"such" in seven languages
Meaningsuch
Spanish
tal
/tal/
inherited
Plural tales; no article: en tal caso.
French
tel
/tɛl/
inherited
fem.: telle
Takes the article: un tel cas, une telle idée.
Italian
tale
/ˈtale/
inherited
Shortened to tal before a noun: in tal caso.
Portuguese
tal
/taw/
inherited
Romanian
astfel de
/ˈastfel de/
other source · astfel 'thus' (așa 'so' + fel 'kind', from Hungarian féle)
Catalan
tal
/tal/
inherited
English
such
/sʌtʃ/
native English · Old English swylc 'so-like'
English → ItaliansuchtaleNot relatedDifferent sources — learn this one fresh.What English and Italian share
The Latin ancestor
TĀLEM‘of such a kind’
All six sisters descend from it, unless marked otherwise below.
The story
Latin paired TĀLIS 'of such a kind' with QUĀLIS 'of what kind', and the sisters still say them together: tal cual, tel quel, tale e quale 'just as it is'. English such is built the same way, from 'so' + 'like'.
Learn it
In a sentence
- esEn tal caso, es mejor esperar.
- frDans un tel cas, mieux vaut attendre.
- itIn tal caso, è meglio aspettare.
- ptEm tal caso, é melhor esperar.
- roÎntr-un astfel de caz, e mai bine să aștepți.
- caEn tal cas, val més esperar.
- enIn such a case, it's better to wait.