"problem" in seven languages
Meaningproblem
Spanish
problema
/pɾoˈblema/
masc.learned
French
problème
/pʁɔblɛm/
masc.learned
Italian
problema
/proˈblɛma/
masc.learned
plural: problemi
Portuguese
problema
/pɾoˈblemɐ/
masc.learned
Romanian
problemă
/proˈblemə/
fem.learned
Unlike its sisters, Romanian made it feminine: o problemă.
Catalan
problema
/pɾuˈblemə/
masc.learned
English
problem
/ˈpɹɑbləm/
from Latin/French · Old French problème / Latin
English → ItalianproblemproblemaCognateSame source — inherited, learned or borrowed. You can recognize it.What English and Italian share
The Latin ancestor
PROBLĒMA‘a question set forth (from Greek próblēma)’
All six sisters descend from it, unless marked otherwise below.
The story
Greek neuters in -ma stay masculine despite the -a: el problema, il problema (plural problemi), like el sistema, il programma. A classic learner trap.
English relatives: problem
Learn it
In a sentence
- esNo hay problema.
- frPas de problème.
- itNessun problema.
- ptSem problema.
- roNicio problemă.
- caCap problema.
- enNo problem.