Spanish and Portuguese are closely related. However, they have a number of false friends. Here is a list with the Spanish word on the left and the Portuguese on the right:
cadera (hip) cadeira (chair)
cena (supper) cena (scene)
doce (twelve) doce (sweet)
exquisito (exquisite) esquisito (unusual)
largo (long) largo (wide)
polvo (dust) polvo (octopus)
pronto (soon) pronto (ready)
rato (while) rato (rat)
rojo (red) roxo (purple)
salsa (sauce) salsa (parsley)
As the list illustrates, certain words in Spanish and Portuguese are false friends. The difference in meaning is often great as in the case of polvo- dust in Spanish and octopus in Portuguese. For this reason it is good to be aware of the false friends in the two languages.
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