Confront<\/h3>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

While confrontare <\/em>contains the word “confront,” it has a very different meaning. Confrontare<\/em> means to compare<\/strong>. So if you’re talking about confronting someone, use affrontare<\/em>\u00a0<\/em>instead, which can mean to confront, to deal with, to tackle or to face up to.<\/p>\n

3. Domandare<\/em>\u00a0vs. To Demand<\/h3>\n

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While domandare <\/em>looks curiously similar to “demand,” it doesn’t carry so much force. Domandare <\/em>means to ask or inquire. <\/strong>If you want to demand something, use pretendere<\/em> instead. We’ll come back to this verb soon.\u00a0<\/p>\n

4. Pretendere<\/em>\u00a0vs. To Pretend<\/h3>\n

\"italian-false-friends\"<\/a><\/p>\n

As we learned earlier, pretendere<\/em> means to demand<\/strong>. It can also mean to expect <\/strong>(without any right to do so), to require or to claim<\/strong>. For example:<\/p>\n

Pretende di avere sempre ragione.<\/em>\u00a0(He claims to always be right.)<\/p>\n

Pretende di passare l’esame senza avere studiato.<\/em>\u00a0<\/em>(He expects to pass without studying.) \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

If you want to say someone is pretending, use fingere.<\/em>\u00a0<\/em>For example: Lui finge<\/em>\u00a0(He’s pretending).<\/p>\n

False Adjective Friends\u00a0<\/h2>\n

5. Attualmente<\/em>\u00a0vs. Actually<\/h3>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Attualmente <\/em>is an often-confused word that means “currently,”<\/strong> not “actually.” Similarly, attuale<\/em>\u00a0means “current.” <\/span>If you want to say “actually,” use in realt\u00e0<\/em>.\u00a0For example:<\/p>\n

Pensavo che il film fosse noioso, ma in realt\u00e0<\/strong> \u00e8 stato molto interessante.<\/em> (I thought the movie was boring, but actually<\/strong>, it was very interesting.)<\/p>\n

6. Educato<\/em>\/Educat<\/em>a<\/em><\/em>\u00a0vs. Educated<\/h3>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

If you\u2019re in a job interview and you want to highlight the quality of your education, don’t use educato\/a. <\/em>Educato\/a<\/em> means “polite<\/strong>,” or that you were raised well by your parents. If you want to say that you\u2019re educated, use istruito<\/em> (for males) or istruita<\/em> (for females) instead.<\/p>\n

7. Grosso<\/em>\/Grossa<\/em>\u00a0vs. Gross<\/h3>\n

\"italian-false-friends\"<\/a><\/p>\n

If you want to express your disgust, grosso\/a<\/em> isn’t the word you want. That’s because grosso\/a<\/em> means “big.” <\/strong>So if you’re served a very large bowl of pasta, you can exclaim “Che grosso!”<\/em>\u00a0(How big!) without worrying about offending anyone.\u00a0If you want to say that something is gross, use schifo<\/em>\u00a0instead.<\/p>\n

8. Morbido<\/em>\/Morbid<\/em>a<\/em><\/em>\u00a0vs. Morbid<\/h3>\n

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While morbido<\/em>\/a<\/em> looks a lot like “morbid,” this Italian word actually means “soft.” The Italian word for “morbid” also looks similar: morboso<\/em>\/morbosa.<\/em> For example:<\/p>\n

Aveva una curiosit\u00e0 morbosa<\/strong> per tutto ci\u00f2 che riguardava la morte.<\/em> (He had a morbid<\/strong> curiosity about everything related to death.)<\/p>\n

False Noun Friends\u00a0<\/h2>\n

9. Camera<\/em>\u00a0vs. Camera<\/h3>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

In Italy, a camera is something you ask for at a hotel, not an electronics store. That\u2019s because una\u00a0camera<\/em> is a room<\/strong>, not a device for taking pictures. That\u2019s una<\/em>\u00a0macchina fotografica<\/em>.<\/p>\n

10. Fabbrica<\/em>\u00a0vs. Fabric<\/h3>\n

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Sewing a quilt? Don\u2019t go to the fabric store and ask for some fabbrica<\/em>. In Italian, fabbrica<\/em> means a factory<\/strong>, not fabric (which is tessuto<\/em>).<\/em><\/p>\n

11. Fattoria<\/em>\u00a0vs. Factory<\/h3>\n

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Let\u2019s say you actually are looking for a factory. You get lost on the way and ask someone “Dov’\u00e8 la fattoria?” <\/em>You probably won’t end up at the right place,\u00a0because fattoria<\/em> means farm<\/strong>, not factory. For that, as you just learned, you want to say fabbrica<\/em>.<\/p>\n

12. Libreria<\/em>\u00a0vs. Library<\/h3>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Want to borrow some Italian books for free? Don\u2019t go to the libreria. <\/em>You’ll find books there, but you’ll have to pay! That\u2019s because libreria<\/em> means bookstore<\/strong>. For free books, you want to go to the biblioteca<\/em>.<\/p>\n

13. Preservativo<\/em>\u00a0vs. Preservative<\/h3>\n

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Let\u2019s say you\u2019re shopping for some breakfast cereals and want something healthy. You ask an employee \u201cDove sono i cereali senza preservativi?\u201d<\/em> You might get a very strange look because preservativo <\/em>means “condom.”<\/strong> If you want food without preservatives, use senza conservanti.<\/em><\/p>\n

Quiz on Italian False Friends<\/h2>\n

Now that we’ve gone over some of the most commonly confused Italian false friends, it’s time to test what you’ve learned. Take the brief quiz below and just refresh the page if you want to start over or retake it.<\/p>\n