A Spanish lesson

I came to Spain under the impression that I had a pretty good level of Spanish. I was far beyond basic survival Spanish. I knew enough to have a conversation more complex than the classic "what do you like to do?" and "tell me about your family." I knew more than simply enough to get me in and out of trouble; I could talk about politics, natural disasters and poverty.

Source

I'd grown accustomed to the Costa Rican accent (or lack thereof), Central Americans' more formal way of speaking and their vocabulary. There, car is carro, place is lugar, drive is manejar, juice is jugo and everything is lindo (cute, pretty, adorable, nice).

Then I came to Spain, southern Spain to boot. I've passed through periods here when I've lost all confidence in my Spanish. There have been multiple conversations in which I haven't understood a single word because the accent and colloquial usage of Spanish here is impossible at times. It can be soul-crushing.

Story of my life. Source

Here, car is coche, place is generally sitio, drive is conducir, juice is zumo and everything is bonito. 

But it's recently started to get better - right on time. Former auxiliares in Extremadura had warned us that it would take until Christmas to start feeling comfortable. Before coming, I didn't believe that.

Now I do.

So, while we're on the subject of Spanish, I'll give you all a quick lesson.

Read this list of words and while doing so, think of the appropriate English translation.

Compromiso
Fatal
Embarazada
Confidencia
Disco
Molestar
Constipado
Caramelos
Preservativo
Club
Actual
Jersey

Your translations are wrong, I would guess, unless you've studied Spanish at a level more advanced than middle- or high school language courses. The words above are "false cognates," meaning they look similar to English words but have different meanings.

Compromiso = commitment
Fatal = this can be "fatal," as in "deadly," but it's more commonly used to describe something terrible or awful

Embarazada = this is a classic Spanish 101 newbie error. Not "embarrassed," but rather "pregnant."
Confidencia = a secret

Disco = nothing to do with flower power or flared pants anymore. Disco is short for discoteca, a nightclub. It is a true cognate with "disc."

Molestar = nope, not referring to sexual abuse. This means "to bother."

Constipado = I learned this one here in Spain, as it's winter at the moment. This means "congested." "Constipated" is extreñido.
Caramelos = this doesn't necessarily mean caramels, although it can. More often, in Spain at least, caramelos are "candies."

Preservativo = in Spain, this is not what enables canned soup to last for centuries. That would be a conservante. This is a condom. My British roommate once said in an oral exam that she doesn't like how many preservativos are put in food. Laughter ensued.

Club = not a regular nightclub, but rather a place to see lady parts.

Actual = I commit this error often. This means "current," while "actual" would be real.
Jersey = You won't find names and numbers on this - it's a "sweater."


That's just a sampling of tricky ones. There are many more.

Here's to learning and improving every day.

Un saludo,
Teresa