List of English–Spanish interlingual homographs
This is a list of interlingual homographs shared by the English language and the Spanish language. An interlingual homograph is a word that occurs in more than one written language, but which has a different meaning or pronunciation in each language.[1][2]
This list includes only homographs that are written precisely the same in English and Spanish: They have the same spelling, hyphenation, capitalization, word dividers, etc. It excludes proper nouns and words that have different diacritics (e.g., invasion/invasión, pâté/paté).
Relationships between words
The words below are categorised based on their relationship: cognates, false friends, and modern loanwords. Cognates are words that have a common etymological origin. False friends are words in two languages that look or sound similar, but differ significantly in meaning. Loanwords are words that are adopted from one language into another.
Many of the words in the list are Latin cognates. Because Spanish is a Romance language (which means it evolved from Latin), many of its words are either inherited from Latin or derive from Latin words. Although English is a Germanic language, it, too, incorporates thousands of Latinate words that are related to words in Spanish.[3] Yet even with so many Latin cognates, only a small minority are written precisely the same in both languages.
Even though the words in this list are written the same in both languages, none of them are pronounced the same—not even the word no.
Cognates
The cognates in the table below share meanings in English and Spanish, but have different pronunciation.
Some words entered Middle English and Early Modern Spanish indirectly and at different times. For example, a Latinate word might enter English by way of Old French, but enter Spanish directly from Latin. Such differences can introduce changes in spelling and meaning.
Although most of the cognates have at least one meaning shared by English and Spanish, they can have other meanings that are not shared. A word might also be used in different contexts in each language.
Greek cognates
All of the following Greek cognates are nouns. In addition, gas and gases are verbs in English.
Latin cognates
False friends are marked with the symbol ‡.
- abdomen
- absolve(s)
- abuse(s)
- accede(s)
- admire(s)
- adore(s)
- alias
- arteriosclerosis
- atlas
- balance(s)
- base(s)
- calibre(s)
- cheque(s)
- civil
- clan
- control
- cosmos
- cruel
- debate(s)
- declare(s)
- define(s)
- depone(s)
- detective(s)
- diabetes
- don‡
- eclipse(s)a
- enclave(s)
- escape(s)
- excuse(s)
- fatigue(s)
- gratis
- grave(s)
- herpesa
- ignore(s)
- indices
- induce(s)
- impulse(s)
- inclusive
- invite(s)
- laurel
- marches
- move(s)
- mediocre
- nave(s)‡
- noble
- oasis
- observe
- parasol
- pare(s)
- pelvis
- perfume(s)
- plan(es)
- prepare(s)
- pulse(s)
- pubis
- recuse(s)
- relieve(s)‡
- semen
- simple
- sublime
- suspense
- use(s)
- virus
- vote(s)b
Words with an -a ending
- ^ Originally Greek
Words with an -able ending
- abominable
- adaptable
- adjustable
- admirable
- adoptable
- adorable
- alterable
- amortizable
- bailable
- biodegradable
- cable
- comparable
- computable
- culpable
- curable
- degradable
- durable(s)
- evitable
- favorable
- habitable
- implacable
- improbable
- inalterable
- inevitable
- innumerable
- irritable
- laudable
- miserable
- notable
- rentable
- sociable
- utilizable
- variable(s)
- vulnerable
Words with an -al ending
All of the following words are adjectives and/or nouns.
- abdominal
- accidental
- actual‡
- adverbial
- anal
- animal
- arsenal
- arterial
- artificial
- asexual
- astral
- austral
- autumnal
- aval
- axial
- banal
- cabal
- canal
- cantal
- capital
- cardinal
- carnal
- caudal
- causal
- central
- cereal
- ceremonial
- coaxial
- continental
- cordial
- corporal
- cultural
- decimal
- diagonal
- dual
- ducal
- editorial
- episcopal
- eternal
- eventual
- experimental
- facial
- fatal
- fecal
- federal
- femoral
- ferial
- festival
- fetal
- feudal
- filial
- final
- fiscal
- formal
- funeral
- general
- genial
- genital
- global
- gradual
- habitual
- homosexual
- horizontal
- hospital
- ideal
- imperial
- impersonal
- individual
- infernal
- informal
- jovial
- labial
- laical
- latitudinal
- legal
- local
- longitudinal
- madrigal
- magisterial
- magistral
- mal
- manual
- marginal
- marital
- material
- mayoral
- medieval
- mental
- metal
- mineral
- moral
- mural
- nasal
- natal
- natural
- naval
- normal
- occidental
- octagonal
- oral
- ordinal
- original
- oval
- pedal
- pedestal
- personal
- plural
- portal
- principal
- provincial
- provisional
- racial
- radial
- radical
- recital
- rectal
- regional
- ritual
- rival
- rural
- sexual
- social
- subnormal
- temporal‡
- terminal
- total
- umbilical
- umbral
- universal
- usual
- vertical
- zodiacal
Words with an -ar ending
Words with an -el ending
Words with an -er ending
Words with an -ible ending
Words with an -o ending
- ^ Originally Greek
Words with an -or ending
All of the following words are adjectives and/or nouns.
