4/29/2020 English Spanish Cognates

English Spanish Cognates

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The 'convertible' words between English and Spanish are known as cognates. English and Spanish
Cognates are words in both languages that share the same Latin root and which are very similar. It is
important to bear in mind that these cognates do not always translate from one language to
another precisely. For example: "inferior" in Spanish may be used to refer to a subordinate in the
work-place, without carrying any of the derogatory meaning in the English usage. In Spanish,
"informal" means unreliable rather than casual. In spite of these 'false cognates', there are thousands of
English words which can be converted into Spanish along with much of their English meaning
(especially the literal meaning).

The cognates fall into suffix categories which, for clarity and convenience, have been grouped
under the following terms:

1. Nouns
2. Adjectives
3. Verbs
4. Adverbs
5. Where to go next

Enter your email to receive six lessons of Spanish English cognates.

Lesson 1: Learn 133 Spanish words with this general rule;
Lesson 2: Learn 27 Spanish words with this rule on nouns;
Lesson 3: Learn 158 Spanish words with this rule on adjectives;
Lesson 4: Learn 26 Spanish words with this rule (also on adjectives);
Lesson 5: Learn 103 Spanish words with this rule on verbs;
Lesson 6: Learn 99 Spanish English cognates with no rules.
You will learn 546 frequently used Spanish words from these six lessons.
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Nouns
Many Spanish nouns can easily be converted into English nouns.

English nouns and Spanish nouns ending in '-or' are very often identical.

#1. -or = -or

English Spanish
actor actor
color color
doctor doctor
director director
horror horror

English nouns and Spanish nouns ending in '-al' are very common identical.

#2. -al = -al

English Spanish
animal animal
general general
hospital hospital
manual manual
moral moral

Many English nouns ending with '-ist', can be converted into Spanish nouns by changing to '-
ista'.

#3. -ist → -ista

English Spanish
artist artista
egoist egoista
list lista
socialist socialista
tourist turista

#4. -ism → -ismo

English Spanish
idealism idealismo
despotism despotismo
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mechanism mecanismo
organism organismo
optimism optimismo

#5. -nce → -ncia

English Spanish
abundance abundancia
arrogance arrogancia
experience experiencia
patience paciencia
intelligence inteligencia

#6. -ty → -dad

English Spanish
activity actividad
curiosity curiosidad
electricity electricidad
identity identidad
university universidad

#7. -tion → -ción

English Spanish
association asociación
combination combinación
condition condición
exemption exempción
instruction instrucción

English nouns ending with '-y' often corresponds to Spanish nouns ending with '-ía', '-ia', or '-io

#8. -y → '-ía', '-ia', or '-io'

English Spanish
agency agencia
agony agonía
battery batería
family familia
history historia
urgency urgencia
remedy remedio
salary salario
testimony testimonio
dictionary diccionario

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Purchase the comprehensive list of 3,465 Spanish-English Cognates.

Adjectives

Like nouns, many English adjectives can be converted into Spanish simply by changing the
word ending. Here are some useful rules.

#1. -ive → ivo

English Spanish
active activo
decisive decisivo
festive festivo
effective efectivo
indicative indicativo

#2. -al = -al

English Spanish
brutal brutal
usual usual
local local
criminal criminal
natural natural

#3. -ous → -oso

English Spanish
ambitious ambicioso
gracious gracioso
delicious delicioso
generous generoso
venomous venenoso

#4. -ic → -ico

English Spanish
magnetic magnético
fantastic fantastico
electric eléctrico
artistic artistico
automatic automatico

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#5. -ble = -ble

English Spanish
admirable admirable
impossible imposible
terrible terrible
favorable favorable
notable notable

#6. -nt → -nte

English Spanish
ignorant ignorante
convenient conveniente
prudent prudente
important importante
triumphant triunfante

#7. -id → -ido

English Spanish
stupid estupido
lucid lúcido
splendid esplendido
candid cándido
solid solido

#8. -ile → -il

English Spanish
agile ágil
fragile frágil
mobile movil
juvenile juvenil
automobile automóvil

#9. -ary → -ario

English Spanish
actuary actuario
arbitrary arbitrario
ordinary ordinario
imaginary imaginario
ordinary ordinario

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Verbs
There are many English verbs that can be converted into Spanish, usually by changing the
ending of the English verb and adding the Spanish verb suffices 'ar', 'er' or 'ir'.

