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"inside" in seven languages

Meaninginside

Spanish

dentro

/ˈdentɾo/

inherited

Before a noun: dentro de.

French

dedans

/dədɑ̃/

other source · Old French de + denz (Latin DĒ INTUS)

Before a noun: dans, or à l'intérieur de.

Italian

dentro

/ˈdentro/

inherited

Portuguese

dentro

/ˈdẽtɾu/

inherited

Romanian

înăuntru

/ɨnəˈuntru/

other source · Latin IN AD INTRŌ 'in to within'

Catalan

dins

/dins/

other source · Latin DĒ INTUS 'from within'

Catalan chose the same INTUS as French dedans.

English

inside

/ɪnˈsaɪd/

native English · Old English in + sīde

English → ItalianinsidedentroNot relatedDifferent sources — learn this one fresh. But English has relatives: introduce, introvert, interior.What English and Italian share

The Latin ancestor

DĒ INTRŌ‘from within’

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

The story

Spanish and Italian stacked DĒ onto INTRŌ 'inwards'. French did the same with INTUS 'within', which gave both dans and dedans.

English relatives: introduce, introvert, interior

Learn it

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In a sentence

  • esLas llaves están dentro.
  • frLes clés sont dedans.
  • itLe chiavi sono dentro.
  • ptAs chaves estão lá dentro.
  • roCheile sunt înăuntru.
  • caLes claus són a dins.
  • enThe keys are inside.

More in Little words

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