In this lesson, we will learn about a fast and easy way to rapidly expand your vocabulary in Spanish -- cognates. Cognates are words that look and sound similar in both English and Spanish and share the same meaning. We will then cover a bunch of commonly used adjective cognates.
Vocabulary: arrogante - arrogant
egoísta - egoistic or selfish
elegante - elegant
emocional - emotional
evidente - evident
excelente - excellent
final - final
horrible - horrible
importante - important
idealista - idealistic
interesante - interesting
internacional - international
nacional - national
natural - natural
optimista - optimistic
original - original
persistente - persistent
pesimista - pessimistic
popular - popular
profesional - professional
realista - realistic
sentimental - sentimental
terrible - terrible
tradicional - traditional
transparente - transparent
tropical - tropical
dependiente - dependent
inestable - unstable
inflexible - inflexible
improbable - improbable
impersonal - impersonal
posible - possible
paciente - patient
formal - formal
intolerante - intolerant
impopular - unpopular
enorme - enormous
[SLIDE 1]
Cognates are words that have a similar meaning, spelling and pronunciation in two different languages. English and Spanish share many cognates. These words come from the same origin, often Latin.
Take a look at the following list of Spanish words. You can probably guess what each of them mean.
"Arrogante" means arrogant.
"Restaurante" means restaurant.
"Practicar" means "to practice".
Cogantes are important because they are very easy to learn. You can learn hundreds of Spanish words in a short time by studying lists of cognates.
Keep in mind, though, that not all words that are spelled similarly have the same meaning!
[SLIDE 2]
Take a look at the following Spanish words.
If you say that someone is "embarazada," you do NOT mean they are "embarrassed." You are saying they are pregnant!
"Carpeta" does not mean carpet -- it means folder.
"Recordar" is not to record -- it means to remember.
Words that look similar but have a different meaning are known as false cognates. Always double-check a word's meaning before assuming it is a cognate to avoid some potentially embarrasing or even harmful mistakes!