A word pair with different meanings and spelling across languages is called a:

• A. Cognates
• B. False cognates
• C. True cognates
• D. Homographs

Answer: (B)

False cognates are pairs of words in two languages that look or sound similar but have different meanings, and often different spellings. That mismatch in meaning (and sometimes spelling) is what sets them apart from true cognates, which share an origin and usually keep similar meanings and forms. For example, English “library” and Spanish “librería” look alike but refer to different things (a place to borrow books vs. a bookstore). Another contrast is with homographs, which are the same spelled word within a single language that can have different meanings; across languages, that term isn’t the right fit here. So, a word pair with different meanings and spelling across languages is best described as false cognates.