Spanish Words that are (almost) the same in English

Learning a new language is not always easy at first, especially when it is not similar to your own. The only thing that will make your job easier is if there were some words that looked alike in both languages. If however, you are lucky, you might even find some words that are identical in both languages and could help you. Below is a list of cognates and perfect cognates that will make learning Spanish words a bit easier.

Perfect cognates

As you could simply guess from the word perfect, these words are the ones which are identically spelled in both languages and also mean the same thing (so no confusion here). Below are just some:

 

EnglishSpanish
 

Actor

Actual

Animal

Chocolate

Debate

Error

Flexible

Global

Hospital

Industrial

Inevitable

Legal

 

 

Actor

Actual

Animal

Chocolate

Debate

Error

Flexible

Global

Hospital

Industrial

Inevitable

Legal

 

 

For an easier learning of the Spanish language, you can use some tricks to remember how other cognates are formed. Below are the rules:

Rule 1: English words ending in -ous usually become -oso

Here are some examples:

EnglishSpanish
 

Curious

Mysterious

Fabulous

Famous

Ingenious

 

 

Curioso

Misterioso

Fabuloso

Famoso

Ingenioso

Rule 2: English words ending in -al usually stay the same

 Here are some examples:

 

EnglishSpanish
 

Festival

Carnaval

Final

Plural

Central

 

 

Festival

Carnaval

Final

Plural

Central

 Rule 3: English words ending in -ct usually become -cto

 Here are some examples:

 

EnglishSpanish
 

Exact

Pact

Impact

Perfect

Contact

 

 

Exacto

Pacto

Impacto

Perfecto

Contacto

 

 

Rule 4: English words ending in ance usually become -ancia

 Here are some examples:

 

EnglishSpanish
 

Ambulance

Distance

Importance

Elegance

Abundance

 

 

Ambulancia

Distancia

Importancia

Elegancia

Abundancia

 Rule 5: English words ending in ic usually become -ico

Here are some examples:

 

 EnglishSpanish
 

Medic

Numeric

Public

Romantic

Basic

 

 

Médico

Numérico

Público

Romántico

Básico

 

Rule 6: English words ending in -ar usually stay the same

 Here are some examples:

 

 EnglishSpanish
 

Familiar

Popular

Bar

Muscular

Regular

 

 

Familiar

Popular

Bar

Muscular

Regular

 

 Rule 7: English words ending in -ary usually become -ario

 Here are some examples:

 

 EnglishSpanish
 

Ordinary

Rudimentary

Penitentiary

Salary

Vocabulary

 

 

Ordinario

Rudimentario

Penitentiario

Salario

Vocabulario

 

 Rule 8: English words ending in -ant usually become -ante

 Here are some examples:

 

 EnglishSpanish
 

Important

Aspirant

Brilliant

Coagulant

Elegant

 

 

Importante

Aspirante

Brilliante

Coagulante

Elegante

 

 Rule 9: English words ending in -ble usually stay the same

Here are some examples:

 

 English

Spanish
 

Cable

Adaptable

Sociable

Horrible

Probable

 

 

Cable

Adaptable

Sociable

Horrible

Probable

 Rule 10: English words ending in -ence usually become -encia

 Here are some examples:

 

 EnglishSpanish
 

Sentence (punishment)

Coincidence

Abstinence

Residence

Violence

 

 

Sentencia

Coincidencia

Abstinencia

Residencia

Violencia

 Rule 11: English words ending in -id usually become -ido

Here are some examples:

EnglishSpanish
 

Fluid

Rigid

Liquid

Vivid

Acid

 

 

Fluido

Rígido

Líquido

Vívido

Ácido

 

 

Rule 12: English words ending in -ment usually become -mento

Here are some examples:

EnglishSpanish
 

Document

Argument

Pigment

Moment

Element

 

 

Documento

Argumento

Pigmento

Momento

Elemento

Knowing these tricks, Spanish just got a bit easier to learn. However, when you use them, do not forget to double check the words just to be sure that they exist.

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