"alive" in seven languages
Meaningalive
Spanish
vivo
/ˈbibo/
inherited
French
vivant
/vivɑ̃/
other source · present participle of vivre (Latin VĪVENTEM 'living')
The old adjective vif survives as 'lively, quick'.
Italian
vivo
/ˈvivo/
inherited
Portuguese
vivo
/ˈvivu/
inherited
Romanian
viu
/viw/
inherited
fem.: vie
Catalan
viu
/biw/
inherited
fem.: viva
Catalan drops the final vowel: VĪVUM → viu.
English
alive
/əˈlaɪv/
native English · Old English on līfe 'in life'
English → ItalianalivevivoNot relatedDifferent sources — learn this one fresh. But English has relatives: vivid, revive, survive, vivacious.What English and Italian share
The Latin ancestor
VĪVUM‘alive’
All six sisters descend from it, unless marked otherwise below.
The story
Spanish and Italian keep the Latin adjective VĪVUS (Spanish says both v's as b); French uses the participle vivant 'living'.
English relatives: vivid, revive, survive, vivacious
Sound laws at work
Learn it
In a sentence
- esEl pez sigue vivo.
- frLe poisson est encore vivant.
- itIl pesce è ancora vivo.
- ptO peixe ainda está vivo.
- roPeștele este încă viu.
- caEl peix encara és viu.
- enThe fish is still alive.