"to understand" in seven languages
Meaningto understand
Spanish
/entenˈdeɾ/
other source · Latin INTENDERE 'to direct one's mind toward'
Comprender is also everyday Spanish.
French
/kɔ̃pʁɑ̃dʁ/
inherited
Italian
/kaˈpire/
other source · Latin CAPERE 'to take, seize; to hold', moved to the -ire class
Comprendere also exists but is more formal.
Portuguese
/ẽtẽˈdeh/
other source · Latin INTENDERE 'to direct one's mind toward'
Compreender, the COMPREHENDERE word, is also common.
Romanian
/ɨntseˈledʒe/
other source · Latin INTELLEGERE 'to understand'
Catalan
/ənˈtɛndɾə/
other source · Latin INTENDERE 'to direct one's mind toward'
Comprendre, the COMPREHENDERE word, is also common.
English
/ʌndɚˈstænd/
native English · Old English understandan
Watch out: false friends
entendre (French) means “to hear” · entender (Spanish) means “to understand”
Both from Latin INTENDERE 'to direct (the mind) toward'. French shifted to hearing, keeping 'understand' only in phrases (laisser entendre, bien entendu); Spanish kept understanding.
The Latin ancestor
COMPREHENDERE (spoken COMPRENDERE)‘to grasp together’
All six sisters descend from it, unless marked otherwise below.
The story
All three understand by grasping or reaching: French comprendre 'to take together', Italian capire 'to take in', Spanish entender 'to stretch the mind toward'. Spanish entender and French entendre are the same verb with different jobs.
English relatives: comprehend (COMPREHENDERE); capable, capacity, capture (CAPERE); intend (INTENDERE)
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In a sentence
- esNo entiendo.
- frJe ne comprends pas.
- itNon capisco.
- ptNão entendo.
- roNu înțeleg.
- caNo ho entenc.
- enI don't understand.