Skip to content

"to spell (a word)" in seven languages

Meaningto spell (a word)

Spanish

deletrear

/deletɾeˈaɾ/

other source · de- + letra (Latin LITTERAM 'letter') + -ear

French

épeler

/eple/

inherited

Old French espeler.

Italian

compitare

/kompiˈtare/

other source · Latin COMPUTĀRE 'to count'

In everyday speech Italians often say fare lo spelling or ask come si scrive?

Portuguese

soletrar

/soleˈtɾah/

other source · built on letra 'letter' (Latin LITTERAM)

Romanian

spune pe litere

/ˈspune pe ˈlitere/

other source · spune 'to say' (Latin EXPŌNERE) + pe litere 'by letters' (Latin LITTERAS)

Catalan

lletrejar

/ʎətɾəˈʒa/

other source · lletra 'letter' (Latin LITTERAM) + -ejar

English

spell

/spɛl/

from Latin/French · Old French espeler

English → Italianto spell (a word)compitareNot relatedDifferent sources — learn this one fresh. But English has relatives: letter (es); compute, count (it).What English and Italian share

The ancestor

Frankish *spellōn‘to tell, explain’

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

The story

French épeler is Frankish, with the s- + consonant start turned into é- (like épée); English took it back from Old French. Spanish goes 'letter by letter' (deletrear), Italian 'counts' the letters (compitare).

English relatives: letter (es); compute, count (it)

Sound laws at work

S + consonant at the start of a word

Learn it

Practice the School & learning deckQuiz a friend on it

In a sentence

  • es¿Puedes deletrear tu apellido?
  • frTu peux épeler ton nom de famille ?
  • itPuoi compitare il tuo cognome?
  • ptVocê pode soletrar o seu sobrenome?
  • roPoți să-mi spui numele de familie pe litere?
  • caPots lletrejar el teu cognom?
  • enCan you spell your surname?

More in School & learning

All School & learning words