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"letter (of the alphabet)" in seven languages

Meaningletter (of the alphabet)

Spanish

letra

/ˈletɾa/

fem.inherited

A letter you post is una carta.

French

lettre

/lɛtʁ/

fem.inherited

Also the letter you post.

Italian

lettera

/ˈlɛttera/

fem.inherited

Also the letter you post.

Portuguese

letra

/ˈletɾɐ/

fem.inherited

Romanian

literă

/ˈliterə/

fem.learned

A letter you post is a scrisoare.

Catalan

lletra

/ˈʎɛtɾə/

fem.inherited

English

letter

/ˈlɛtɚ/

from Latin/French · Old French lettre

English → Italianletter (of the alphabet)letteraCognateSame source — inherited, learned or borrowed. You can recognize it.What English and Italian share

The Latin ancestor

LITTERAM‘letter of the alphabet; (pl.) an epistle, literature’

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

The story

Spanish syncopated the unstressed vowel (letra) and reserved carta for mail; French and Italian use one word for both.

English relatives: letter, literal, literature, literacy

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In a sentence

  • esLa palabra empieza por la letra A.
  • frLe mot commence par la lettre A.
  • itLa parola comincia con la lettera A.
  • ptA palavra começa com a letra A.
  • roCuvântul începe cu litera A.
  • caLa paraula comença per la lletra A.
  • enThe word starts with the letter A.

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