Skip to content

"to knock (on a door)" in seven languages

Meaningto knock (on a door)

Spanish

llamar

/ʝaˈmaɾ/

inherited

Literally 'to call': llamar a la puerta. Golpear is a harder knock.

French

frapper

/fʁape/

other source · French frapper 'to strike', of uncertain origin (perhaps Frankish)

Italian

bussare

/busˈsare/

other source · Italian bussare, of uncertain origin

Portuguese

bater

/baˈteh/

other source · Latin BATTUERE 'to beat'

Romanian

bate

/ˈbate/

other source · Latin BATTUERE 'to beat'

Catalan

trucar

/tɾuˈka/

other source · of uncertain origin, probably imitative

The same verb means 'to phone': trucar a algú.

English

knock

/nɑk/

native English · Old English cnocian

English → Italianto knock (on a door)bussareNot relatedDifferent sources — learn this one fresh. But English has relatives: claim, exclaim, clamour.What English and Italian share

The Latin ancestor

CLĀMĀRE‘to call out, shout’

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

The story

Spanish calls at the door with llamar, CLĀMĀRE with the classic cl- → ll-. French strikes it (frapper 'to hit'), and Italian keeps a verb just for knocking, bussare.

English relatives: claim, exclaim, clamour

Sound laws at work

CL-, PL-, FL- at the start of a word

Learn it

Practice the Core verbs deckQuiz a friend on it

In a sentence

  • esAlguien llama a la puerta.
  • frQuelqu'un frappe à la porte.
  • itQualcuno bussa alla porta.
  • ptAlguém está batendo na porta.
  • roBate cineva la ușă.
  • caAlgú truca a la porta.
  • enSomeone is knocking at the door.

More words from the same Latin

More in Core verbs

All Core verbs words