Skip to content

"sufficient" in seven languages

Meaningsufficient

Spanish

suficiente

/sufiˈθjente/

learned

French

suffisant

/syfizɑ̃/

inherited

fem.: suffisante

The present participle of suffire 'to be enough'; said of a person it means 'smug'.

Italian

sufficiente

/suffiˈtʃɛnte/

learned

Also the school grade 'pass' (six out of ten).

Portuguese

suficiente

/sufiˈsjẽtʃi/

learned

Romanian

suficient

/sufiˈtʃjent/

learned

Catalan

suficient

/sufisiˈen/

learned

English

sufficient

/səˈfɪʃənt/

from Latin/French · Latin SUFFICIENTEM, via Old French

English → ItaliansufficientsufficienteCognateSame source — inherited, learned or borrowed. You can recognize it.What English and Italian share

The Latin ancestor

SUFFICIENTEM‘supplying, enough (SUFFICERE 'to supply')’

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

The story

Spanish and Italian took the Latin participle whole; French made it from its own verb suffire, so the c softened to s. Watch French suffisant about a person: it means smug.

English relatives: suffice, sufficiency, self-sufficient

Learn it

Practice the Describing words deckQuiz a friend on it

In a sentence

  • esLas pruebas no fueron suficientes.
  • frLes preuves n'étaient pas suffisantes.
  • itLe prove non erano sufficienti.
  • ptAs provas não foram suficientes.
  • roDovezile nu au fost suficiente.
  • caLes proves no van ser suficients.
  • enThe evidence was not sufficient.

More in Describing words

All Describing words words