Hidden Meanings in Legal Spanish - 6

Redactar

The Spanish verb redactar is so similar to the English "to redact" that it would be reasonable to assume that they mean the same thing. Unfortunately, however, this pair of verbs is an example of what linguists call "false friends."

The English verb "to redact" means "deleting or masking portions of a document so that privileged or objectionable information cannot be seen." The picture above shows a document that has been "redacted." The way to say "redact" in Spanish is tachar información confidencial.

The meaning of the Spanish verb redactar is almost the opposite of "to redact." Redactar means "to draft or" to draw up" a document and is a synonym of confeccionar and elaborar. For a document to be redacted, it must first be redactado (drawn up); only then can it be redacted (se tacha la información confidencial).