Complete Italian Course · Cross-Level Reference

False Friends — Falsi Amici

Words that look like an English word you already know — which is exactly why they trip people up. No red flag goes up the way it does for genuinely unfamiliar vocabulary.

All Levels

🎭 How to read this: "Looks Like" is the false assumption an English speaker naturally makes. "Actually Means" is the real meaning. Where it's useful, the caption also gives you the real Italian word for the English meaning you were assuming.

1🏠

Home, Town & Objects

Italian	Looks Like	Actually Means	Example
camera	camera (photography)	room	La mia camera è piccola. My room is small.
libreria	library	bookshop	Ho comprato questo libro in libreria. I bought this book at the bookshop.
fattoria	factory	farm	I nonni vivono in una fattoria. My grandparents live on a farm.
magazzino	magazine	warehouse / storeroom	I prodotti sono nel magazzino. The products are in the warehouse.
stanza	stanza (poetry)	room	C'è qualcuno nella stanza? Is there someone in the room?
estate	estate (property)	summer	Andiamo al mare in estate. We go to the beach in summer.
patente	patent	driver's license	Ho preso la patente a 18 anni. I got my driver's license at 18.

2🧑‍🤝‍🧑

People & Personality

Italian	Looks Like	Actually Means	Example
parenti	parents	relatives	I miei parenti vivono a Roma. My relatives live in Rome.
educato	educated	polite / well-mannered	È un ragazzo molto educato. He's a very polite boy.
simpatico	sympathetic	nice / likeable	La tua amica è molto simpatica. Your friend is very nice.
sensibile	sensible	sensitive	È una persona molto sensibile. He's a very sensitive person.
noioso	noisy	boring	Questo film è noioso. This film is boring.

3⚡

Verbs That Trick You

Italian	Looks Like	Actually Means	Example
annoiare	to annoy	to bore	Questo libro mi annoia. This book bores me.
ricordare	to record	to remember	Non ricordo il suo nome. I don't remember his name.
pretendere	to pretend	to demand / expect	Pretende troppo da me. He expects too much from me.
assumere	to assume	to hire	L'azienda vuole assumere due persone. The company wants to hire two people.

4💭

Abstract Words & Adverbs

Italian	Looks Like	Actually Means	Example
attualmente	actually	currently, at present	Attualmente vivo a Milano. I currently live in Milan.
eventualmente	eventually	possibly, if need be	Eventualmente potremmo rimandare. We could possibly postpone it, if need be.
argomento	argument (fight)	topic / subject	Qual è l'argomento della lezione? What's the topic of the lesson?
fine	fine (okay/good)	end	È la fine del film. It's the end of the film.
casino	casino (gambling)	mess, chaos, racket (informal)	Che casino in questa stanza! What a mess in this room!

⚠️ The one everyone warns you about: preservativo looks like "preservative" — it actually means condom. The word you want for a food preservative is conservante. This single mix-up is famous enough in Italian classes that it's worth remembering on its own.

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