Skip to content

"to solve (a problem)" in seven languages

Meaningto solve (a problem)

Spanish

resolver

/resolˈbeɾ/

learned

Solucionar is a common alternative.

French

résoudre

/ʁezudʁ/

inherited

Irregular like dissoudre: je résous, résolu.

Italian

risolvere

/riˈsɔlvere/

learned

Past participle risolto.

Portuguese

resolver

/hezowˈveh/

learned

Romanian

rezolva

/rezolˈva/

learned

Catalan

resoldre

/rəˈzɔldɾə/

inherited

Spoken Latin squeezed RESOLVERE, as French did with résoudre.

English

solve

/sɑlv/

from Latin/French · Latin SOLVERE 'to loosen', the base of RESOLVERE

English → Italianto solve (a problem)risolvereCognateSame source — inherited, learned or borrowed. You can recognize it.What English and Italian share

The Latin ancestor

RESOLVERE‘to untie, loosen’

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

The story

French wore RESOLVERE down in speech: the l became u and a d slipped in before r (résoudre, as in poudre from PULVEREM). Spanish and Italian keep the Latin shape.

English relatives: resolve, resolution, solution, dissolve

Sound laws at work

L before a consonant becomes u

Learn it

Practice the Core verbs deckQuiz a friend on it

In a sentence

  • esResolvimos el problema.
  • frNous avons résolu le problème.
  • itAbbiamo risolto il problema.
  • ptResolvemos o problema.
  • roAm rezolvat problema.
  • caVam resoldre el problema.
  • enWe solved the problem.

More in Core verbs

All Core verbs words