"human" in seven languages
Meaninghuman
Spanish
humano
/uˈmano/
learned
The h is spelling only, restored from Latin.
French
humain
/ymɛ̃/
inherited
-ĀNUM became -ain as in PĀNEM → pain.
Italian
umano
/uˈmano/
learned
Portuguese
humano
/uˈmɐ̃nu/
learned
Romanian
uman
/uˈman/
learned
Catalan
humà
/uˈma/
learned
fem.: humana
English
human
/ˈhjumən/
from Latin/French · Old French humain, from Latin
English → ItalianhumanumanoCognateSame source — inherited, learned or borrowed. You can recognize it.What English and Italian share
The Latin ancestor
HŪMĀNUM‘of man, humane’
All six sisters descend from it, unless marked otherwise below.
The story
Latin Ū turned into French [y] and -anum into a nasal -ain, so humain sounds nothing like humano. Italian simply drops the silent h that Spanish and French still write.
English relatives: humane, humanity, humanist
Sound laws at work
Learn it
In a sentence
- esEs la naturaleza humana.
- frC'est la nature humaine.
- itÈ la natura umana.
- ptÉ a natureza humana.
- roEste natura umană.
- caÉs la naturalesa humana.
- enIt's human nature.
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