Common Spanish Mistakes English Speakers Make
Learn how to avoid the most common Spanish mistakes that English speakers make while speaking Spanish with this article. Plenty of guidance inside!
On this page
Watch this video to learn more about common Spanish mistakes.PronunciationRoll your Rrrrrrrs!Don’t be so harsh with your inter-vocal consonantsFalse FriendsSensato/ SensibleActually/ ActualmenteAsistir/ AtenderÉxitoEmbarazadaEducadoGrammarGenderSer/ EstarSubjunctivePor/ParaUsing possessive adjectives when talking about the parts of the bodyConclusionAs second-language speakers, we can realistically never hope to reach perfect native level with our Spanish. We can, however, get pretty darn close!
There are a few things that are always dead giveaways that mark you as an English-speaking Spanish learner. But want to take your Spanish to the next level and have native speakers take a step back and ask “Where are you from?” when you speak to them?
Well, take a look at the list below which outlines some of the most common errors made by English speakers who are learning the Spanish language.
Watch this video to learn more about common Spanish mistakes.
Pronunciation
If you want to get technical, you could call this the “phonetics” section. In this section, you will get a quick introduction to some of the “nit-picky” aspects of pronunciation. But, believe me. These things will be some of the first giveaways to your non-native status that native Spanish speakers will hear when you speak to them. So, pay attention if you want to sound more like one of them!
Roll your Rrrrrrrs!
It’s something that not everyone can do. And it takes a lot of practice to perfect it, but, this is one thing that almost every Spaniard will point out at one time or another as being something that English speakers just can’t seem to get right.
This isn’t just the “rr” in words like “perro” or “ahorrar” but also the single tap that you’ll hear in words such as “pero” or “caro.” It’s nowhere near as long and exaggerated as the “rr” you’ll find in the first two words, but it’s still different than the “r” we have in English. It’s more fluid, and rolls off the tongue a little quicker.
Don’t be so harsh with your inter-vocal consonants
When a “d” comes between two vowels, there’s a slight change in the way it’s pronounced. One of the common mistakes that English speakers make, is they continue to pronounce it as if it were the hard “d” like in “dog.”
If you listen to a native Spanish speaker, you’ll realize that the “d” in words like “todo” or “lado” is usually a soft, continuous sound, similar to the English “th” in “this,” rather than a hard stop or a pause. In rapid speech it may weaken further or disappear in some regions, particularly in endings such as -ado.
The same softening happens with “b” and “g” in words such as “caminaba” and “bodega.” These sounds are not usually as harsh as the consonants in English “boat” or “goat.”
False Friends
Also called “false cognates” these are words that sound very similar to words that exist in English, but they don’t, in fact, mean the same thing!
Sensato/ Sensible
This is one that’s really confusing! If a person is “sensato” then he is “sensible.” But if he is “sensible” (in Spanish) he is “sensitive” in English!
So, in case you missed that:
Sensato= sensible
Sensible= Sensitive
Actually/ Actualmente
Actually, this one is pretty confusing too! But, “actualmente” I’m going to explain it to you so you can avoid making one very common mistake.
“Actualmente” means “currently” or “at the present time.” If you were to say something along the lines of “actualmente, no me gusta el pescado” hoping to say “Actually, I don’t like fish,” what you’re really saying is “At the current time/ at the moment, I don’t like fish.”
This may be true for you! Maybe you liked fish yesterday, but today you’re just not feeling it. That’s fine, you can say that then. But, if what you’re trying to say is “In reality, I don’t like fish” then you should say something more like “la verdad, no me gusta el pescado.”
An example of a sentence with “actualmente” being used correctly would be: “Actualmente estudio español en la universidad.”
Asistir/ Atender
Asistir a means “to attend” in the class example below. Asistir can also mean “to assist” in other contexts, while atender can mean paying attention to or looking after someone. What? Really? So all this time I’ve been saying “Atiendo clases de español” and I should have been saying “Asisto a clases de español”?
Yes! These words are commonly confused by English speakers, so write them down, practice them, and log this class-attendance construction away in your mind.
Éxito
Éxito does not mean “exit.” So, if you’re walking around somewhere in a Spanish speaking country asking for the “éxito” don’t be surprised if people look at you funny. You’re asking them where is the “success” or “achievement.”
By the way “exit” is salida.
Embarazada
This is one that can lead to some very funny situations if you get it wrong. It sounds similar to the English word “embarrassed” and you may find yourself blushing red with that very feeling when you accidentally tell someone you’re pregnant.
Embarazada means just that–pregnant!
Avergonzado/a is the word in Spanish for embarrassed.
Educado
If you want to brag about your Spanish-language education, you may not want to do so simply by telling someone that you are very “educado.” In everyday descriptions, educado/a usually refers to good manners, although it can also relate to someone’s education in other contexts. It does not clearly convey your Spanish skills on its own.
Educado/a is commonly used to describe someone with good manners. It’s like saying “he’s polite.” (Es educado.)