Almost every English verb ending in '-ate' can be coverted into a Spanish infinitive by replacing
the final '-ate' with '-ar'.

#1. -ate → -ar

English Spanish
accelerate acelerar
accentuate acentuar
aggregate agregar
associate asociar
demonstrate demostrar
estimate estimar
exaggerate exagerar
negotiate negociar
operate operar
participate participar
terminate terminar

Many English verbs ending in VOWEL + CONSONANT + T can be converted into Spanish
verbs by adding '-ar' or '-ir' to the end of the English verb.

#2. VOWEL + CONSONANT + T → '-tar' or '-tir'

English Spanish
insult insultar
consult consultar
exalt exaltar
present presentar
represent representar
comment comentar
ferment fermentar
lament lamentar
import importar
comport comportar
insert insertar
support soportar
export exportar
convert convertir
insist insistir

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Many English infinitive verbs ending VOWEL + CONSONANT + E can be converted into
Spanish infinitive verbs by dropping the final E and adding '-ar'.

#3. VOWEL + CONSONANT + E → VOWEL + CONSONANT + 'AR'

English Spanish
abuse abusar
accuse acusar
cause causar
excuse excusar
admire admirar
adore adorar
compare comparar
declare declarar
implore implorar
analyze analizar
authorize autorizar
civilize civilizar
paralyze paralizar
complete completar
converse conversar
escape escapar
ignore ignorar
invite invitar
imagine imaginar
prepare preparar
organize organizar
utilize utilizar

Almost every English infinitive verb ending with '-ify' can be converted into a Spanish verb by
replacing the final '-ify' with '-ificar'.

#4. '-ify' → '-ificar'

English Spanish
unify unificar
simplify simplificar
solidify solidificar
classify clasificar
notify notificar
modify modificar
gratify gratificar
justify justificar

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pacify pacificar
verify verificar

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Adverbs
In English, "-ly" combines with many adjectives to form adverbs.

In Spanish, "-mente" combines with (feminine) adjectives to form Spanish adverbs.

English Spanish
absolutely absolutamente
normally normalmente
naturally naturalmente
finally finalmente
correctly correctamente
exactly exactamente
evidently evidentemente
difficultly difícilmente

Where to go next?

1. Subscribe to our six-lesson Spanish English cognates mini-course. (FREE)

Enter your email to receive six lessons of Spanish English cognates.

Lesson 1: Learn 133 Spanish words with this general rule;
Lesson 2: Learn 27 Spanish words with this rule on nouns;
Lesson 3: Learn 158 Spanish words with this rule on adjectives;
Lesson 4: Learn 26 Spanish words with this rule (also on adjectives);
Lesson 5: Learn 103 Spanish words with this rule on verbs;
Lesson 6: Learn 99 Spanish English cognates with no rules.
You will learn 546 frequently used Spanish words from these six lessons.
Your Email: Submit
Your email is SAFE with us. You can unsubscribe anytime.

2. PDF download: English Spanish Cognates. Download the current page in PDF
format. (FREE)

3. Practice the most common Spanish-English Cognates online. (1200 pairs of

Spanish-English cognates) (FREE)

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4. Purchase the comprehensive list of Spanish-English Cognates. (eBook;

3,465 pairs of Spanish-English cognates)

5. Purchase the comprehensive list of Spanish-English Cognates at Amazon.

(Paperback; 3,465 pairs of Spanish-English cognates)

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