- ^ In English, also functions as an intransitive verb
- ^ In English, also functions as either an intransitive or transitive verb
Arabic cognates
Proto-Indo-European cognates
False friends
Although the words in this section are written identically in English and Spanish, they have different meanings in each language.
- a
- afear
- as
- auditoria
- ave
- batiste
- bote
- calla
- can(es)
- case
- cola(s)
- coma(s)
- come(s)
- con
- da(s)
- dais
- dan
- dice(s)
- dime(s)
- dinos
- do(s)
- done
- dude(s)
- ex(es)
- fresco(s)
- fume(s)
- gala(s)
- gane
- gen
- gran(es)
- grape(s)
- gripe(s)a
- ha(s)
- hay
- he
- id
- la(s)
- lea(s)
- lean
- lee(s)
- leed
- leer
- leo
- liar
- lote(s)
- manga(s)
- mar(es)
- mate(s)
- maya
- mayo(s)
- mead
- meter
- mole(s)
- mote(s)
- once
- pagan
- pan(es)
- papa(s)
- par(es)
- pedo(s)
- pica(s)
- pie(s)
- pillar
- playa(s)
- publican
- rape(s)
- red(es)
- remate(s)
- replicase(s)
- robe(s)
- saber
- sable(s)
- salve(s)
- sauce(s)
- sin
- so
- taller
- vale(s)
- van
Modern loanwords
The table below lists English-to-Spanish and Spanish-to-English loanwards, as well as loanwards from other modern languages that share the same orthography in both English and Spanish. In some cases, the common orthography resulted because a word entered the Spanish lexicon via English. These loanwords may retain spelling conventions that are foreign to Spanish (as in whisky). In Spanish, only loanwords use the letters k and w.
English-to-Spanish loanwords
All of the following loanwords are either nouns or gerunds. Words ending in -ing are gerunds in English and nouns in Spanish.
- airbag(s)
- antivirus
- audiovisual
- backup
- banjo(s)
- bit(s)
- byte
- camping
- chat(s)
- chip(s)
- clip(s)
- club(s)
- collie
- convoy
- doping
- email(s)
- gag(s)
- gene(s)
- hangar
- iceberg
- input(s)
- jumbo
- magnate(s)
- modem
- motocross
- multimedia
- parking
- picnic(s)
- polo(s)
- pop
- pub(s)
- punk(s)
- radar
- rail
- rally
- rifle(s)
- ring
- robot(s)
- rock
- rugby
- shock(s)
- shorts
- show(s)
- software
- sprint(s)
- surf
- test(s)
- unisex
- whisky
- windsurfing
- yuppie
- zoo(s)
- ^ Applies only to the music genre sense of the word.
Spanish-to-English loanwords
Although the meanings of the following loanwords overlap, most of them have different senses and/or shades of meaning in Spanish and English. Generally, loanwords have more diverse and nuanced meanings in the originating language than they do in the adopting language.
- armada(s)
- armadillo(s)
- arroyo(s)
- ayuntamiento(s)
- azulejo(s)
- bajada(s)
- balsa(s)
- banda
- banderilla(s)
- burro(s)
- caballero(s)
- cacao
- coca
- cria(s)
- guerrilla(s)
- hacienda(s)
- hombre(s)
- jalapeño(s)
- machete(s)
- macho
- mantilla(s)
- manzanilla
- maraca(s)
- margarita(s)
- marina(s)
- masa
- matador
- menudo(s)
- mestizo(s)
- mosquito(s)
- mulato(s)
- nacho(s)
- nada
- negro
- padre(s)
- paella(s)
- patio(s)
- peluca
- peseta(s)
- peso(s)
- picador
- pimiento(s)
- piñata(s)
- plaza(s)
- pronto
- pueblo(s)
- rodeo(s)
- rumba
- salsa(s)
- suave
- taco(s)
- tango(s)
- tapa(s)
- tequila(s)
Loanwords from other languages
The following loanwords occur in both Modern English and Modern Spanish, but originated in another language. Several of the words entered the Spanish language via English.
