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"correct" in seven languages

Meaningcorrect

Spanish

correcto

/koˈrekto/

learned

French

correct

/kɔʁɛkt/

learned

For 'the right answer' French usually says la bonne réponse.

Italian

corretto

/korˈrɛtto/

learned

Un caffè corretto is coffee 'corrected' with a dash of liquor.

Portuguese

correto

/koˈhɛtu/

learned

European Portuguese wrote correcto before the 1990 spelling reform.

Romanian

corect

/koˈrekt/

learned

Catalan

correcte

/kuˈrɛktə/

learned

English

correct

/kəˈɹɛkt/

from Latin/French · Latin correctus (via French)

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

The Latin ancestor

CORRĒCTUM‘set straight, corrected’

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

The story

Correct is 'set straight': CORRIGERE is CUM + REGERE 'to guide'. Learned everywhere, but Italian assimilates ct to tt even in book words (corretto), while Spanish and French keep the cluster.

English relatives: correction, direct, rectify, rector

Sound laws at work

Italian assimilates clusters

Learn it

Practice the Describing words deckQuiz a friend on it

In a sentence

  • es¿Es correcta esta dirección?
  • frCette adresse est-elle correcte ?
  • itQuesto indirizzo è corretto?
  • ptEste endereço está correto?
  • roAdresa aceasta este corectă?
  • caAquesta adreça és correcta?
  • enIs this address correct?

More in Describing words

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