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"mistake, error" in seven languages

Meaningmistake, error

Spanish

error

/eˈror/

masc.learned

Also falta (de ortografía) for spelling mistakes, and fallo.

French

erreur

/ɛʁœʁ/

fem.learned

Feminine in French; a spelling mistake is une faute.

Italian

errore

/erˈrore/

masc.learned

Colloquially uno sbaglio.

Portuguese

erro

/ˈehu/

masc.other source · Portuguese errar 'to err' (Latin ERRĀRE)

Romanian

greșeală

/ɡreˈʃe̯alə/

fem.other source · Romanian greși 'to err', from Old Church Slavonic grěšiti

Catalan

error

/əˈror/

masc.learned

Errada, from errar, is just as common.

English

mistake

/mɪˈsteɪk/

other source · Old Norse mistaka

'Error' is the shared word.

English → Italianmistake, errorerroreNot relatedDifferent sources — learn this one fresh. But English has relatives: error, err, erratic, errant.What English and Italian share

The Latin ancestor

ERRŌREM‘a wandering; error (ERRĀRE 'to stray')’

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

The story

To err is to wander off the path. Like many -or nouns, the word is masculine in Spanish and Italian but feminine in French (une erreur, like la couleur, la chaleur).

English relatives: error, err, erratic, errant

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In a sentence

  • esEs un error frecuente.
  • frC'est une erreur fréquente.
  • itÈ un errore frequente.
  • ptÉ um erro comum.
  • roE o greșeală frecventă.
  • caÉs un error freqüent.
  • enIt's a common mistake.

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