An epic guide to Spanish cognates & 1111 easy examples

What if I told you that you already know much more Spanish than you think you do?

That’s right! Even if you’ve only just started taking Spanish lessons, you already know many words in Spanish — thousands of them, in fact.

That’s because, although English is a Germanic language, it has heavy grammar and vocabulary influences from Latin. That means that English has very similar vocabulary and grammar structures to the Romance languages, including French, Portuguese, and Spanish.

So, if you’re wondering how it is that you don’t understand Spanish already if it’s so similar to English, then you’ve come to the right place. Although many words are identical, most words have slight variations that make them not exactly the same as English. In this handy guide, we’ll go over the different types of Spanish cognates and how you can make educated guesses on words you don’t already know.

So, are you ready to get started? Once you’ve worked your way through this list, you’ll understand why Spanish isn’t hard to learn for English speakers!

What are Spanish cognates?

Spanish cognates are words that have the same root as English words. Because of this common origin, you should be able to identify these words even if you’ve never studied them before.

There are three types of cognates:

• Perfect cognates: These are words that are spelled exactly the same in both English and Spanish, so you should have no trouble identifying them. For example, “animal” is a perfect cognate as it’s spelled the same in both languages and has the same meaning.
• Near-perfect cognates: These are words that aren’t spelled exactly the same, but close enough that we can identify them as common words. For example, “argument” in English is argumento in Spanish. It’s not quite spelled the same, but you can easily guess that these words mean the same thing.
• False cognates: Also known as false friends, these are words that appear to be cognates but actually aren’t. These can be especially dangerous for new Spanish learners, as they are Spanish words that sound like English words but actually mean something completely different. Want to know which words to look out for? Check out our full guide with 150 false cognates in Spanish.

Identifying each of the three comments is crucial for making good use of them, especially since they’re not all identical. Below, we’ll show you everything you need to know about Spanish cognates.

100 most common Spanish cognates

If you’re looking for a quick way to supercharge your Spanish vocabulary, look no further than this list. Here are 100 common Spanish cognates that you can start using right away since you already know them!

Spanish cognate rules

Spanish cognates generally look a lot like English words, so it’s not very difficult to spot them. However, there are a few dozen patterns that you can turn towards to have a higher chance of matching these cognates. In the sections below, we’ll delve into some of the most common patterns of Spanish cognates so you know what to look for.

Plus, we’ll include the pronunciation and IPA spelling of each word. This is especially important because similar spellings don’t mean similar pronunciations, so you can’t assume that Spanish words will be pronounced the same just because they are spelled the same. So, go make a cup of coffee or tea and take your time working through the following list of 1,111 Spanish cognates!

Words that end in “al” stay the same

Generally, English words that end in –al also end in –al in Spanish. This results in many words that stay exactly the same in Spanish, such as “animal.” In other cases, the root of the word might change slightly to fit Spanish orthography, as “abysmal” changes to abismal.

Words that end in “ant” change to “ante” or “ente”

Spanish words almost never end in –t, which is why most English words that end in –ant end in –ante or –ente in Spanish.

Words that end in “ar” stay the same

Words that end in –ar in English tend to stay the same in Spanish, also ending in –ar.

Words that end in “ary” change to “ario” or “aria”

Words almost never end in –y in Spanish, which is why most words that end in –ary in English change to –ario in Spanish. Keep in mind that many of these words could also change to –aria in Spanish when they are modifying a female noun.

Words that end in “ate” change to “ar”

All verbs in Spanish end in –ar, –er, or –ir. Almost all English verbs that end in –ate end in –ar in Spanish, so you can use this as an easy tool to translate your verbs.

Words that end in “ble” stay the same

Most English words that end in –ble don’t change much in Spanish. Easy win!

Words that end in “ct” change to “cto” or “to”

As mentioned earlier, Spanish words don’t like to end in –t, so English words that end in –ct end in –cto or –to in Spanish.

Words that end in “nce” change to “ncia”

English words that end in –nce typically end in –ncia in Spanish.

Words that end in “ic” change to “ico” or “ica”

Words that end in –ic in English change to –ico or –ica in Spanish, depending on the gender of the noun they are modifying.

Words that end in “id” change to “ido”

English words that end in –id end in –ido or –ida in Spanish, depending on the gender of the noun they are modifying.

Words that end in “ify” change to “ificar”

English words that end in –ify change to –ificar in Spanish.

Words that end in “ile” change to “il”

English words that end in –ile in English end in –il in Spanish.

Words that end in “ism” change to “ismo”

Spanish words don’t like ending in –m, so English words that end in –ism typically end in –ismo in Spanish.

Words that end in “ist” change to “ista”

Again, Spanish really doesn’t like words that end in –t. That’s why English words that end in –ist typically change to –ista in Spanish.

Words that end in “ity” change to “idad”

Words that end in –ity change to –idad in Spanish.

Words that end in “ive” change to “ivo” or “iva”

Words that end in –ive in English change to –ivo or –iva in Spanish, depending on the gender of the noun they are modifying.

Words that end in “ly” change to “mente”

Perhaps one of the most drastic changes on this list, English words that end in –ly change to –mente in Spanish. Once you know this rule, you’ll be able to identify some of the sneakier Spanish cognates.

Words that end in “ment” change to “mento”

Once again, ending a word in –t is a big no in Spanish. That’s why English words that end in –ment change to –mento in Spanish.

Words that end in “nt” change to “nte”

Last time for our biggest offender (words ending in –t!), English words ending in –nt in English change to –nte in Spanish.

Words that end in “or” stay the same or change to “ora”

English words that end in –or typically stay the same in Spanish as long as they’re modifying a masculine noun. If they’re modifying a feminine noun, then they normally end in –ora. However, keep in mind that there are notable exceptions to this rule, such as “actor” that changes to “actriz” when referring to an actress.

Words that end in “ous” change to “oso” or “osa”

English words that end in –ous change to –oso when modifying masculine nouns and –osa when modifying feminine nouns.

Words that end in “sion” change to “sión”

These are almost identical, except that the Spanish ending –sión goes with an accent mark. Not sure why? Then check out our ultimate guide to Spanish accent marks.

Words that end in “tion” change to “ción”

English words that end in –tion change to –ción in Spanish. Be careful not to confuse them with the words that end in –sión!

Words that end in “y” change to “ia” or “io”

Many English words that end in –y change to –ia or –io in Spanish, depending on the gender of the noun they’re modifying.

Some verbs stay almost the same plus “ar” or “ir” at the end

Verbs in Spanish always end in –ar, –er, or –ir. Because of that, many English verbs stay the same plus an –ar or –ir ending.

Some verbs change slightly and end in “ar”

Some verbs change slightly and have the added –ar ending.

Go out and test your shiny new Spanish vocabulary!

Well, the question is, are Spanish cognates really new vocabulary words if you already know them? Our perspective is that it doesn’t really matter how you acquire the vocabulary, as long as you can use it naturally and confidently! That’s why spending a little time learning tips and tricks like noun cognates can take you a long way, as you’ve now acquired well over 1,000 new words in a matter of minutes. How awesome is that!?

For more helpful tips, tricks, and vocabulary guides, check out our Spanish blog. We routinely publish new content that will help you improve all aspects of your Spanish, including our latest guide to upside-down question marks in Spanish and our fun guide to Spanglish vocabulary words and phrases.