"better" in seven languages
Meaningbetter
Spanish
mejor
/meˈxoɾ/
inherited
Also the adverb: canta mejor.
French
meilleur
/mɛjœʁ/
inherited
The adverb is a different word: mieux (← MELIUS).
Italian
migliore
/miʎˈʎore/
inherited
The adverb is meglio (← MELIUS).
Portuguese
melhor
/meˈʎɔh/
inherited
Romanian
mai bun
/maj bun/
other source · mai 'more' (Latin MAGIS) + bun 'good' (Latin BONUM)
Romanian lost the Latin comparative and says 'more good'.
Catalan
millor
/miˈʎo/
inherited
English
better
/ˈbɛtɚ/
native English · Old English betera
English → ItalianbettermiglioreNot relatedDifferent sources — learn this one fresh. But English has relatives: ameliorate.What English and Italian share
The Latin ancestor
MELIŌREM‘better’
All six sisters descend from it, unless marked otherwise below.
The story
A textbook case of LI + vowel: MELIŌREM → mejor, meilleur, migliore — Spanish j, French ill, Italian gli. 'Best' is just the article plus the same word: el mejor, le meilleur, il migliore.
English relatives: ameliorate
Sound laws at work
Learn it
In a sentence
- esEste es mejor.
- frCelui-ci est meilleur.
- itQuesto è migliore.
- ptEste é melhor.
- roĂsta e mai bun.
- caAquest és millor.
- enThis one is better.