"neighbor" in seven languages

Meaningneighbor

Spanish

vecino

/beˈθino/

masc.inherited

French

voisin

/vwazɛ̃/

masc.inherited

Italian

vicino

/viˈtʃino/

masc.inherited

Also the adjective/adverb 'near'.

Portuguese

vizinho

/viˈziɲu/

masc.inherited

Romanian

vecin

/veˈtʃin/

masc.inherited

Catalan

veí

/bəˈi/

masc.inherited

Catalan drops the final -n (VĪCĪNUM → veí), which comes back in the plural veïns.

English

neighbor

/ˈneɪbɚ/

native English · Old English nēahgebūr

English → ItalianneighborvicinoNot relatedDifferent sources — learn this one fresh. But English has relatives: vicinity.What English and Italian share

The Latin ancestor

VĪCĪNUM‘of the same village (VĪCUS)’

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

The story

A neighbor is from your VĪCUS, 'village, street'. Watch the c: θ in Spain, z in French, tʃ in Italian — and Spanish says its v as b.

English relatives: vicinity

Sound laws at work

C before E and I B and V merge in Spanish

Learn it

Practice the People deck Quiz a friend on it

In a sentence

esNuestros vecinos son muy simpáticos.
frNos voisins sont très sympas.
itI nostri vicini sono molto simpatici.
ptNossos vizinhos são muito simpáticos.
roVecinii noștri sunt foarte drăguți.
caEls nostres veïns són molt simpàtics.
enOur neighbors are very nice.

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