"to learn" in seven languages
Meaningto learn
Spanish
/apɾenˈdeɾ/
inherited
French
/apʁɑ̃dʁ/
inherited
Also means 'to teach': apprendre quelque chose à quelqu'un.
Italian
/impaˈrare/
other source · Vulgar Latin *IMPARĀRE 'to procure for oneself' (IN + PARĀRE)
Apprendere exists but is formal: to learn news, to grasp.
Portuguese
/apɾẽˈdeh/
inherited
Romanian
/ɨnvəˈtsa/
other source · Latin *INVITIĀRE 'to accustom'
The same verb means 'to teach' and 'to learn' (and 'to study' for an exam).
Catalan
/əˈpɾendɾə/
inherited
English
/lɝn/
native English · Old English leornian
The Latin ancestor
APPREHENDERE‘to seize, grasp’
All six sisters descend from it, unless marked otherwise below.
The story
To learn is to grab hold of something. Italian chose 'to get for oneself' instead; watch out for French apprendre, which runs both ways — learning and teaching.
English relatives: apprehend, apprentice, comprehend
Learn it
In a sentence
- esEstoy aprendiendo italiano.
- frJ'apprends l'italien.
- itSto imparando l'italiano.
- ptEstou aprendendo italiano.
- roÎnvăț italiana.
- caEstic aprenent italià.
- enI'm learning Italian.
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