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"to burn" in seven languages

Meaningto burn

Spanish

quemar

/keˈmaɾ/

inherited

'I burned myself' is me quemé.

French

brûler

/bʁyle/

other source · Old French brusler, of disputed origin

Italian

bruciare

/bruˈtʃare/

other source · of disputed origin, probably related to French brûler

Portuguese

queimar

/kejˈmah/

inherited

Romanian

arde

/ˈarde/

other source · Latin ARDĒRE 'to be on fire'

Catalan

cremar

/krəˈma/

inherited

English

burn

/bɝn/

native English · Old English beornan, bærnan

English → Italianto burnbruciareNot relatedDifferent sources — learn this one fresh. But English has relatives: cremate, crematorium.What English and Italian share

The Latin ancestor

CREMĀRE‘to burn (especially the dead)’

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

The story

Spanish quemar comes from CREMĀRE, the word English knows from cremation (how cr- became qu- is debated). French and Italian use a verb whose origin etymologists still argue about.

English relatives: cremate, crematorium

Learn it

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In a sentence

  • es¡Cuidado, que te vas a quemar!
  • frAttention, tu vas te brûler !
  • itAttento, ti bruci!
  • ptCuidado, você vai se queimar!
  • roAi grijă, o să te arzi!
  • caVés amb compte, que et cremaràs!
  • enBe careful, you'll burn yourself!

More in Core verbs

All Core verbs words