Are you a Spanish-speaker looking to improve your English vocabulary? Or an English-speaker trying to pick up some Spanish phrases? Look no further! In this post, we'll explore some English words that easily translate to Spanish. These are called cognates, words in different languages that have a similar origin and therefore, a similar meaning. They often have similar spellings and pronunciation. For example, the English word "action" and the Spanish word "acción" are cognates because they both come from the Latin word "actio." Similarly, the English word "animal" and the Spanish word "animal" are cognates because they both come from the Latin word "animalis."
Of course, this will just be the tip of the iceberg when it comes to English-Spanish translation. There are countless words and even some phrases that easily translate between the two languages. Both languages have been heavily influenced by Latin, and English also has a lot of influence historically from French and other Romance languages that share roots with Spanish.
Additionally, with technology and innovations happening so quickly and on a global scale, a lot of new words are very similar between languages. For example, the English word "computer" translates to "computadora" in Spanish. The words may not be exactly the same, but their meaning is easily recognizable. Another example is "telephone" (teléfono). These words are so similar that you could almost use them interchangeably!
Keep in mind, also, that while it can be fun to play around with these similarities, it's important to remember that professional translators should always be consulted for more complex ideas and business-related tasks. These examples are single words, but phrases and full sentences begin to get much more complex to translate. The right translation will also depend heavily on the context.
Also, relying too heavily on the idea that English and Spanish words that look similar have the same meaning can be problematic, leading to misunderstanding and confusion! For example, “Yo soy embarazada” might seem to an English speaker at first to mean “I am embarrassed,” but it means “I am pregnant”- a VERY different state of being. Another example is the Spanish “éxito” looks like “exit,” but actually means “success.”
While you can’t rely on assuming everything that looks similar to a word in your own language is the equivalent in the other, there are plenty, and studying them can speed up your learning of the other language! So the next time you're trying to expand your language skills, remember that English and Spanish have more in common than you might think. Happy translating and happy learning!
Abandon: abandonar
Abuse: abuso
Academic: académico
Accept: aceptar
Access: acceso
Accident: accidente
Acid: ácido
Action: acción
Activist: activista
Activity: actividad
Additional: adicional
Administrator: administrador
Admission: admisión
Admit: admitir
Adolescent: adolescente
Affect: afectar
African: africano
Agency: agencia
Aggressive: agresivo
Air: aire
Airport: aeropuerto
Alcohol: alcohol
Analyst: analista
Animal: animal
Anual: anual
Apparent: aparente
April: abril
Arab: árabe
Artistic: artístico
Athlete: atleta
Basic: básico
Car: carro
Color: color
Difficult: difícil
During: durante
Excellent: excelente
Family: familia
Hospital: hospital
June: junio
Minute: minuto
Nation: nación
Need: necesitar
Park: parque
Person: persona
Personal: personal
Possible: posible
Problem: problema
Public: público
Restaurant: restaurante
University: universidad