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"outside" in seven languages

Meaningoutside

Spanish

fuera

/ˈfweɾa/

inherited

Latin America prefers afuera.

French

dehors

/dəɔʁ/

inherited

DĒ + FORIS; the h is only spelling.

Italian

fuori

/ˈfwɔri/

inherited

Portuguese

fora

/ˈfɔɾɐ/

inherited

Usually lá fora 'out there'.

Romanian

afară

/aˈfarə/

inherited

From AD FORĀS.

Catalan

fora

/ˈfɔɾə/

inherited

English

outside

/aʊtˈsaɪd/

native English · Middle English out + side

English → ItalianoutsidefuoriNot relatedDifferent sources — learn this one fresh. But English has relatives: foreign, forfeit.What English and Italian share

The Latin ancestor

FORĀS, FORIS‘out of doors (from FORĒS 'doors')’

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

The story

FORĒS were the doors of a house; FORĀS was 'out through the doors'. Spanish and Italian broke the open o (fuera, fuori). English foreign is the same idea, via Old French forain.

English relatives: foreign, forfeit

Sound laws at work

Stressed short O breaks into ue / uo / eu

Learn it

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In a sentence

  • esLos niños están jugando fuera.
  • frLes enfants jouent dehors.
  • itI bambini giocano fuori.
  • ptAs crianças estão brincando lá fora.
  • roCopiii se joacă afară.
  • caEls nens estan jugant a fora.
  • enThe children are playing outside.

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