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"to demand" in seven languages

Meaningto demand

Spanish

exigir

/eksiˈxiɾ/

learned

French

exiger

/ɛɡziʒe/

learned

Italian

esigere

/eˈzidʒere/

learned

Portuguese

exigir

/eziˈʒih/

learned

Romanian

cere

/ˈtʃere/

other source · Latin QUAERERE 'to seek, ask'

Cere covers 'ask for' and 'require'; the learned pretinde is closer to 'claim'.

Catalan

exigir

/əɡziˈʒi/

learned

English

demand

/dɪˈmænd/

other source · Old French demander, from Latin DĒMANDĀRE 'to entrust'

English → Italianto demandesigereNot relatedDifferent sources — learn this one fresh. But English has relatives: exigent, exact, exigency.What English and Italian share

The Latin ancestor

EXIGERE‘to drive out, to require’

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

The story

Classic trap: French demander only means 'to ask', Italian domandare too, and Spanish demandar usually means 'to sue'. To demand is exigir / exiger / esigere.

English relatives: exigent, exact, exigency

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In a sentence

  • esEste trabajo exige mucha paciencia.
  • frCe travail exige beaucoup de patience.
  • itQuesto lavoro esige molta pazienza.
  • ptEste trabalho exige muita paciência.
  • roMunca asta cere multă răbdare.
  • caAquesta feina exigeix molta paciència.
  • enThis job demands a lot of patience.

More in Core verbs

All Core verbs words