Words in Spanish that are Like English

It’s true that there are a whole heap of Spanish words that are like words in English, or Spanish cognates. Up to 60% of the words in the English language have Greek or Latin roots. Spanish is a romance language, so many roots of words are shared between English and Spanish. In some cases, words were also ‘borrowed’ from other languages where no word existed in the target language.

For this reason, there are lots of words in Spanish that are like English. Let’s look at some!

Words in Spanish that are like English (perfect cognates)

These words are the same in Spanish and English.

1. Actor
2. Crisis
3. Director
4. Fundamental
5. Invisible
6. Metal
7. Miserable
8. Natural
9. Personal
10. Popular
11. Radio
12. Similar
13. Taxi
14. Universal
15. Vital

Words in English that Originated from Spanish

Here are some common words in English that have their origins in Spanish. Are there any that surprise you?

1. Rodeo
2. Armadillo
3. Tornado
4. Mosquito
5. Tango
6. Vigilante
7. Salsa (the sauce and the dance!)
8. Bonanza
9. Suave
10. Tomato

Watch out for the false cognates such as…

You need to take care when learning Spanish to watch out for false cognates, as it can be easy to get them wrong – and some of the misunderstandings may be rather embarrassing! Here’s some below…

1. Embarazada means pregnant, rather than embarrassed!
2. Sopa means soup, not soap
3. The verb introducir means to insert, rather than to introduce
4. Éxito means success, not exit
5. The verb molestar means to annoy, rather than to molest
6. Constipación would be referring to a cold, not constipation!
7. Fábrica means factory, not fabric
8. Pie means foot, rather than something tasty with gravy!
9. Ropa means clothes, not rope
10. Largo means long, but is often confused for large

Study this onomatopoeia in Spanish. Do you know what noise dogs make in Spanish?