"about (on the subject of)" in seven languages
Meaningabout (on the subject of)
Spanish
sobre
/ˈsobɾe/
inherited
Also acerca de and plain de: hablar de política.
French
sur
/syʁ/
inherited
Also de and à propos de: parler de politique.
Italian
su
/su/
other source · Latin SŪSUM / SURSUM 'upward'
Also di: parlare di politica.
Portuguese
sobre
/ˈsobɾi/
inherited
Romanian
despre
/ˈdespre/
inherited
de + spre, from SUPER; Romanian 'on' is a different word, pe.
Catalan
sobre
/ˈsobɾə/
inherited
English
about
/əˈbaʊt/
native English · Old English onbūtan 'on the outside of'
English → Italianabout (on the subject of)suNot relatedDifferent sources — learn this one fresh. But English has relatives: super, superior, surface.What English and Italian share
The Latin ancestor
SUPER‘above, on, concerning’
All six sisters descend from it, unless marked otherwise below.
The story
Latin SUPER 'above' already meant 'concerning', and the sisters kept that: a film 'on' the war. Spanish sobre shows p → b between vowels.
English relatives: super, superior, surface
Sound laws at work
Learn it
In a sentence
- esVimos una película sobre la guerra.
- frOn a vu un film sur la guerre.
- itAbbiamo visto un film sulla guerra.
- ptA gente viu um filme sobre a guerra.
- roAm văzut un film despre război.
- caVam veure una pel·lícula sobre la guerra.
- enWe watched a film about the war.