10 False friends between Italian and English
If you’ve just moved to Italy and are trying to learn Italian, you’ll probably have already come across some false friends along the way.
Italian and English are both Indo-European languages, meaning they descend from a distant common root, even though they later split into two different branches:
- Italian: Romance language
- English: Germanic language
Starting from this distant shared root, many words evolved, taking on different meanings in each language. These words are often the ones responsible for the most common (and sometimes embarrassing) errors made by English speakers learning Italian.
So let’s have a look at the most common English-Italian false friends and learn how to avoid them.
10 Common false friends English-Italian
Accident – Accidente
In English, an accident is typically an unfortunate event that happens unexpectedly and can be translated with the Italian word incidente.
Meanwhile, the word accidente in Italian is used mostly to describe a medical condition such as a stroke or a seizure.
Example: Yesterday I had an accident with my car. → Ieri ho avuto un incidente con la mia auto.
EN accident → IT incidente
IT accidente → EN seizure/stroke
Actually – Attualmente
Confusing the word actually with attualmente is a very common mistake among English speakers. Although they look basically the same, they have very different meanings. Attualmente means “at the moment” or “currently”, while actually translates as in realtà.
Example: Actually, I don’t work here, I’m just visiting. → In realtà non lavoro qui, sono solo in visita.
EN actually → IT in realtà
IT attualmente → EN at the moment
Annoyed – Annoiato
When someone tells you he’s annoiato in Italian, don’t worry, he is not angry at you. Annoiato means bored, while annoyed translates as seccato or infastidito.
Example: I’m annoyed by the loud music coming from the apartment upstairs. → Sono infastidito dalla musica ad alto volume proveniente dall’appartamento di sopra.
EN annoyed → IT seccato/infastidito
IT annoiato → EN bored
Argument – argomento
To say that you “had an argument” with someone in Italian you wouldn’t use the word argomento, because argomento actually means topic.
Example: I don’t want to have any more arguments with you, let’s change the topic. → Non voglio avere altre discussioni con te, cambiamo argomento.
EN argument → IT discussione/litigio
IT argomento → EN topic
Camera – camera
In English, the camera is the tool you use to take pictures. In Italian, camera refers to a part of the house. Camera da letto is the bedroom.
Example: I forgot my camera at home. → Ho dimenticato a casa la mia macchina fotografica.
EN camera → IT macchina fotografica
IT camera → EN room
Education – educazione
The English word education translates as istruzione in Italian. So, when you are talking about your studies, remember not to confuse the two words.
Example: Education is the most powerful tool we can use to change the world. → L’istruzione è lo strumento più potente che possiamo usare per cambiare il mondo.
EN education → IT istruzione
IT educazione → EN upbringing or good/bad manners (depending on the context)
Eventually – eventualmente
Eventually and eventualmente also look the same but have a different meaning. Eventually is used to refer to something that would happen after some time. In Italian, to express this concept, we would use the expression alla fine, or prima o poi.
On the other hand, the word eventualmente means possibly.
Example: After months of training, she eventually ran her first marathon. → Dopo mesi di allenamento, alla fine ha corso la sua prima maratona.
EN eventually → IT alla fine
IT eventualmente → EN possibly
Library – libreria
In Italian libreria can be both a bookshelf and a bookstore, while the word we use for library is biblioteca.
Example: I want to go to the library to study today. → Oggi voglio andare in biblioteca a studiare.
EN Library → IT biblioteca
IT libreria → EN bookstore/bookshelf
Parents – parenti
These two words are often confused because they both refer to parts of the family. Parents translates as genitori, while parenti is the whole group of relatives.
Example: My girlfriend is going to meet my parents today. → La mia ragazza conoscerà i miei genitori oggi.
EN parents → IT genitori
IT parenti → EN relatives
Sensible – sensibile
A sensitive person in Italian is “una persona sensibile”, while something sensible is something that “ha senso” or “è sensato”.
Example: It is sensible to save some money for unexpected expenses. → È sensato mettere da parte un po’ di soldi per le spese impreviste.
EN sensible → IT sensato
IT sensibile → EN sensitive
