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"to expect" in seven languages

Meaningto expect

Spanish

esperar

/espeˈɾaɾ/

other source · Latin SPĒRĀRE 'to hope'

One verb for three English ones: to hope, to wait and to expect.

French

s'attendre à

/satɑ̃dʁ a/

other source · Latin ATTENDERE 'to turn one's mind to'

Attendre alone is 'to wait'.

Italian

aspettarsi

/aspetˈtarsi/

other source · Latin ASPECTĀRE 'to keep looking at', crossed with EXSPECTĀRE

Aspettare alone is 'to wait'.

Portuguese

esperar

/ispeˈɾah/

other source · Latin SPĒRĀRE 'to hope'

Romanian

se aștepta

/se aʃtepˈta/

inherited

Romanian turned Latin -CT- into -pt-: EXSPECTĀRE → aștepta, as NOCTEM → noapte.

Catalan

esperar

/əspəˈɾa/

other source · Latin SPĒRĀRE 'to hope'

English

expect

/ɪkˈspɛkt/

from Latin/French · Latin EXSPECTĀRE

English → Italianto expectaspettarsiNot relatedDifferent sources — learn this one fresh. But English has relatives: expectation, spectator, inspect.What English and Italian share

The Latin ancestor

EXSPECTĀRE‘to look out for, to await (EX + SPECTĀRE 'to look')’

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

The story

French and Italian turn 'to wait' into 'to expect' by making it reflexive — literally 'to wait to oneself'. Spanish uses the same esperar for hoping, waiting and expecting.

English relatives: expectation, spectator, inspect

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In a sentence

  • esNo esperaba a tanta gente.
  • frJe ne m'attendais pas à autant de monde.
  • itNon mi aspettavo così tanta gente.
  • ptEu não esperava tanta gente.
  • roNu mă așteptam la atâta lume.
  • caNo m'esperava tanta gent.
  • enI didn't expect so many people.

More in Core verbs

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