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"to blame" in seven languages

Meaningto blame

Spanish

culpar

/kulˈpaɾ/

other source · Latin CULPĀRE (learned)

French

blâmer

/blame/

inherited

In conversation French often says rejeter la faute sur quelqu'un.

Italian

incolpare

/inkolˈpare/

other source · in- + colpa 'fault' (Latin CULPA)

Portuguese

culpar

/kuwˈpah/

other source · Latin CULPĀRE (learned)

Romanian

da vina (pe)

/da ˈvina/

other source · vină 'fault', from Old Church Slavonic vina

Literally 'give the fault on someone'; învinovăți is the one-word verb.

Catalan

culpar

/kulˈpa/

other source · Latin CULPĀRE (learned)

English

blame

/bleɪm/

from Latin/French · Old French blasmer

English → Italianto blameincolpareNot relatedDifferent sources — learn this one fresh. But English has relatives: blaspheme; culpable, culprit (es, it).What English and Italian share

The Latin ancestor

BLASPHĒMĀRE‘to revile, speak ill of’

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

The story

Church Latin BLASPHĒMĀRE wore down in French to blasmer, now blâmer with a circumflex for the lost s, and passed to English as blame; blaspheme is its learned twin. Spanish and Italian blame by 'fault' (culpa, colpa).

English relatives: blaspheme; culpable, culprit (es, it)

Sound laws at work

French loses S before a consonant (^)

Learn it

Practice the Core verbs deckQuiz a friend on it

In a sentence

  • esNo culpes a las víctimas.
  • frNe blâmez pas les victimes.
  • itNon incolpare le vittime.
  • ptNão culpe as vítimas.
  • roNu da vina pe victime.
  • caNo culpis les víctimes.
  • enDon't blame the victims.

More in Core verbs

All Core verbs words