Grammar
Of course we were going to have to talk about grammar—the language student’s best friend! Surprisingly enough, verb conjugations aren’t at the top of the list of things that serve as giveaways of an English-speaker learning Spanish. Below you will find the 5 most common grammatical pitfalls for Spanish language students.
Gender
This is something that’s an almost completely foreign concept in the English language. Not “gender” itself, but the idea that words have a gender.
La casa roja– the red house (the “a” denotes that the noun “casa” is feminine.)
This is something that’s hard, not only to understand, but to then put into practice, because it’s not just the nouns that have a gender. The adjectives associated with them have one too! Note the example again- “lA casA rojA”- all feminine.
If we were to say “el libro rojo” (the red book) you’ll see that the article “el” is masculine, as is the adjective “rojo.” Not keeping the gender consistent throughout a sentence is a common mistake made by English speakers.
Generally speaking, a noun that ends in “o” is masculine, and one that ends in “a” is feminine! Easy as that! But, of course, there have to be a few exceptions. Some of the most common are:
La mano (the hand- feminine)
El mapa (the map- masculine)
La foto (the picture- feminine) short for “fotografía”.
La radio (the radio- feminine)
Another thing to watch out for when talking about gender is a feminine singular noun beginning with a stressed “a” sound, written a or ha. When the article directly precedes the noun, use the feminine variant el: “el agua” (the water), “el alma” (the soul), and “el águila” (the eagle). The noun stays feminine, so its adjectives are feminine too, and the plural uses las.
So, you can say “quiero el agua fría” but if you want more than one, you’d say “quiero las aguas frías.”
Ser/ Estar
Am I short, or am I short?
This is a very commonly confused pair of verbs, both meaning “to be.” The best way to remember these is:
Ser often describes identity or characteristic qualities, many of which are lasting. “Permanent” can be a useful first memory aid, but these qualities can change.
Example: I am short (Soy baja—I have been short my whole life, and it’s not going to change no matter how much milk I drink!). He is handsome. She is nice. They are young, but we are old. These describe characteristics of the person; using ser does not mean they can never change, as the young/old example shows.
Estar describes states and locations, often temporary ones. “Temporary” is a useful first memory aid, but some states with estar are lasting: Está muerto means “He is dead.”
Example: I am angry (Estoy enfadada- I’m not always angry, it’s just that right now, I am!) He is tired. We are in the store. You are very handsome today (if you want to emphasize that someone looks especially nice).
Subjunctive
There isn’t really enough space here to go too in-depth as to the workings of the subjunctive. But, it is definitely something that English speakers struggle with on a regular basis. If you want to take your Spanish to the next level, it’s something you’ll have to become familiar with.
Por/Para
I paid $5 for a present for my mother. Two “for’s” in one sentence, and two different “for’s” in Spanish. Pagué $5 por un regalo para mi madre.
There are lists and shortcuts for remembering which one to use when, but the simplest and most basic way to remember them is:
Por can focus on a process, cause, means or exchange rather than a goal. This is a useful shortcut, but it does not mean that something expressed with por can never have a definite end. In the example above, the exchange of money ($5 FOR a gift) focuses on the process through which the gift was acquired.
“Tengo que pasar por el parque en el camino a clase.”- I have to pass through the park on my way to class.
Para is used to show finality–the end result. Again, looking back at first example “a gift FOR my mother” shows the gift’s final destination—its overall purpose. “Voy para la casa de mi amiga.”- I’m going FOR (To- the end of the road is…) my friend’s house.
Another common use of “para” is before a verb in infinitive, and in this case it means “in order to.” Again, talking about the result of the action. “Para llegar a clase, tengo que pasar por el parque.”- In order to arrive at class, I have to pass through the park.
Using possessive adjectives when talking about the parts of the body
But it’s MY head that hurts!
This is a very common error for English-speaking Spanish learners, and is due to the fact that in English, it’s the way it’s said! My arm, my head, his leg, her back… We always have to lay claim to body parts. Well, in Spanish you don’t have to!
This is because the construction of the sentence will almost always make it clear to the listener whose body part is being referred to. Let’s go back to the sentence at the beginning of this section.
“My head hurts.” In Spanish this would be said “me duele la cabeza.” Understanding the workings of indirect object pronouns, we see that “me duele” means that the hurting is happening to me! Someone else’s head isn’t going to hurt me, only mine. So there’s absolutely no need to repeat myself by saying “To me my head hurts.”
In place of the possessive adjective, in Spanish you simply use the definite article. “Le duele el estómago”- His stomach hurts. “¡Lávate las manos!”- Wash your hands!
Conclusion
This article is meant to serve as a quick guide to what common pitfalls to be on the lookout for as an English-speaking student of Spanish. There will always be ways in which we give ourselves away, but making it a little more difficult for native Spanish speakers to tell is definitely a great feeling!
These things don’t happen overnight. They take a long time, a lot of studying, continuously making the same mistakes, and never giving up. Hopefully this article will help you be more conscious of these very typical errors, and also give you some encouragement in knowing that you’re not alone in committing them–it comes with being an English speaker.
