List of English–Spanish interlingual homographs

How words in one or more languages can differ in pronunciation, spelling, and meaning (click to enlarge)

This is a list of words that occur in both the English language and the Spanish language, but which have different meanings and/or pronunciations in each language. Such words are called interlingual homographs.[1][2] Homographs are two or more words that have the same written form.

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 cognates, false friends, and modern loanwords. Cognates are words that have a common etymological origin. False cognates are words in different languages that seem to be cognates because they look similar and may even have similar meanings, but which do not share a common ancestor. False friends do share a common ancestor, but even though they look alike or sound similar, they differ significantly in meaning. Loanwords are words that are adopted from one language into another. Since this article is about homographs, the loanwords listed here are written the same not only in English and Spanish, but also in the language that the word came from.

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.

Arabic cognates

  1. alcohol
  2. alfalfa
  3. henna[a]
  4. imam
  5. soda[b]
  1. ^ In Spanish, the preferred word is alheña.
  2. ^ False friends

Aymara cognates

  1. alpaca(s)

German cognates

  1. zinc

Greek cognates

All of the following Greek cognates are nouns. In addition, gas and gases are verbs in English.

  1. amnesia
  2. anemia(s)
  3. aorta(s)
  4. auto(s)
  5. beta(s)
  6. drama(s)
  7. enema(s)
  8. gas(es)
  9. gastritis
  10. gingivitis
  11. melodrama(s)
  12. metro(s)
  13. otitis
  14. panorama(s)
  15. sepia(s)
  16. zeta(s)

Japanese cognates

  1. judo
  2. karaoke
  3. kimono
  4. mecha(s)[a]
  5. sushi
  6. tsunami(s)
  1. ^ From Japanese メカ (meka), an abbreviation of the English adjective mechanical

Latin cognates

  1. abdomen
  2. absolve(s)
  3. absorbed
  4. abuse(s)
  5. accede(s)
  6. acceded
  7. acuse(s)
  8. admire(s)
  9. antecede(s)
  10. anteceded
  11. adore(s)
  12. alias
  13. anterior
  14. arteriosclerosis
  15. ascended
  16. aspire(s)
  17. atlas
  18. balance(s)
  19. base(s)
  20. calibre(s)
  21. cede(s)
  22. cheque(s)
  23. civil
  24. clan
  25. combine(s)
  26. compare(s)
  27. compile(s)
  28. complete(s)
  29. concede(s)
  30. condense(s)
  31. conserve(s)
  32. converse(s)
  33. console(s)
  34. contended
  35. control
  36. converge(s)
  37. converged
  38. cosmos
  39. cruel
  40. debate(s)
  41. declare(s)
  42. defended
  43. define(s)
  44. depended
  45. depone(s)
  46. deponed
  47. derive(s)
  48. detective(s)
  49. determine(s)
  50. diabetes
  51. dispute(s)
  52. don[a]
  53. eclipse(s)[b]
  54. emerge(s)
  55. emerged
  56. enclave(s)
  57. escape(s)
  58. excuse(s)
  59. exhale(s)
  60. expulse(s)
  61. fallen[a]
  62. fatigue(s)
  63. formula(s)
  64. fume(s)[a]
  65. fusile(s)[a]
  66. gratis
  67. grave(s)
  68. herpes[b]
  69. ignore(s)
  70. imagine(s)
  71. indices
  72. induce(s)
  73. impulse(s)
  74. inclusive
  75. inflame(s)
  76. inspire(s)
  77. invite(s)
  78. laurel
  79. marches
  80. mire(s)
  81. move(s)
  82. mediocre
  83. nave(s)[a]
  84. noble
  85. oasis
  86. observe(s)
  87. opine(s)
  88. parasol
  89. pare(s)
  90. patine(s)
  91. pelvis
  92. perfume(s)
  93. plan(es)
  94. precede(s)
  95. preceded
  96. prepare(s)
  97. pretended
  98. pulse(s)
  99. pubis
  100. recuse(s)
  101. relieve(s)[a]
  102. removed
  103. resolved
  104. respire(s)
  105. responded
  106. semen
  107. simple
  108. sublime
  109. suspense
  110. tended
  111. tire(s)
  112. use(s)
  113. vended
  114. virus
  115. vote(s)[c]
  1. ^ a b c d e f False friends
  2. ^ a b Originally Greek
  3. ^ In Spanish, vote is a verb: the formal singular imperative (et al.) of votar: The noun is voto.

