(This is the first post in a series on False Friends, also known as false cognates. As I run across new ones, I will update them here. False cognates are words that look the same in different languages, but which actually have different meanings.)
One of the very first false friends that I ran across when I moved to Brazil was “nervous” and “nervoso”. It is very easy to mix up these words considering how similar they appear to be. If you tell someone that you are nervous in English, you are giving them the impression that you are feeling uncomfortable about something. In Portuguese, however, “nervoso” is used to mean angry or irritated at a person or situation.
Examples:
Nervous = Anxious
I am feeling nervous about my test tomorrow.
Eu estou ansioso sobre a prova de amanhã.
Nervoso = Angry
That driver is making me angry!
Aquele motorista está me deixando nervoso!
