English is a Germanic language, whereas Spanish is a Romance language. Yet, they share a substantial amount of vocabulary. This is mainly due to the Norman Conquest of England in the eleventh century, as a result of which the English language borrowed a lot of French words. French Prime Minister Georges Clemenceau (1841-1929) famously claimed that “English is just badly pronounced French.” French, like Spanish, is a Romance language and shares Latin roots, and thus a lot of vocabulary, with Spanish. You can see the connection here between Spanish and English via the French language. This is why the US Foreign Service Institute (FSI), which provides language training to diplomats and government employees, ranks Spanish in the easiest language learning category for English speakers.
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English Cognates and False Cognates in Spanish
There are a lot of English cognates in the Spanish language. English cognates are words that are directly descended from a common ancestor language, in this case, mostly the French language. Moreover, since English has become a universal language, some English words have obviously found their way directly into many languages, including Spanish.
Cognates will often have the same meaning in Spanish and English. Nevertheless, it is important to note that this is not always the case, as languages have evolved separately. For example, the Spanish word “embarazada” may appear to mean “embarrassed.” However, if you want to express your embarrassment in Spanish, you should use the word “avergonzado” (masculine) or “avergonzada” (feminine). The word “embarazada” in Spanish means “pregnant.” Chances are that using the word “embarazada” instead would add to your embarrassment. Similarly, the word “fábrica” in Spanish means “factory” and not “fabric,” as you may have guessed. That being said, recognizing English cognates is a powerful tool that can enhance the Spanish vocabulary of any English-speaking learner.
Here, we list some parallels between English and Spanish words that will make you realize how many Spanish words you already know or perhaps are able to guess correctly.
It is also important to note that these are not strict rules, but rather useful guidelines to make learning Spanish easier for English speakers.
List of English Cognates
| English | Spanish | Examples |
| -or | -or | actor, benefactor, color, conductor, doctor, error, exterior, favor, honor, horror, interior, inventor, monitor, sector, senador, superior, tractor |
| -ble | -ble | cable, considerable, flexible, horrible, inevitable, inseparable, noble, notable, posible, probable, susceptible, terrible, variable, viable |
| -al | -al | animal, canal, casual, central, coral, criminal, digital, fatal, festival, final, formal, gradual, habitual, ideal, industrial, integral, internacional, legal, local, mineral, musical, natural, normal, original, personal, profesional, total, rival, social, terminal, viral, vital, vocal, virtual |
| -al | -co -ca | crítico, eléctrico, físico, lógico, mágico, mecánico, óptico, político |
| -ic | -ico -ica | básico, democrático, diabético, fantástico, mecánico, plástico, público, romántico, tóxico |
| -ant | -ante | abundante, constante, distante, dominante, elegante, ignorante, importante, instante, restaurante, significante, tolerante |
| -ent | -ente | accidente, agente, aparente, cliente, competente, continente, decente, diferente, diligente, evidente, excelente, incidente, inocente, inteligente, permanente, proponente, prudente, suficiente, urgente |
| -ment | -mento | complemento, documento, elemento, experimento, instrumento, monumento, parlamento, suplemento, testamento |
| -ist | -ista | artista, comunista, dentista, especialista, lista, novelista, optimista, pianista, turista |
| -am | -ama | caligrama, diagrama, programa, radiograma, telegrama |
| -em | -ema | ecosistema, emblema, poema, problema, sistema |
| -ous | -oso -osa | curioso, delicioso, fabuloso, famoso, furioso, industrioso, misterioso, nervioso, religioso, victorioso |
| -ry | -rio -ria | adversario, aniversario, arteria, contrario, culinario, diccionario, extraordinario, imaginario, industria, itinerario, literario, memoria, misterio, notario, ordinario, primario, salario, satisfactorio, voluntario |
| -tion | -ción | acción, administración, atención, civilización, coalición, concepción, condición, conversación, correlación, creación, descripción, determinación, ecuación, edición, expedición, federación, ficción, fracción, función, fundación, generación, indignación, institución, moción, nación, noción, ocupación, operación, porción, posición, prohibición, publicación, recomendación, revolución, satisfacción, sección, sensación, superstición, tradición, transacción, transición |
