What it's NOT
dinner does NOT translate to dinero.
To say "dinero" in English, use money.
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False cognate · False friend
dinner
Does NOT mean dinero
It means the main evening meal
Written by Bryan López, English teacher · Updated
What it IS
dinner means the main evening meal.
Why it's confused
Arabic "dinar" was a currency, and it reached English as "diner," a cheap restaurant. "Dinner" with a double n is the evening meal or the main meal of the day. There's no real Spanish cognate, but the similar sound causes confusion.
How it's pronounced
dinnerDÍ-ner
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Examples of correct use
English
We had dinner at eight.
Spanish
Cenamos a las ocho.
English
What's for dinner tonight?
Spanish
¿Qué hay de cena esta noche?
A trick to remember it
Dinner = the evening meal. Money (Spanish "dinero") = money.
Mini quiz
"Dinner is ready" means...
Frequently asked questions
What does "dinner" mean in English?
"Dinner" means "the main evening meal". It looks a lot like "dinero", which is exactly why it gets confused, but they don't mean the same thing.
How do you say "dinero" in English?
To say "dinero" in English, use "money". If you use "dinner" instead, you would actually be saying "the main evening meal".
Do "dinner" and "dinero" mean the same thing?
Arabic "dinar" was a currency, and it reached English as "diner," a cheap restaurant. "Dinner" with a double n is the evening meal or the main meal of the day. There's no real Spanish cognate, but the similar sound causes confusion.
Other confusing false friends
More confusing false friends
Library, embarrassed, actually... the full list of words that look the same but mean something different.
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