"coffee" in seven languages
Meaningcoffee
Spanish
café
/kaˈfe/
masc.borrowed · French café
French
café
/kafe/
masc.borrowed · Italian caffè
Italian
caffè
/kafˈfɛ/
masc.borrowed · Turkish kahve
Portuguese
café
/kaˈfɛ/
masc.borrowed · French café (or Italian caffè)
Romanian
cafea
/kaˈfe̯a/
fem.borrowed · Turkish kahve
Catalan
cafè
/kəˈfɛ/
masc.borrowed · Italian caffè or French café
English
coffee
/ˈkɔfi/
from Latin/French · Dutch koffie (Turkish kahve)
English → ItaliancoffeecaffèCognateSame source — inherited, learned or borrowed. You can recognize it.What English and Italian share
The ancestor
Turkish kahve‘coffee (from Arabic qahwa)’
All six sisters descend from it, unless marked otherwise below.
The story
Coffee reached Europe through Venice's trade with the Ottomans; Italian doubles the f, French and Spanish write café. In all three the word also names the place you drink it.
Learn it
In a sentence
- es¿Tomamos un café?
- frOn prend un café ?
- itPrendiamo un caffè?
- ptVamos tomar um café?
- roBem o cafea?
- caFem un cafè?
- enShall we have a coffee?