Which of these loanwords are false friends I should watch out for?

The riskiest are patio (an inner courtyard, not a back terrace), mesa (a table or desk, never a hill), pronto (soon, not 'right now'), bodega (a winery or storeroom, not a corner shop), vigilante (a paid security guard, not a self-appointed avenger) and aficionado (any fan, not necessarily a connoisseur). Barrio is also fully neutral in Spanish, without the connotations it has in US English.

Why is a Spanish tortilla different from a Mexican tortilla?

They are unrelated foods that ended up sharing a name. In Spain, tortilla means omelette: tortilla de patatas is the classic potato-and-egg version, cut into wedges. In Mexico and Central America a tortilla is the thin corn or wheat flatbread used for tacos and quesadillas. Order 'una tortilla' in Madrid and you will get eggs, so say tortilla de maíz when you mean the bread.

Do I have to write the accents and the ñ in words like cañón and jalapeño?

Yes - in Spanish they are compulsory. Without the tilde, ñ becomes a plain n and the sound changes completely (ñ is the ny in 'canyon'), and canon without ñ is a different word meaning 'fee, canon'. Missing the written accent in cañón, huracán or jalapeño is simply a spelling mistake. English drops them (canyon, hurricane, jalapeno), but that is an English convention, not a Spanish one.

Are words like chocolate and tomate really Spanish?

They came into English through Spanish, but Spanish had borrowed them first: chocolate and tomate from Nahuatl (xocolatl, tomatl), aguacate from ahuacatl, huracán from Taíno. Spanish was the bridge, which is why the English forms keep a Spanish shape. Adobe adds another layer: Spanish took it from Arabic al-tub.

Spanish Words Used in English: 40 Loanwords

🇪🇸 Spanish · 40 cards · A2 · by Lucía Herrera

English has borrowed hundreds of words from Spanish, which is good news: you already recognise them. The trap is that the Spanish meaning is usually wider, narrower or simply different. A patio is an inner courtyard, not a back terrace. A mesa is a table. A vigilante is a paid security guard. A bodega is where wine is made or where stock is stored. These are the 40 loanwords my students trip over most often, each with the meaning a Spanish speaker actually hears, plus notes on spelling (cañón, jalapeño) and on Spain-versus-Mexico differences. Read the note as carefully as the word - that is where the mistakes hide.

1 / 40

How to use this deck

Flip through the cards, then switch to Quiz. Tap the play button on any row to hear it. The full table below is there to read, print or copy into your own flashcard app.

The Reji iPhone app is being rebuilt and returns to the App Store soon.

