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Home / Vocabulary / False friends

Vocabulary A1–B1

False friends between Italian and English

Italian and English share thousands of words, and a few of them are traps: in Italy a camera is where you sleep, and your parenti are not just mum and dad. Here are 21 false friends, each with a cartoon that puts both meanings together so you never mix them up again.

An English teapot and an Italian moka coffee pot side by side on a wooden table
A big photo camera sleeping in a bed in a cosy bedroom

la camera

In Italian it means: room, bedroom

⚠️ Careful: “camera” in English is la macchina fotografica in Italian.

Two example sentences
  1. La mia camera è piccola ma luminosa.
  2. Ho comprato una macchina fotografica nuova.
A big family gathering, with a little girl hugging only her mum and dad

i parenti

In Italian it means: relatives

⚠️ Careful: “parents” in English is i genitori in Italian.

Two example sentences
  1. A Natale vengono tutti i parenti.
  2. I miei genitori abitano a Torino.
Two panels: with the Italian flag, a bookseller selling a book; with the British flag, students reading in a library

la libreria

In Italian it means: bookshop; also bookcase

⚠️ Careful: “library” in English is la biblioteca in Italian.

Two example sentences
  1. Ho comprato un romanzo in libreria.
  2. Studio in biblioteca tutti i pomeriggi.
A cow in a hard hat and safety goggles working on a factory assembly line

la fattoria

In Italian it means: farm

⚠️ Careful: “factory” in English is la fabbrica in Italian.

Two example sentences
  1. In fattoria ci sono mucche e galline.
  2. Mio zio lavora in una fabbrica di scarpe.
A friendly printing press printing big colourful postage stamps

la stampa

In Italian it means: printing; the press

⚠️ Careful: “stamp” in English is il francobollo in Italian.

Two example sentences
  1. La stampa parla molto di questa notizia.
  2. Mi servono due francobolli per le cartoline.
Wedding guests throwing white sugared almonds over the bride and groom

i confetti

In Italian it means: sugared almonds (given at weddings)

⚠️ Careful: “confetti” in English is i coriandoli in Italian.

Two example sentences
  1. Al matrimonio regalano i confetti bianchi.
  2. A Carnevale i bambini lanciano i coriandoli.
A forklift driver in a huge warehouse stopping to read a colourful magazine

il magazzino

In Italian it means: warehouse, storeroom

⚠️ Careful: “magazine” in English is la rivista in Italian.

Two example sentences
  1. Le scatole sono in magazzino.
  2. Leggo una rivista di viaggi.
Two panels: with the Italian flag, a polite boy holding the door for an old lady; with the British flag, a graduate with her diploma

educato / educata

In Italian it means: polite, well-mannered

⚠️ Careful: “educated” in English is istruito, colto in Italian.

Two example sentences
  1. Che bambino educato: dice sempre grazie!
  2. È una persona molto istruita: ha due lauree.
A man yawning in front of a dull television while an annoying fly buzzes round his head

annoiare

In Italian it means: to bore; annoiarsi = to get bored

⚠️ Careful: “to annoy” in English is dare fastidio, infastidire in Italian.

Two example sentences
  1. Questo film mi annoia: andiamo via?
  2. Questa mosca mi dà fastidio!
Two panels: with the Italian flag, an angry customer demanding his money back; with the British flag, children pretending to be pirates

pretendere

In Italian it means: to demand, to expect

⚠️ Careful: “to pretend” in English is fingere in Italian.

Two example sentences
  1. Il cliente pretende i soldi indietro.
  2. I bambini fingono di essere pirati.
Two neighbours whispering a secret while a road worker makes a racket with a jackhammer

il rumore

In Italian it means: noise

⚠️ Careful: “rumour” in English is la voce (che gira), il pettegolezzo in Italian.

Two example sentences
  1. Che rumore fa questo martello pneumatico!
  2. Gira voce che Marco si sposa.
A family sunbathing in front of a country estate with a villa and vineyards under the summer sun

l’estate

In Italian it means: summer

⚠️ Careful: “estate” in English is la tenuta, la proprietà in Italian.

Two example sentences
  1. D’estate andiamo al mare.
  2. La famiglia ha una tenuta in Toscana.
A man in slippers and an apron mopping a city pavement as if it were his kitchen floor

il pavimento

In Italian it means: floor

⚠️ Careful: “pavement” in English is il marciapiede in Italian.

Two example sentences
  1. Ho lavato il pavimento della cucina.
  2. Cammina sul marciapiede, non in strada!
Office workers eating lunch from trays in a wine cellar full of barrels

la cantina

In Italian it means: cellar; also winery

⚠️ Careful: “canteen” in English is la mensa in Italian.

Two example sentences
  1. Teniamo il vino in cantina.
  2. A pranzo mangio alla mensa aziendale.
Two panels: with the Italian flag, a girl playing the violin very well; with the British flag, a brave firefighter rescuing a kitten

bravo / brava

In Italian it means: good, clever, skilled; also “well done!”

⚠️ Careful: “brave” in English is coraggioso in Italian.

Two example sentences
  1. Brava! Hai suonato benissimo.
  2. Il pompiere è stato molto coraggioso.
A shivering man in a woolly hat turning on the tap with the red dot and getting steaming hot water

caldo

In Italian it means: hot, warm; il caldo = the heat

⚠️ Careful: “cold” in English is freddo in Italian.

Two example sentences
  1. Il rubinetto con il puntino rosso è quello dell’acqua calda.
  2. Oggi fa freddo: mettiti la sciarpa.
A famous film star on the red carpet secretly biting a slice of pizza while photographers take pictures

la fame

In Italian it means: hunger; avere fame = to be hungry

⚠️ Careful: “fame” in English is la fama in Italian.

Two example sentences
  1. Ho una fame da lupo!
  2. Questo attore è diventato famoso: la fama gli piace.
A very messy living room full of playing cards, chips and dice, and a mother standing in the doorway

il casino

In Italian it means: a mess (informal)

⚠️ Careful: “casino” in English is il casinò in Italian.

Two example sentences
  1. Che casino in camera tua!
  2. A Venezia c’è un casinò molto antico.
A fluffy kitten on a soft pillow next to a surprised Halloween skeleton

morbido / morbida

In Italian it means: soft

⚠️ Careful: “morbid” in English is morboso, macabro in Italian.

Two example sentences
  1. Questo cuscino è morbidissimo.
  2. Ha un interesse macabro per i film dell’orrore.
Two panels: with the Italian flag, a teacher explaining a topic; with the British flag, two neighbours having an argument

l’argomento

In Italian it means: topic, subject

⚠️ Careful: “argument” in English is la lite, il litigio, la discussione in Italian.

Two example sentences
  1. L’argomento della lezione di oggi sono i pianeti.
  2. I vicini hanno avuto una lite per il giardino.
Two panels: with the Italian flag, a man moved to tears by a film; with the British flag, a sensible woman with an umbrella in the rain

sensibile

In Italian it means: sensitive

⚠️ Careful: “sensible” in English is sensato, ragionevole in Italian.

Two example sentences
  1. Mio fratello è molto sensibile: piange sempre ai film.
  2. Portare l’ombrello è una scelta sensata.
Two tricky adverbs

Two very common false friends have no cartoon because you cannot draw them: attualmente means “currently”, not “actually” (that is in realtà), and eventualmente means “if necessary, possibly”, not “eventually” (that is alla fine). And remember: on an Italian tap, the C is for caldo, hot!

21 exercises

How do you say it in Italian?

Think like an Italian: write the Italian word for the English one. Answers with or without the article are both accepted.

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