Word | Original language |
---|---|
anaconda(s) | Sinhalese |
adagio(s) | Italian |
aria(s) | Italian |
autoclave(s) | French |
ballet(s) | French |
banana(s) | Wolof or possibly another of the Niger–Congo languages (entered English via Spanish or Portuguese)[4] |
borage | Old French |
canapé | French |
crepe(s) | French |
fez | Turkish |
guano(s) | Quechua (entered English via Spanish)[5] |
iguana(s) | Spanish corruption of the Taíno word iwana (entered Spanish via English)[6] |
imam | Arabic |
judo | Japanese (entered Spanish via English) |
karaoke | Japanese (entered Spanish via English) |
kimono(s) | Japanese (entered Spanish via English) |
kiwi(s) | Māori (entered Spanish via English) |
llama(s) | Quechua (entered English via Spanish)[7] |
mafia(s) | Italian |
mango(s) | multi-generational corruption from Tamil; entered English via Portuguese manga |
mecha(s) | from Japanase メカ (meka), an abbreviation of the English adjective mechanical |
pisco(s) | Quechua (entered English via Spanish) |
pizza(s) | Italian |
poncho(s) | possibly from Mapuche[8][9] or Quechua (entered English via Spanish) |
postal | French |
puma(s) | Quechua (entered English via Spanish)[10] |
ravioli | Italian |
safari(s) | Swahili |
sauna(s) | Finnish |
sushi | Japanese (entered Spanish via English) |
tapioca | Old Tupi |
taxi(s) | French (abbreviation of a corruption of taximètre) |
vodka | Russian (entered Spanish via English) |
zinc | German |
See also
English-specific
Spanish-specific
Notes
- ↑ Dijkstra, Ton (2007). "Task and Context Effects in Bilingual Lexical Processing § Interlingual Homographs". In Kecskes, Istvan; Albertazzi, Liliana. Cognitive Aspects of Bilingualism. Springer. p. 219. ISBN 978-1-4020-5935-3. OCLC 915958351. Retrieved 2017-06-23 – via Google Books.
- ↑ Chen, Lillian (2008). "Background § Language-Selective Access" (PDF). Top-down Effects on Multiple Meaning Access Within and Between Languages (Thesis). University of Michigan. p. 25. Retrieved 2017-06-23.
- ↑ A major reason for the number of Latinate words in English is the Norman conquest of England in the 11th century. The Norman language is a Romance language. Before long, many people in England were speaking a language with elements of Norman and Old English. This language is called Anglo-Norman, and it eventually evolved into Modern English. Meanwhile, the Norman language evolved into the French language.
- ↑ Harper, Douglas. "banana". Online Etymology Dictionary. Retrieved 2016-04-05.
- ↑ Harper, Douglas. "guano". Online Etymology Dictionary. Retrieved 2016-04-05.
- ↑ Harper, Douglas. "iguana". Online Etymology Dictionary. Retrieved 2016-04-05.
- ↑ Harper, Douglas. "llama". Online Etymology Dictionary. Retrieved 2016-04-05.
- ↑ Harper, Douglas. "poncho". Online Etymology Dictionary. Retrieved 2016-04-05.
- ↑ Skeat, Walter William (1901). Notes on English Etymology. Oxford: Clarendon Press. p. 224. OCLC 312336. Retrieved 2016-04-05.
- ↑ Harper, Douglas. "puma". Online Etymology Dictionary. Retrieved 2016-04-05.
References
- Berlitz Spanish Pocket Dictionary. Berlitz Corporation. 2007. ISBN 9789812468727. OCLC 775780246.
- The University of Chicago Spanish–English Dictionary (Sixth ed.). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. 2012. ISBN 9780226666969. OCLC 775780246.
External links
- "English Spanish Cognates". esdict.com. Retrieved 15 September 2014.
- "Spanish Cognates". SpanishCognates.org. Velazquez Press. Retrieved 15 September 2014.