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"fine, thanks" in seven languages

Meaningfine, thanks

Spanish

bien, gracias

/bjen ˈgɾaθjas/

inherited

French

bien, merci

/bjɛ̃ mɛʁsi/

inherited

Italian

bene, grazie

/ˈbɛne ˈgrattsje/

inherited

Portuguese

bem, obrigado

/bẽj obɾiˈgadu/

inherited

Romanian

bine, mulțumesc

/ˈbine multsuˈmesk/

inherited

Catalan

bé, gràcies

/be ˈgɾasiəs/

inherited

English

fine, thanks

/faɪn θæŋks/

other source · Old French fin (Latin FĪNIS)

English → Italianfine, thanksbene, grazieNot relatedDifferent sources — learn this one fresh. But English has relatives: benefit, benevolent.What English and Italian share

The Latin ancestor

BENE‘well’

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

The story

BĔNE broke its short e into ie in Spanish and French, as the open-e law predicts. Italian bene never did — an exception usually put down to its constant unstressed use.

English relatives: benefit, benevolent

Sound laws at work

Stressed short E breaks into ie

Learn it

Practice the Greetings & courtesy deckQuiz a friend on it

In a sentence

  • es—¿Qué tal? —Bien, gracias, ¿y tú?
  • fr— Ça va ? — Bien, merci, et toi ?
  • it— Come va? — Bene, grazie, e tu?
  • pt— Como vai? — Bem, obrigado, e você?
  • ro— Ce mai faci? — Bine, mulțumesc, tu?
  • ca— Com va? — Bé, gràcies, i tu?
  • en— How's it going? — Fine, thanks, and you?

More words from the same Latin

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