Part I   Actual to Confidencia

Actual  Does not mean "actual", but "present: mi trabajo actual = "my present job". Likewise, actualidad means "present time", and actualmente means "at the present time". Actualmente, está en México = "At the present (time) s/he is in Mexico". For English "actual", use verdadero or real; for "actually" use realmente or en realidad: son hechos reales = "these are actual facts"; realmente lo dije = "I really (actually) said it".

Advertencia  Means "advice" or "warning"; not "advertisement". "Advertisement" is anuncio in Spanish.

Agonía   Death struggle, i.e. ends in death, and does not necessarily refer to terrible physical pain. "Agony" in the usual English sense is angustia.

Americano   Originally used in Spanish to refer to people living in the Spanish Empire in the Americas, and some Latins resent its common use to mean people from the United States. Most have, however, accepted the world-wide use of "american" or americano/a to mean people from the U.S.A. If you run into people who are sensitive, you can use norteamericano "North American", although this is not really accurate either — after all, Mexico and several Central American countries are technically in North America, too. Awkward as it is, estadounidense ("Unitedstatesian") is also sometimes used, although this also has a problem: the full name of Mexico is Los Estados Unidos Mexicanos ("The United States of Mexico").

An actual conversation that took place between the author of this book and a Mexican University Professor at a social function in Mexico. Professor: ¿Ud. es americano? Author: Sí, y Ud. también ("Yes, and you too). Professor, with a smile of appreciation for the author’s sensitivity: Pero, ¿Ud. es norteamericano, no? (But, you’re a North American, aren’t you?) Author: Sí, pero todos aquí somos norteamericanos, y estamos en Norteamérica. ("Yes, but all of us here are North Americans, and we’re in North America.") Professor, with a puzzled look: Entonces, Ud. es estadounidense, ¿sí? (Well, then you’re a unitedstatesian, right?). Author: Sí, pero también todos aquí somos estadounidenses, y estamos en los Estados Unidos Mexicanos. ("Yes, but all of us here are unitedstatesians, an we’re in the United States of Mexico.") Professor, getting the idea that his leg is being pulled (in Spanish estaba jalándole el pelo "his hair was being pulled): Pues, ¿qué demonios es Ud.? ("Well, what the devil are you?) Author: Parece que soy gringo. ("It seems like I’m a gringo".) General laughter — Mexicans appreciate a joke, and they particularly appreciate a gringo (or gringa) who can make a joke in their language. I hope all of those who read this will be in that position someday.

Apología   Is a eulogy, or a legal defense; apology in the English sense is excusa or disculpa.

Arena   Sand. Arena in the sense of a venue for sports events is coliseo or estadio.

Argumento   Tuvimos un argumento does not mean "we had an argument", but "we had an objection", or "we had a summary". For "argument" in the usual English sense, use disputa: Tuvimos una disputa = "We had an argument."

Asignatura   Means "course" (in school), and not "signature", which is firma.

Asistencia   Sometimes does mean "assistance", but more commonly used for "attendance". Estoy preocupada/o con la asistencia de su hija/o = "I’m worried about your child’s attendance".

Asistir   The usual meaning is "to attend" and not "to assist". Asistir is always followed by a: Asisto a una clase de español = "I attend a Spanish class". For "assist", use ayudar or auxiliar.

Atender   Can only mean "attend" in the sense of "to attend to", "to take care of". It never means "to be present at", which is asistir. El médico atiende a sus pacientes = "The doctor takes care of his patients"; but El médico asiste a muchas reuniones = "The doctor attends many meetings."

Audiencia A group of people assembled together is an auditorio. Audiencia means a "hearing", or a formal interview. During colonial times, Spain sent groups of judges, called audencias to the Americas to investigate and hear complaints about the governments. These audiencias were highly feared.

Auditorio Can mean a "school auditorium", but another more common meaning is "audience".

Bachillerato Not a "bachelor’s degree", but what you get when you graduate from high school (preparatoria) in much of Latin America., including Mexico. See Colegio below.

