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"to obtain" in seven languages

Meaningto obtain

Spanish

obtener

/obteˈneɾ/

learned

Conjugated like tener: obtengo, obtuve.

French

obtenir

/ɔptəniʁ/

learned

Conjugated like tenir: j'obtiens, j'ai obtenu.

Italian

ottenere

/otteˈnere/

learned

Conjugated like tenere: ottengo, ottenni.

Portuguese

obter

/obˈteh/

learned

Romanian

obține

/obˈtsine/

learned

Catalan

obtenir

/uptəˈni/

learned

English

obtain

/əbˈteɪn/

from Latin/French · Old French obtenir

English → Italianto obtainottenereCognateSame source — inherited, learned or borrowed. You can recognize it.What English and Italian share

The Latin ancestor

OBTINĒRE‘to hold on to, get hold of (OB + TENĒRE 'to hold')’

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

The story

Learned in all three, but each sister refitted it to its everyday 'hold' verb, irregular forms included: obtengo, j'obtiens, ottengo. Italian also assimilated bt to tt.

English relatives: tenacious, retain, contain, maintain

Sound laws at work

Italian assimilates clusters

Learn it

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In a sentence

  • esObtuvo una beca.
  • frElle a obtenu une bourse.
  • itHa ottenuto una borsa di studio.
  • ptEla obteve uma bolsa de estudos.
  • roA obținut o bursă.
  • caVa obtenir una beca.
  • enShe obtained a scholarship.

More words from the same Latin

More in Core verbs

All Core verbs words