aktuální Adjective
Looks like actual Really means current, up to date, topical
To say actual (real) in Czech, use skutečný or opravdový.
Some Czech words look like an English word you already know, then mean something completely different. Here are 18 of the most common traps, each with the English word it resembles, what it really means, and how to say the English sense instead.
False friends in Czech are words that look like an English word but mean something completely different. For example, aktuální means current, not actual, and eventuálně means possibly, not eventually. This free guide lists 18 real Czech false friends: the English word each one resembles, what it truly means, and how to say the English sense correctly.
All 18 Czech false friends.
Looks like actual Really means current, up to date, topical
To say actual (real) in Czech, use skutečný or opravdový.
Looks like eventually Really means possibly, if need be
To say eventually in Czech, use nakonec.
Looks like sympathetic Really means nice, likeable, pleasant (about a person)
To say sympathetic (compassionate) in Czech, use soucitný.
Looks like gymnasium Really means an academic secondary school leading to the maturita exam, not a place to exercise
To say gym (for workouts) in Czech, use posilovna or tělocvična.
Looks like host Really means a guest, visitor, or restaurant customer
To say host (one who receives guests) in Czech, use hostitel.
Looks like plot Really means a fence
To say plot (of a story) in Czech, use zápletka or děj.
Looks like preservative Really means a condom
To say preservative (food additive) in Czech, use konzervant.
Looks like maturity Really means the final school leaving exam at the end of secondary school
To say maturity (being grown up) in Czech, use zralost or dospělost.
Looks like realize Really means to carry out or implement a plan or project
To say realize (become aware of) in Czech, use uvědomit si.
Looks like control Really means to check, inspect, or verify
To say control (direct or govern) in Czech, use ovládat or řídit.
Looks like dress Really means a sports jersey or team uniform
To say dress (clothing) in Czech, use šaty.
Looks like chef Really means a boss or manager
To say chef (a professional cook) in Czech, use kuchař.
Looks like traffic Really means a small kiosk selling cigarettes, newspapers, and tickets
To say traffic (vehicles on a road) in Czech, use doprava or provoz.
Looks like smoking Really means a tuxedo or dinner jacket
To say smoking (inhaling cigarette smoke) in Czech, use kouření.
Looks like stop Really means to hitchhike
To say stop in Czech, use zastavit.
Looks like novel Really means an amendment to a law
To say novel (a book) in Czech, use román.
Looks like action Really means a share or stock in a company
To say action (an act or deed) in Czech, use akce or čin.
Looks like most Really means a bridge
To say most (the greatest amount) in Czech, use většina or nejvíce.
Data verified as of July 2026.
False friends stick when you meet them inside a real sentence. Lingo7 lets you read real books in Czech with sentence-aligned translation and native-narrated audio, so the true meaning attaches to the story instead of the English lookalike. Save the tricky words and review them later. Free to start.
A false friend is a word that looks or sounds like a word in your language but carries a different meaning. English and Czech overlap heavily because both borrowed from Latin, Greek, and French, or share older roots. The spelling stayed close while the meaning drifted, so Czech aktuální still reads like "actual" to an English eye even though it means "current, up to date, topical".
These slips are common because your brain rewards the shortcut: a familiar-looking word feels safe, so you skip the check. That is fine until aktuální or eventuálně changes the meaning of a whole sentence. Recognizing the pattern is half the fix. Knowing the handful of high-frequency offenders on this page is the other half.
The durable fix is not memorization but exposure in context. When you read Czech and see one of these words doing its real job in a sentence, with a translation a tap away, the correct meaning wins. That is exactly what reading in Lingo7 is built for.
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False friends are Czech words that look almost identical to an English word but mean something different, like aktuální, which looks like "actual" but means "current, up to date, topical". They exist because both languages inherited or borrowed from shared roots that then drifted apart. The fix is meeting them in real sentences until the true meaning sticks.
No. Czech aktuální actually means current, up to date, topical, not actual. To say actual (real) in Czech, use skutečný or opravdový. This is one of the most common Czech false friends for English speakers, so it is worth learning early.
Memorizing a list helps for a day; context makes it permanent. When you meet Czech words like aktuální and most inside real sentences, with the translation one tap away, the correct meaning attaches to the situation instead of to the English lookalike. That is how reading in Lingo7 trains them out of you.
Yes. Czech and English share a large amount of vocabulary through Latin, French, and centuries of borrowing, and that overlap is exactly what breeds false friends. This page covers 18 of the most common ones, from aktuální (looks like actual) to most (looks like most). Reading in context is the surest way to keep them straight.