"to come" in seven languages
Meaningto come
Spanish
venir
/beˈniɾ/
inherited
French
venir
/vəniʁ/
inherited
Italian
venire
/veˈnire/
inherited
Portuguese
vir
/vih/
inherited
Portuguese lost the intervocalic -n-: VENĪRE → old vĩir → vir.
Romanian
veni
/veˈni/
inherited
Catalan
venir
/bəˈni/
inherited
English
come
/kʌm/
Indo-European kin · PIE *gʷem-
Hard to see but textbook: VENĪRE and 'come' both continue PIE *gʷem-.
English → Italianto comevenireDistant cognateRelated only through Indo-European, thousands of years back (night ~ noche). But English has relatives: venue, event, convene, adventure, souvenir.What English and Italian share
The Latin ancestor
VENĪRE‘to come’
All six sisters descend from it, unless marked otherwise below.
The story
Spanish and French spell it identically; only the sound differs (b in Spanish, a weak ə in French). Stressed Ĕ diphthongs in the present: viene, vient, viene.
English relatives: venue, event, convene, adventure, souvenir
Sound laws at work
Learn it
In a sentence
- es¿Vienes con nosotros?
- frTu viens avec nous ?
- itVieni con noi?
- ptVocê vem com a gente?
- roVii cu noi?
- caVens amb nosaltres?
- enAre you coming with us?