Grammar · Spelling & sound · A2 · 12 min
Spotting cognates
A practical toolkit: suffixes, French disguises and the two layers of vocabulary.
Most of the vocabulary of the six sisters is shared, but disguised by regular changes. Learn the correspondences and every word you know becomes six. Romanian, with its large Slavic layer, shares a little less of the everyday core, but almost all of the learned vocabulary. Start with the easy wins — suffixes — then the French disguises, then the key distinction between inherited and learned words.
Suffix correspondences
| Latin | Spanish | French | Italian | Portuguese | Romanian | Catalan | English | Example |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| -TĀTEM | -dad | -té | -tà | -dade | -tate | -tat | -ty | libertad · liberté · libertà · liberdade · libertate · llibertat · liberty |
| -TIŌNEM | -ción | -tion | -zione | -ção | -ție, -țiune | -ció | -tion | nación · nation · nazione · nação · națiune · nació · nation |
| -MENTE | -mente | -ment | -mente | -mente | — (bare adjective) | -ment | -ly | rápidamente · rapidement · rapidamente · rapidamente · rapid · ràpidament · rapidly |
| -ŌSUM | -oso | -eux | -oso | -oso | -os | -ós | -ous | famoso · fameux · famoso · famoso · famos · famós · famous |
| -ĀRIUM | -ero | -ier | -aio | -eiro | -ar | -er | -ary (learned) | obrero · ouvrier · operaio · obreiro · obrer · worker; ro pescar 'fisherman' |
| -ĪVUM | -ivo | -if | -ivo | -ivo | -iv | -iu | -ive | activo · actif · attivo · ativo · activ · actiu · active |
| -BILEM | -ble | -ble | -bile | -vel | -bil | -ble | -ble | posible · possible · possibile · possível · posibil · possible · possible |
The circumflex is a lost s
In French, a circumflex often marks an s that was once pronounced before a consonant and later fell silent. Put the s back and the cognate appears — in Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Catalan, often Romanian and often English (see the Sound laws: circumflex). Not every circumflex hides an s (âge, sûr, dû), but most do. The same trick works on dîner: Old French disner.
| French | Put the s back | Spanish | Italian | Portuguese | Romanian | Catalan | English |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| fête | feste | fiesta | festa | festa | — | festa | feast |
| hôpital | hospital | hospital | ospedale | hospital | spital | hospital | hospital |
| île | isle | isla | isola | ilha | insulă | illa | isle |
| côte | coste | costa | costa | costa | coastă (rib; slope) | costa | coast |
| bête | beste | bestia | bestia | besta | bestie | bèstia | beast |
| château | chasteau | castillo | castello | castelo | castel | castell | castle |
es-, é-, s-
Latin words beginning with s + consonant were hard to say for Western speakers, who added a helper vowel: Spanish, Portuguese and Catalan es-, Old French es-, which became é- when the s fell silent. Italian kept the bare s- (see the Sound laws: s-impura), and so did Romanian in the East (stea 'star'). So STATUM, SCHOLAM, STELLAM, SPATHAM give estado, escuela, estrella, espada in Spanish; estado, escola, estrela, espada in Portuguese; estat, escola, estrella, espasa in Catalan; état, école, étoile, épée in French; stato, scuola, stella, spada in Italian. French é- + consonant at the start of a word? Try es- in Spanish, Portuguese and Catalan and s- in Italian — and often s- in English: state, school, sponge (esponja, éponge, spugna).
Inherited and learned
| Latin | Inherited (es · fr · it · pt · ro · ca) | Learned (es · fr · it · pt · ro · ca) | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| NOCTEM | noche · nuit · notte · noite · noapte · nit | nocturno · nocturne · notturno · noturno · nocturn · nocturn | nocturnal |
| OCULUM | ojo · œil · occhio · olho · ochi · ull | ocular · oculaire · oculare · ocular · ocular · ocular | ocular |
| DIRECTUM | derecho · droit · diritto · direito · drept · dret | directo · direct · diretto · direto · direct · directe | direct |
| FRĪGIDUM | frío · froid · freddo · frio · — · fred | frígido · frigide · frigido · frígido · frigid · frígid | frigid |
| LĒGĀLEM | leal · loyal · leale · leal · — · lleial | legal · légal · legale · legal · legal · legal | legal |
Cognates in the wild
L'università è famosa per la sua biblioteca.
La universidad es famosa por su biblioteca.
L'université est célèbre pour sa bibliothèque.
A universidade é famosa pela sua biblioteca.
Universitatea e renumită pentru biblioteca ei.
La universitat és famosa per la seva biblioteca.
The university is famous for its library.
-dad · -té · -tà · -dade · -tate · -tat. French has fameux, but célèbre is the everyday word here.
C'è una festa al castello.
Hay una fiesta en el castillo.
Il y a une fête au château.
Tem uma festa no castelo.
E o petrecere la castel.
Hi ha una festa al castell.
There's a party at the castle.
Two circumflexes, two lost s's — still there in festa and castelo, castel, castell.
Di notte si vedono le stelle.
Por la noche se ven las estrellas.
La nuit, on voit les étoiles.
À noite a gente vê as estrelas.
Noaptea se văd stelele.
A la nit es veuen les estrelles.
At night you can see the stars.
es- · é- · s- (see the Sound laws: s-impura): Portuguese and Catalan pad like Spanish, Romanian keeps the bare s- like Italian. And CT → ch · it · tt · it · pt · it (see the Sound laws: ct).
Normalmente ceno alle otto.
Normalmente ceno a las ocho.
Normalement, je dîne à huit heures.
Normalmente janto às oito.
De obicei iau cina la opt.
Normalment sopo a les vuit.
I normally have dinner at eight.
-mente · -ment; dîner is another lost s (Old French disner). Romanian, with no -mente, says de obicei 'usually'; its cină is Latin CĒNAM, like ceno.