False friend ES collides with DE
leer
ES [leˈeɾ] · Spanish for “to read” · same spelling as German leer (empty)
German eye reads leer - empty Actually leer - to read
Leer is a small trap between Spanish and German. In Spanish it’s the verb to read (me gusta leer - I like to read). In German, leer means empty. Same four letters, opposite of a full page.
Why it happens
A clean coincidence - two identical words with no shared root. Spanish leer comes from Latin legere, “to read, gather, choose,” the same source behind English legible, lecture, and legend. German leer, “empty,” grows from a Germanic root with no connection to any of that. So the twins are only skin-deep: a German reading voy a leer pictures emptiness, while a Spaniard is just settling in with a book.