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"hell" in seven languages

Meaninghell

Spanish

infierno

/inˈfjeɾno/

masc.inherited

French

enfer

/ɑ̃fɛʁ/

masc.inherited

Italian

inferno

/inˈfɛrno/

masc.inherited

Portuguese

inferno

/ĩˈfɛhnu/

masc.inherited

Romanian

iad

/jad/

neut.other source · Old Church Slavonic adŭ (from Greek Háidēs)

Catalan

infern

/imˈfɛɾn/

masc.inherited

English

hell

/hɛl/

native English · Old English hel

English → ItalianhellinfernoNot relatedDifferent sources — learn this one fresh. But English has relatives: inferno, infernal, inferior.What English and Italian share

The Latin ancestor

INFERNUM‘the lower world (from INFERUS 'below')’

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

The story

Hell is simply 'the place below'. Spanish broke the stressed open e into ie; French turned in- into a nasal vowel: infierno, enfer, inferno.

English relatives: inferno, infernal, inferior

Sound laws at work

Stressed short E breaks into ieFrench vowel + nasal becomes a nasal vowel

Learn it

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In a sentence

  • esEl infierno son los demás.
  • frL'enfer, c'est les autres.
  • itL'inferno sono gli altri.
  • ptO inferno são os outros.
  • roIadul sunt ceilalți.
  • caL'infern són els altres.
  • enHell is other people.

More in Ideas

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