"year" in seven languages
Meaningyear
Spanish
año
/ˈaɲo/
masc.inherited
Never drop the tilde: ano means 'anus'.
French
an
/ɑ̃/
masc.inherited
Année (f) is the year seen as a span: une bonne année.
Italian
anno
/ˈanno/
masc.inherited
Portuguese
ano
/ˈɐ̃nu/
masc.inherited
Romanian
an
/an/
masc.inherited
plural: ani
Catalan
any
/aɲ/
masc.inherited
English
year
/jɪɹ/
native English · Old English gēar
A distant cognate of HŌRA 'hour', from PIE *yeh₁r- 'season'.
English → ItalianyearannoNot relatedDifferent sources — learn this one fresh. But English has relatives: annual, anniversary, millennium, perennial.What English and Italian share
The Latin ancestor
ANNUM‘year’
All six sisters descend from it, unless marked otherwise below.
The story
Latin NN became Spanish ñ — the tilde is a medieval scribe's shorthand for a second n.
English relatives: annual, anniversary, millennium, perennial
Sound laws at work
Learn it
In a sentence
- es¿Cuántos años tienes? — Tengo veinte.
- frTu as quel âge ? — J'ai vingt ans.
- itQuanti anni hai? — Ne ho venti.
- ptQuantos anos você tem? — Tenho vinte.
- roCâți ani ai? — Am douăzeci.
- caQuants anys tens? — En tinc vint.
- enHow old are you? — I'm twenty.