| -tional | -cional | adicional, condicional, institucional, nacional, operacional, racional, tradicional |
| -tial | -cial | confidencial, esencial, inicial, parcial, potencial, presidencial, residencial |
| -ce -cy | -cia | agencia, Alicia, aristocracia, deficiencia, democracia, diferencia, distancia, esencia, evidencia, experiencia, farmacia, Francia, gracia, importancia, justicia, licencia, negligencia, permanencia, potencia, presencia, profecía, provincia, referencia, secuencia, subsistencia, urgencia, violencia |
| -ty | -dad | autoridad , cavidad, comunidad, dignidad, diversidad, electricidad, gravedad, honestidad, hospitalidad, humanidad, identidad, integridad, personalidad, posibilidad, privacidad, proximidad, unidad, universidad, vanidad |
| -tor | -dor | administrador, colaborador, creador, dictador, elevador, investigador, generador, operador, orador, ventilador |
| -ly | -mente | exactamente, finalmente, naturalmente, normalmente, personalmente, probablemente, totalmente |
| -phy | -fía | biografía, cinematografía, filosofía, fotografía, geografía |
| -ct | -cto -cta | abstracto, acto, adicto, compacto, conflicto, contacto, correcto, directo, efecto, exacto, impacto, insecto, intelecto, perfecto, producto |
| -sion | -sión | admisión, agresión, comisión, colisión, compasión, conclusión, conversión, decisión, discusión, erosión, expresión, extensión, ilusión, impresión, inclusión, invasión, misión, ocasión, omisión, pasión, profesión, provisión, sesión, versión, visión |
| -ism | -ismo | astigmatismo, comunismo, despotismo, electromagnetismo, idealismo, mecanismo, metabolismo, organismo |
| -fy | -ficar | certificar, clarificar, clasificar, dignificar, glorificar, gratificar, identificar, justificar, magnificar, modificar, notificar, unificar, verificar |
| -id | -ido -ida | ávido, espléndido, fluido, líquido, lúcido, plácido, rápido, rígido, sólido, tímido, válido, vívido |
| -ile | -il | ágil, automóvil, facsímil, fértil, frágil, hostil, juvenil |
| -iv | -ivo -iva | activo, adictivo, adhesivo, aditivo, administrativo, atractivo, cognitivo, decisivo, definitivo, efectivo, elusivo, festivo, imperativo, incentivo, informativo, inventivo, masivo, nativo, negativo, positivo, respectivo |
| ph | f | elefante, filosofía, fonético, foto, teléfono |
| th | t | auténtico, autor, catedral, católico |
| st- | est- | estable, estación, estricto, estudiante, estúpido |
| sp- | esp- | especial, específico, espiritual, esposo |
List of False Cognates
As mentioned earlier, there are some false cognates. It can be useful to be familiar with these false friends so that you can avoid some embarrassing errors. Below is a list of some of the most common ones.
| Spanish Word | Meaning in English | English Cognate | Meaning of cognate in Spanish |
| éxito | success | exit | salida |
| molestar | to annoy | molest | abusar |
| constipado | cold (illness) | constipated | estreñido |
| recordar | to remind or remember | record | grabar |
| actual | current | actual | real |
| red | network | red | rojo |
| enviar | to send | envy | envidiar |
| carpeta | folder | carpet | alfombra |
| grosería | rudeness | groceries | comestibles |
| embarazada | pregnant | embarrassed | avergonzado |
| fábrica | factory | fabric | tela |
| sopa | soup | soap | jabón |
| realizar | to perform or fulfill | realize | darse cuenta de |
| ropa | clothes | rope | cuerda |
| pie | foot | pie | pastel |
| introducir | to insert | introduce | presentar |
| parientes | relatives | parents | padres |
| compromiso | commitment or engagement | compromise | acuerdo |
| delito | crime | delight | deleite |
| chocar | to hit or clash | choke | estrangular |
| contestar | to answer | contest (a verdict) | impugnar |
| largo | long | large | grande |
| rapista | shaver barber | rapist | violador |
| preservativo | condom | preservative | conservante |
| grapa | staple | grape | uva |
| arma | weapon | arm | brazo |
| lectura | reading | lecture | conferencia |
| pan | bread | pan | cacerola |
| horno | oven | horn | cuerno |
| ingenuidad | naivety | ingenuity | ingenio |
| salado | salty | salad | ensalada |
| envolver | to wrap | involve | involucrar |
| familiar | relative | familiar | conocido |
| policía | police | policy | política |
| soportar | to put up with | support | apoyar |
| últimamente | lately | ultimately | por último |
| librería | bookstore | library | biblioteca |
| codo | elbow | code | código |
| bombero | firefighter | bomber | bombardero |
| advertencia | warning | advertisement | publicidad |
| vaso | glass (drinking) | vase | jarrón |
| tarjeta | card | target | objetivo |
Other lessons in Level I:
Level I – Basic
1.1. Syllable Stress in Spanish
2. Similarities to English & Particularities of The Spanish Language
2.3. Punctuation & Written Accents
