The world of cognates: How to speak Spanish without taking a single lesson
One of the best things about learning Spanish as an English speaker is that there are so many cognates!
Cognate words have the same origin and have the same or similar meaning. This is because Spanish and English share Latin and Greek roots. This means that without even taking a Spanish lesson, there will be some words you already know. Handy, right?
There are so many cognates between Spanish and English so this list contains just a few, but feel free to add more! You can also try putting these words in sentences after to really get a feel for them.
You?ll notice that the spelling is not always the same in both languages, and of course, the pronunciation can be quite different too. That?s why it?s so important to say them out loud. One handy tip is to record yourself speaking out loud ? it may be a little cringeworthy at first, but I promise you, it helps! ?
| English words ending in ?-al? | Spanish words ending in ?-al? |
| Casual | Casual |
| Digital | Digital |
| Essential | Esencial |
| Ideal | Ideal |
| Rural | Rural |
| Traditional | Tradicional |
| Special | Especial |
Ojo! Be aware of the spelling changes ? remember that in Spanish, ?e? comes before ?s? when it is at the beginning of a word. We can also see that ?t? turns to a ?c? in some of the above examples.
| English words ending in ?-nt? | Spanish words ending in ?-nte? |
| Important | Importante |
| Elegant | Elegante |
| Instant | Instante |
| Excellent | Excelente |
| An immigrant | Un/a inmigrante |
| An emigrant | Un/a emigrante |
| A restaurant | Un restaurante |
| Urgent | Urgente |
| Intelligent | Inteligente |
| A president | Un/a presidente |
| English words ending in ?-ar? | Spanish words ending in ?-ar? |
| Particular | Particular |
| Popular | Popular |
| Regular | Regular |
| Similar | Similar |
| English words ending in ?-ble? | Spanish words ending in ?-ble? |
| (Im)possible | (Im)posible |
| Incredible | Incre?ble |
| Flexible | Flexible |
| Horrible | Horrible |
| Terrible | Terrible |
| Adorable | Adorable |
| Intolerable | Intolerable |
| English words ending in ?-ct? | Spanish words ending in ?-cto? |
| An act | Un acto |
| Perfect | Perfecto |
| A product | Un producto |
| Contract | Contrato (exception!) |
| Correct | Correcto |
| Effect | Efecto |
| Exact | Exacto |
| A dialect | Un dialecto |
| An insect | Un insecto |
| English words ending in ?-tion? | Spanish words ending in ?-ci?n? |
| An action | Una acci?n |
| An association | Una asocaci?n |
| A construction | Una construcci?n |
| An evaluation | Una evaluaci?n |
| An investigation | Una investigaci?n |
| A nation | Una naci?n |
Don?t forget to put an accent on the ?o?!
| English words ending in ?-ty? | Spanish words ending in ?-idad? |
| An activity | Una actividad |
| An ability | Una habilidad |
| A curiosity | Una curiosidad |
| A facility | Una facilidad |
| A nationality | Una nacionalidad |
| A possibility | Una posibilidad |
| The hospitality | La hospitalidad |
| A necessity | Una necesidad |
| A variety | Una variedad (exception!) |
| English words ending in ?-ous? | Spanish words ending in ?-oso? |
| Ambitious | Ambicioso/a |
| Delicious | Delicioso/a |
| Furious | Furioso/a |
| Generous | Generoso/a |
| Mysterious | Misterioso/a |
| Nervous | Nervioso/a |
| Numerous | Numeroso/a |
| Religious | Religioso/a |
| Famous | Famoso/a |
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Un abrazo,
Hannah @ ELC
