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"account; bill" in seven languages

Meaningaccount; bill

Spanish

cuenta

/ˈkwenta/

fem.inherited

Formed from contar 'to count; to tell'. La cuenta is also the restaurant bill.

French

compte

/kɔ̃t/

masc.inherited

The restaurant bill is l'addition, not le compte.

Italian

conto

/ˈkonto/

masc.inherited

Il conto is both the bank account and the bill.

Portuguese

conta

/ˈkõtɐ/

fem.inherited

Romanian

cont

/kont/

neut.borrowed · French compte / Italian conto

Catalan

compte

/ˈkomtə/

masc.inherited

English

account

/əˈkaʊnt/

from Latin/French · Old French acont

English → Italianaccount; billcontoCognateSame source — inherited, learned or borrowed. You can recognize it.What English and Italian share

The Latin ancestor

COMPUTUM‘a reckoning (from COMPUTĀRE 'to calculate')’

All six sisters descend from it, unless marked otherwise below.

The story

Counting and storytelling share a root: es contar and it contare mean both, just as English 'recount' does. French spells the p back in (compte) but never pronounces it.

English relatives: count, account, compute, computer

Learn it

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In a sentence

  • esQuiero abrir una cuenta.
  • frJe voudrais ouvrir un compte.
  • itVorrei aprire un conto.
  • ptQuero abrir uma conta.
  • roAș vrea să deschid un cont.
  • caVull obrir un compte.
  • enI'd like to open an account.

More in Work & money

All Work & money words