All 40 cards

#	Spanish	English	Example
1	la fiesta Everyday word for any party, and also for a day off work: el lunes es fiesta. Nothing exotic about it in Spanish.	party; public holiday	El sábado hay fiesta en casa de mi prima. There's a party at my cousin's place on Saturday.
2	la siesta Goes with echarse or dormir: echarse/dormir la siesta. Usually 20-30 minutes, not a long sleep.	nap, afternoon nap	Después de comer me echo una siesta corta. After lunch I take a short nap.
3	el patio An inner courtyard of a building, or a schoolyard. The paved area behind a house that English calls a patio is una terraza.	courtyard; playground (school)	Los niños juegan en el patio del colegio. The children are playing in the school playground.
4	la plaza Also 'space': plaza de garaje, quedan dos plazas. In Mexico a shopping mall is often una plaza (comercial); that sense does not exist in Spain.	square; space, spot; job vacancy	Nos vemos en la plaza del pueblo a las ocho. See you in the town square at eight.
5	el amigo Masculine; feminine la amiga. Completely neutral as a noun, but Spanish speakers rarely call a stranger 'amigo' - it can sound patronising, so don't copy the English joke usage.	friend	Es un amigo del trabajo, nada más. He's a friend from work, nothing more.
6	mañana Adverb 'tomorrow' and noun la mañana 'the morning'. The English cliché of mañana meaning 'never' is not real Spanish usage.	tomorrow; morning	Te lo mando mañana por la mañana. I'll send it to you tomorrow morning.
7	pronto False friend: Spanish pronto is 'soon', not English 'pronto' (= right now). For speed say rápido or deprisa. Note also de pronto = suddenly.	soon	Vuelve pronto, que te echo de menos. Come back soon, I miss you.
8	loco Adjective, so it agrees: loca, locos, locas. Informal but not offensive. Estar loco por algo = to be crazy about something.	crazy, mad	Estás loco si compras ese coche. You're crazy if you buy that car.
9	macho Basic meaning is 'male' as opposed to hembra. Applied to a man it is slangy swagger; the attitude is machismo and such a man is machista.	male (animal); tough guy	Ese perro es macho, no hembra. That dog is male, not female.
10	el chocolate From Nahuatl, and it reached English through Spanish. In Spain, un chocolate can be a cup of hot chocolate - and it is also street slang for hashish.	chocolate; hot chocolate	¿Quieres un chocolate caliente? Do you want a hot chocolate?
11	el tomate From Nahuatl tomatl. Ponerse rojo como un tomate = to go bright red, to blush.	tomato	Esta ensalada necesita más tomate. This salad needs more tomato.
12	el aguacate From Nahuatl ahuacatl; English 'avocado' comes from an old Spanish variant reshaped by the word abogado. In Chile, Peru and Argentina people say palta.	avocado	El aguacate ya está maduro. The avocado is ripe now.
13	la vainilla Literally 'little pod', from vaina (pod, sheath). Watch the spelling: vainilla, with -ai- and double l.	vanilla	Un helado de vainilla, por favor. A vanilla ice cream, please.
14	la tortilla Two completely different foods. In Spain it is an egg omelette; in Mexico and Central America, the corn or wheat flatbread.	omelette (Spain); flatbread (Mexico)	Mi abuela hace tortilla de patatas los domingos. My grandmother makes potato omelette on Sundays.
15	el taco The food is Mexican. In Spain, decir tacos means 'to swear', and un taco is also a wall plug or a wedge.	taco; swear word (Spain); wall plug	Vamos por unos tacos al pastor. Let's go and get some tacos al pastor.
16	la salsa Any sauce at all: gravy, dressing, pasta sauce. For the spicy Mexican kind say salsa picante, salsa verde or salsa roja.	sauce; salsa (music)	Esta salsa picante está buenísima. This hot sauce is really good.
17	la tapa Singular tapa; the literal meaning is 'lid'. Ir de tapas = to go from bar to bar eating small plates.	small plate of food; lid	Pedimos unas tapas y una caña. We ordered some tapas and a small beer.
18	el chorizo In Spain it is cured and full of paprika; in Mexico it is fresh and cooked from raw. Colloquially in Spain, un chorizo is a thief.	chorizo sausage; crook (Spain, slang)	Corta el chorizo en rodajas finas. Cut the chorizo into thin slices.
19	el cilantro American English borrowed the Spanish word; British English says coriander. The herb is far more used in Mexican than in Spanish cooking.	coriander, cilantro	No le eches cilantro, no me gusta. Don't put coriander in it, I don't like it.
20	el jalapeño Named after Xalapa (Jalapa) in Veracruz. Roughly ha-la-PE-nyo, with a rasping h; the ñ is part of the spelling, not decoration.	jalapeño pepper	Este taco lleva mucho jalapeño. This taco has a lot of jalapeño in it.
21	el mosquito Literally 'little fly', from mosca. Spanish plural is mosquitos; English adds an e (mosquitoes).	mosquito	Me picó un mosquito en el tobillo. A mosquito bit me on the ankle.
22	la cucaracha Feminine: una cucaracha grande. English 'cockroach' is a reshaping of this Spanish word.	cockroach	Hay una cucaracha detrás de la nevera. There's a cockroach behind the fridge.
23	el huracán From Taíno, borrowed by Spanish in the Caribbean. Masculine, stressed on the last syllable; plural huracanes, with no accent.	hurricane	El huracán llegó a la costa por la noche. The hurricane reached the coast during the night.
24	el tornado English took it from Spanish tronada (thunderstorm), reshaped by tornar (to turn). Careful: tornado is also the past participle of tornar.	tornado	Un tornado destruyó varias casas. A tornado destroyed several houses.
25	el cañón Augmentative of caña (tube). One Spanish word covers all three senses; English kept the landscape one and respelled it 'canyon'.	canyon; cannon; gun barrel	Bajamos al fondo del cañón a caballo. We rode down to the bottom of the canyon on horseback.
26	la mesa In Spanish it is a table or a desk, never a hill. The flat-topped-hill sense lives in US English and in southwestern place names; a plateau is una meseta.	table; desk	Reserva una mesa para cuatro. Book a table for four.
27	la sierra The same word for a saw and for a jagged mountain range. English kept only the range sense, mostly in place names.	mountain range; saw	Pasamos el verano en la sierra. We spend the summer up in the mountains.
28	el rancho Common in Mexico and much of Latin America for a farm or country property; rarely used in Spain. Ranchera music takes its name from it.	ranch, small farm	Mi tío tiene un rancho pequeño. My uncle has a small ranch.
29	el corral A fenced yard for animals, usually beside a farmhouse. English borrowed it as a noun and a verb ('to corral').	pen, enclosure, yard	Metieron las gallinas en el corral. They put the hens in the pen.
30	el rodeo The base idea is 'going around'. Very common as sin rodeos = without beating about the bush. The cowboy event is also el rodeo.	detour, roundabout way; rodeo	Dimos un rodeo para evitar el tráfico. We took a detour to avoid the traffic.
31	el adobe From Arabic al-tub. Sun-dried clay brick; it travelled from Spanish into English almost unchanged.	adobe, mud brick	Las paredes de la casa son de adobe. The walls of the house are made of adobe.
32	la hacienda Also property or wealth in general. Capitalised, Hacienda is the tax authority - Spain's Agencia Tributaria, Mexico's Secretaría de Hacienda.	estate, large farm; wealth, assets	La hacienda lleva cien años en la familia. The estate has been in the family for a hundred years.
33	el barrio Completely neutral in Spanish: any part of a city, rich or poor. In US English 'barrio' suggests a poor Hispanic area; the Spanish word carries none of that.	neighbourhood, district	Vivo en un barrio tranquilo. I live in a quiet neighbourhood.
34	la bodega The New York corner-shop sense is US English only. In Mexico, Chile and Peru a bodega is also a warehouse or a storage room.	winery, wine cellar; storeroom, warehouse	Compramos el vino en una bodega de La Rioja. We bought the wine at a winery in La Rioja.
35	el sombrero Any brimmed hat, from sombra 'shade'. It does not mean the wide mariachi hat in particular - that is un sombrero de charro.	hat	Ponte un sombrero, hace mucho sol. Put a hat on, it's very sunny.
36	el machete From macho, an old word for a sledgehammer. An ordinary farm tool in much of Latin America, not only a weapon.	machete	Abrió el coco con un machete. He opened the coconut with a machete.
37	la guitarra English 'guitar' reached English partly through Spanish. Instruments take tocar, never jugar: toco la guitarra.	guitar	Toca la guitarra en un grupo de rock. He plays guitar in a rock band.
38	la guerrilla Diminutive of guerra, literally 'little war'. One fighter is un guerrillero / una guerrillera - in Spanish guerrilla is the group, not the person.	guerrilla force; guerrilla warfare	La guerrilla controlaba toda la zona montañosa. The guerrilla force controlled the whole mountain area.
39	el aficionado Any fan, expert or not: aficionado al fútbol. Feminine aficionada. English narrowed it to 'devoted connoisseur'.	fan, enthusiast; amateur	Es un aficionado a la ópera. He's an opera fan.
40	el vigilante A paid guard doing a legal job; feminine la vigilante. Someone who takes the law into their own hands is un justiciero in Spanish.	security guard, watchman	El vigilante nos pidió el carné en la puerta. The guard asked us for ID at the door.

