English Spanish Cognates

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:

Nouns
Adjectives
Verbs
Adverbs
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 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
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

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
pacify	pacificar
verify	verificar

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

Where to go next?

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:

Your email is SAFE with us. You can unsubscribe anytime.

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