Some false cognates in Medical Translation


When translating a text of any kind we see that some words are very much alike some we have in our mother tongue. This occurs for the development and contact of the languages and cultures. But the main problem is that these expressions mean different things even though they look like the same. These expressions are called false cognates. In Medicine we see some to take into account we doing a professional translation. 

Injury. This seems easy. And injury is "hurt, damage, or loss sustained", according to Webster Dictionary. It looks like "injuriar", that is to state a false accusation. The correct translations should be daño, traumatismo  o lesión

Actual. This is a common case of mistranslation. Actual is "existing in fact or reality" and  "not false or apparent" in English, according to the above-mentioned source. Actual in Spanish is quite different. This is another word for now, or at present. So, Actual should be translated as real.

Discharge as Descargar. When analyzing medical terms we find that discharge means to "release from confinement, custody, or care", unlike Descargar which is Quitar o aliviar la carga according to RAE. Discharge should be translated as dar de alta.

Major for mayor. This is another common mistake. Though the two meanings are related, they are different. Major is "involving grave risk", "greater in dignity, rank, importance, quantity, interest or number" and should be translated as importante, serio o grave. In Spanish mayor is greater, bigger or larger and its used generally in comparissons. 

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