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English Spanish Cognates

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

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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
  • color
  • doctor
  • director
  • horror
  • actor
  • color
  • doctor
  • director
  • horror

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

#2. -al = -al
English Spanish
  • animal
  • general
  • hospital
  • manual
  • moral
  • animal
  • general
  • hospital
  • manual
  • moral


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

#3. -ist → -ista
English Spanish
  • artist
  • egoist
  • list
  • socialist
  • tourist
  • artista
  • egoista
  • lista
  • socialista
  • turista


#4. -ism → -ismo
English Spanish
  • idealism
  • despotism
  • mechanism
  • organism
  • optimism
  • idealismo
  • despotismo
  • mecanismo
  • organismo
  • optimismo


#5. -nce → -ncia
English Spanish
  • abundance
  • arrogance
  • experience
  • patience
  • intelligence
  • abundancia
  • arrogancia
  • experiencia
  • paciencia
  • inteligencia


#6. -ty → -dad
English Spanish
  • activity
  • curiosity
  • electricity
  • identity
  • university
  • actividad
  • curiosidad
  • electricidad
  • identidad
  • universidad


#7. -tion → -ción
English Spanish
  • association
  • combination
  • condition
  • exemption
  • instruction
  • asociación
  • combinación
  • condición
  • exempción
  • 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
  • agony
  • battery
  • family
  • history
  • urgency
  • remedy
  • salary
  • testimony
  • dictionary
  • agencia
  • agonía
  • batería
  • familia
  • historia
  • urgencia
  • remedio
  • salario
  • testimonio
  • diccionario

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
  • decisive
  • festive
  • effective
  • indicative
  • activo
  • decisivo
  • festivo
  • efectivo
  • indicativo


#2. -al = -al
English Spanish
  • brutal
  • usual
  • local
  • criminal
  • natural
  • brutal
  • usual
  • local
  • criminal
  • natural


#3. -ous → -oso
English Spanish
  • ambitious
  • gracious
  • delicious
  • generous
  • venomous
  • ambicioso
  • gracioso
  • delicioso
  • generoso
  • venenoso


#4. -ic → -ico
English Spanish
  • magnetic
  • fantastic
  • electric
  • artistic
  • automatic
  • magnético
  • fantastico
  • eléctrico
  • artistico
  • automatico


#5. -ble = -ble
English Spanish
  • admirable
  • impossible
  • terrible
  • favorable
  • notable
  • admirable
  • imposible
  • terrible
  • favorable
  • notable


#6. -nt → -nte
English Spanish
  • ignorant
  • convenient
  • prudent
  • important
  • triumphant
  • ignorante
  • conveniente
  • prudente
  • importante
  • triunfante


#7. -id → -ido
English Spanish
  • stupid
  • lucid
  • splendid
  • candid
  • solid
  • estupido
  • lúcido
  • esplendido
  • cándido
  • solido


#8. -ile → -il
English Spanish
  • agile
  • fragile
  • mobile
  • juvenile
  • automobile
  • ágil
  • frágil
  • movil
  • juvenil
  • automóvil


#9. -ary → -ario
English Spanish
  • actuary
  • arbitrary
  • ordinary
  • imaginary
  • ordinary
  • actuario
  • arbitrario
  • ordinario
  • imaginario
  • ordinario

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


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
EnglishSpanish
accelerateacelerar
accentuateacentuar
aggregateagregar
associateasociar
demonstratedemostrar
estimateestimar
exaggerateexagerar
negotiatenegociar
operateoperar
participateparticipar
terminateterminar


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'
EnglishSpanish
insultinsultar
consultconsultar
exaltexaltar
presentpresentar
representrepresentar
commentcomentar
fermentfermentar
lamentlamentar
importimportar
comportcomportar
insertinsertar
supportsoportar
exportexportar
convertconvertir
insistinsistir


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'
EnglishSpanish
abuseabusar
accuseacusar
causecausar
excuseexcusar
admireadmirar
adoreadorar
comparecomparar
declaredeclarar
imploreimplorar
analyzeanalizar
authorizeautorizar
civilizecivilizar
paralyzeparalizar
completecompletar
converseconversar
escapeescapar
ignoreignorar
inviteinvitar
imagineimaginar
preparepreparar
organizeorganizar
utilizeutilizar


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'
EnglishSpanish
unifyunificar
simplifysimplificar
solidifysolidificar
classifyclasificar
notifynotificar
modifymodificar
gratifygratificar
justifyjustificar
pacifypacificar
verifyverificar

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


Adverbs

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

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

English Spanish
absolutelyabsolutamente
normallynormalmente
naturallynaturalmente
finallyfinalmente
correctlycorrectamente
exactlyexactamente
evidentlyevidentemente
difficultlydifícilmente


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.
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