"similar" in seven languages
Meaningsimilar
Spanish
/simiˈlaɾ/
learned
Parecido is the everyday synonym.
French
/similɛʁ/
learned
Semblable is the more traditional word.
Italian
/ˈsimile/
learned
Portuguese
/paɾeˈsidu/
other source · Portuguese parecer 'to seem' (spoken Latin *PĀRĒSCERE, from PĀRĒRE 'to appear')
Learned similar exists too, but parecido is what people say about houses or faces.
Romanian
/asemənəˈtor/
other source · Romanian asemăna 'to resemble' (Latin *ASSIMILĀRE, from SIMILIS)
fem.: asemănătoare
Catalan
/səmˈblan/
other source · Catalan semblar 'to seem, resemble' (Latin SIMILĀRE, from SIMILIS)
English
/ˈsɪməlɚ/
from Latin/French · French similaire, from Latin similis
The Latin ancestor
SIMILEM‘like, resembling’
All six sisters descend from it, unless marked otherwise below.
The story
The popular descendants of SIMILIS are Spanish semejante and French sembler 'to seem' (whence English resemble); the plain adjective came back from books.
English relatives: simile, simulate, assimilate, resemble
Learn it
In a sentence
- esNuestras casas son muy similares.
- frNos maisons sont très similaires.
- itLe nostre case sono molto simili.
- ptNossas casas são muito parecidas.
- roCasele noastre sunt foarte asemănătoare.
- caLes nostres cases són molt semblants.
- enOur houses are very similar.