Bizarro Means "gallant", "brave", "liberal (in the sense of generous)". Bizarre is raro or original.

Campo Is "country" in the sense of "not city". A camp is campamento; a rural farm worker is a campesino. A College or University campus is called los suelos (los terrenos) universitarios.

Capable This word does not exist in Spanish; even though it is in appearance the exact equivalent of a harmless English word. "Capable" is capaz. Using this false cognate can be embarrassing, since it appears to the Spanish speaker to come from the verb capar "to castrate", and its logical, inferred meaning would be "castratable", or "fit for castration".

Capacidad Capacidad can mean "capacity" in the English sense: Capacidad 3,000 litros. Other common meanings are "training" and "ability". Su hijo/a no está trabajando de acuerdo a su capacidad = "Your child is not performing up to his/her ability". Es un hombre muy capacitado en su trabajo = "He’s a man very well trained in his work".

Carga Does not mean "charge" in the sense of price or cost; which is precio. A legal charge is acusación or denuncia. Carga means "burden", "load", or "cargo".

Cargo No, not "cargo", that’s carga. Cargo can mean "the act of loading", but its most usual meaning is "care" or "assignment". La carga está a mi cargo = "The cargo is in my care (is my responsibility".

Carpeta A file folder. "Carpet" is alfombra.

Carrera In addition to "career" and "race", also means a "major (course of study) in college/university". Su carrera es en pedagogía = "Her major is in education."

Carta    A letter. Card is tarjeta. Tarjeta postal = postcard.

Civil    Cannot be used as a noun meaning "civilian"; it is an adjective. For "civilian" use ciudadano or paisano. Los ciudadanos pelearon por los derechos civiles = "The citizens fought for civil rights". By the way, paisano/a is a very useful word in Spanish, meaning "somebody from the same place (not necessarily country) I’m from". Since no convenient equivalent term exists in English, Spanish-speaking immigrants invented the term "homeboy" or "homes", which have passed into the American English urban lexicon.

Colegio    Not really a question of language, but of contrasting education systems. Colegio in Latin America is a (usually) private school going from kindergarten through high school (preparatoria). The English "college" is closer in meaning to Spanish universidad or escuela superior (which, to add confusion, literally means "high school" but is in reality usually a technical college). Because of this confusion, Americans may not be given credit for their educational attainment (if you use bachillerato to mean you have a B.A. degree, you’re really only giving yourself credit for graduating from high school), while Latins may be accorded educational status they haven’t earned.

Colorado    Cannot be used to mean "colored", but can only mean "red", "reddish", or "ruddy".  "Colored" must be expressed by the expression de color. Ponerse colorado = "to blush"; ojos de color = eyes of any other color than brown or black.

Complexión    Means "constitution" or "temperament". It can also mean "build", "body type".  "Complexion" is tez or cutis.

Conductor In addition to "conductor" on a train, is commonly used for "driver" (of a car, bus, etc.).  The "conductor" (person who collects fares on a bus or streetcar) is cobrador ("collector"). The "conductor" of an orchestra is director.

Conección. Used almost exclusively for mechanical or electrical connections. For the non-physical sense, use tener relación con or estar relacionado con: Tiene relaciones (Está relacionado) con el banco = "He’s got connections at the bank". Idiomatically, "I’m not connected (don’t have anything to do with) the matter" is No tengo nada que ver con el asunto. There are several ways to say "in connection with" in Spanish: con respecto a, en cuanto a, tocante a.

Conferencia While it can mean "conference", its common meaning is "lecture", "talk", "speech". A perhaps unexpected use is una conferencia de larga distancia = "a long distance call."

Confidencia Not "confidence" in its usual meaning, which is confianza, but "something told in confidence". Contrast Me lo dijo en confidencia = "She told me a secret (in confidence)" with Tengo mucha confianza en ella = "I have a lot of confidence in her". Confianza can also mean "intimate" or "trusted": amigo/a de confianza = "a close, trusted friend". Gente de confianza = people who can be trusted". [Confidencia is generally not used in Mexico. Mexicans use confianza for both meanings.]

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