Lucía Herrera

Native Spanish · Speaks English, Portuguese

Native Spanish speaker from Valencia, now in Mexico City. I tutor Spanish online and keep a notebook of the words my students trip over. Every deck here comes from that notebook.

Published 17 Sept 2026

Questions about this deck

Which of these loanwords are false friends I should watch out for?: The riskiest are patio (an inner courtyard, not a back terrace), mesa (a table or desk, never a hill), pronto (soon, not 'right now'), bodega (a winery or storeroom, not a corner shop), vigilante (a paid security guard, not a self-appointed avenger) and aficionado (any fan, not necessarily a connoisseur). Barrio is also fully neutral in Spanish, without the connotations it has in US English.
Why is a Spanish tortilla different from a Mexican tortilla?: They are unrelated foods that ended up sharing a name. In Spain, tortilla means omelette: tortilla de patatas is the classic potato-and-egg version, cut into wedges. In Mexico and Central America a tortilla is the thin corn or wheat flatbread used for tacos and quesadillas. Order 'una tortilla' in Madrid and you will get eggs, so say tortilla de maíz when you mean the bread.
Do I have to write the accents and the ñ in words like cañón and jalapeño?: Yes - in Spanish they are compulsory. Without the tilde, ñ becomes a plain n and the sound changes completely (ñ is the ny in 'canyon'), and canon without ñ is a different word meaning 'fee, canon'. Missing the written accent in cañón, huracán or jalapeño is simply a spelling mistake. English drops them (canyon, hurricane, jalapeno), but that is an English convention, not a Spanish one.
Are words like chocolate and tomate really Spanish?: They came into English through Spanish, but Spanish had borrowed them first: chocolate and tomate from Nahuatl (xocolatl, tomatl), aguacate from ahuacatl, huracán from Taíno. Spanish was the bridge, which is why the English forms keep a Spanish shape. Adobe adds another layer: Spanish took it from Arabic al-tub.

Tags:loanwords false friends

Spanish Words Used in English: 40 Loanwords

All 40 cards

Questions about this deck

More Spanish decks: spanish words used in english

100 Basic Spanish Words for Beginners (A1)

100 Most Common Spanish Verbs (with yo & tú forms)

Colors in Spanish: 25 Words with Gender Rules

Common Spanish Phrases for Beginners (50 Essentials)

Hard Spanish Words to Pronounce (rr, j, ñ + slang)

Irregular Spanish Verbs: 40 You Really Need (A2)

Numbers in Spanish 1–100 (Plus Dates and Prices)

Spanish Adjectives: The 100 Most Useful