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Spanish
Cognates are words from two languages that are the same or similar. As English borrows many words from Latin there are many Spanish-English cognates.
By learning the rules below you will have an instant Spanish vocabulary of thousands of words.
1. Words that end in –ous change to –oso
Spanish words that end in -oso tend to be adjectives. In English we can often change a noun into its corresponding adjective by adding -ous e.g advantage/advantageous, harmony/harmonious, space/spacious. You can often also do this in Spanish with -oso e.g peligro (danger)/peligroso (dangerous), lujo (luxury)/lujoso (luxurious).
| English | Spanish |
|---|---|
| Curious | Curioso |
| Delicious | Delicioso |
| Glorious | Glorioso |
| Mysterious | Misterioso |
| Numerous | Numeroso |
2. Words that end in –al are usually the same in English
| English | Spanish |
|---|---|
| Hospital | Hospital |
| Medical | Medical |
| Animal | Animal |
| Casual | Casual |
| Digital | Digital |
3. Words that end in –ct change to –cto
| English | Spanish |
|---|---|
| Act | Acto |
| Exact | Exacto |
| Correct | Correcto |
| Insect | Insecto |
| Dialect | Dialecto |
4. Words that end in –ance change to –ancia
| English | Spanish |
|---|---|
| Ambulance | Ambulancia |
| France | Francia |
| Distance | Distancia |
| Tolerance | Tolerancia |
5. Words that end in –ic change to –ico
These words are usually adjectives and have the stress (and therefore an accent) on the last syllable before the -ico
| English | Spanish |
|---|---|
| Alcoholic | Alcohólico |
| Basic | Básico |
| Fantastic | Fantástico |
| Generic | Genérico |
| Medic | Médico |
6. Words that end in –ar are usually the same in English
| English | Spanish |
|---|---|
| Familiar | Familiar |
| Lunar | Lunar |
| Muscular | Muscular |
| Regular | Regular |
| Solar | Solar |
7. Words that end in –ary change to –ario
| English | Spanish |
|---|---|
| Canary | Canario |
| Diary | Diario |
| Glossary | Glosario |
| Estuary | Estuario |
| Primary | Primario |
8. Words that end in –ant change to –ante
| English | Spanish |
|---|---|
| Abundant | Abundante |
| Distant | Distante |
| Elegant | Elegante |
| Important | Importante |
| Mutant | Mutante |
9. Words that end in –ble are usually the same in English
| English | Spanish |
|---|---|
| Audible | Audible |
| Cable | Cable |
| Terrible | Terrible |
| Destructible | Destructible |
| Horrible | Horrible |
10. Words that end in –ence change to –encia
| English | Spanish |
|---|---|
| Coincidence | Coincidencia |
| Competence | Competencia |
| Difference | Diferencia |
| Excellence | Excelencia |
11. Words that end in –id change to –ido
Note: many words following this rule have an accent on the first vowel.
| English | Spanish |
|---|---|
| Acid | Ácido |
| Fluid | Fluido |
| Rapid | Rápido |
| Solid | Sólido |
| Valid | Válido |
12. Words that end in –ment change to –mento
Note: some words such as departamento may have other minor spelling changes.
| English | Spanish |
|---|---|
| Argument | Argumento |
| Cement | Cemento |
| Department | Departamento |
| Document | Documento |
| Element | Elemento |