Words with an -a ending

  1. acacia
  2. academia
  3. ala
  4. alga
  5. arena(s)
  6. aroma(s)[a]
  7. aula(s)
  8. aurora(s)
  9. azalea(s)
  10. bacteria
  11. campana(s)
  12. concha(s)[b]
  13. errata(s)
  14. extra(s)
  15. fauna(s)
  16. flora(s)
  17. gardenia(s)
  18. hernia(s)
  19. idea(s)
  20. influenza(s)
  21. insignia(s)
  22. lava(s)
  23. media(s)[b]
  24. nostalgia[1]
  25. pasta(s)
  26. persona(s)
  27. petunia(s)
  28. retina(s)
  29. saliva(s)
  30. vagina(s)
  31. villa(s)[b]
  32. visa(s)
  1. ^ Originally Greek
  2. ^ a b c False friends

Words with an -able ending

  1. abominable
  2. adaptable
  3. adjustable
  4. admirable
  5. adoptable
  6. adorable
  7. alterable
  8. amortizable
  9. bailable
  10. biodegradable
  11. cable
  12. comparable
  13. computable
  14. culpable
  15. curable
  16. degradable
  17. durable(s)
  18. evitable
  19. favorable
  20. habitable
  21. implacable
  22. improbable
  23. inalterable
  24. inevitable
  25. innumerable
  26. irritable
  27. laudable
  28. miserable
  29. notable
  30. penetrable
  31. rentable
  32. sociable
  33. utilizable
  34. variable(s)
  35. vulnerable

Words with an -al ending

All of the following words are adjectives and/or nouns.

  1. abdominal
  2. aboriginal
  3. accidental
  4. actual[a]
  5. adverbial
  6. anal
  7. animal
  8. arsenal
  9. arterial
  10. artificial
  11. asexual
  12. astral
  13. austral
  14. autumnal
  15. aval
  16. axial
  17. banal
  18. bestial
  19. bicameral
  20. brutal
  21. cabal
  22. canal
  23. cantal
  24. capital
  25. cardinal
  26. carnal
  27. caudal
  28. causal
  29. central
  30. cereal
  31. ceremonial
  32. coaxial
  33. continental
  34. cordial
  35. corporal
  36. cultural
  37. decagonal
  38. decimal
  39. diagonal
  40. dual
  41. ducal
  42. editorial
  43. episcopal
  44. eternal
  45. eventual
  46. experimental
  47. facial
  48. fatal
  49. fecal
  50. federal
  51. femoral
  52. ferial
  53. festival
  54. fetal
  55. feudal
  56. filial
  57. final
  58. fiscal
  59. focal
  60. formal
  61. funeral
  62. general
  63. genial
  64. genital
  65. global
  66. gradual
  67. habitual
  68. heptagonal
  69. hexagonal
  70. homosexual
  71. horizontal
  72. hospital
  73. ideal
  74. imperial
  75. impersonal
  76. individual
  77. infernal
  78. informal
  79. jovial
  80. labial
  81. laical
  82. lateral
  83. latitudinal
  84. legal
  85. local
  86. longitudinal
  87. madrigal
  88. magisterial
  89. magistral
  90. mal
  91. manual
  92. marginal
  93. marital
  94. marsupial
  95. material
  96. mayoral
  97. medieval
  98. mental
  99. metal
  100. mineral
  101. moral
  102. mural
  103. nasal
  104. natal
  105. natural
  106. naval
  107. nonagonal
  108. normal
  109. occidental
  110. octagonal
  111. oral
  112. ordinal
  113. original
  114. oval
  115. paranormal
  116. pedal
  117. pedestal
  118. penal
  119. pentagonal
  120. personal
  121. plural
  122. portal
  123. principal
  124. provincial
  125. provisional
  126. racial
  127. radial
  128. radical
  129. recital
  130. rectal
  131. regional
  132. ritual
  133. rival
  134. rural
  135. sexual
  136. social
  137. subnormal
  138. temporal[a]
  139. terminal
  140. total
  141. transversal
  142. trivial
  143. umbilical
  144. umbral
  145. universal
  146. usual
  147. vaginal
  148. visual
  149. vertical
  150. vocal
  151. zodiacal

Words with an -ar ending

  1. altar
  2. articular
  3. auricular
  4. auxiliar
  5. circular
  6. cultivar
  7. insular
  8. irregular
  9. lar
  10. lunar
  11. nuclear
  12. ocular
  13. peculiar
  14. perpendicular
  15. polar
  16. pulsar
  17. popular
  18. rectangular
  19. regular
  20. similar
  21. singular
  22. solar
  23. tabular
  24. talar
  25. uvular
  26. vallar
  27. valvular
  28. vascular
  29. vulgar

Words with an -el ending

  1. cartel[a][b]
  2. pastel[a]
  1. ^ a b False friends
  2. ^ In Spanish, cartel is alternately spelled cártel.

Words with an -er ending

  1. defender
  2. deponer[a]
  3. emerger[a]
  4. mover[a]
  5. pretender[a]
  6. primer[a]
  7. remover
  8. resolver
  9. responder
  10. revolver[a]
  11. suspender[a]
  12. tender[a]
  1. ^ a b c d e f g h False friends

Words with an -ible ending

  1. audible
  2. combustible(s)
  3. comestible(s)
  4. compatible
  5. destructible
  6. flexible
  7. fusible
  8. horrible
  9. incompatible
  10. incombustible(s)
  11. indestructible
  12. inflexible
  13. intangible(s)
  14. irresistible
  15. irreversible
  16. ostensible
  17. reversible
  18. sensible[a]
  19. tangible
  20. terrible[a]

Words with an -o ending

  1. canto
  2. credo(s)
  3. euro(s)
  4. folio(s)
  5. gusto[a]
  6. halo[b]
  7. primo[a]
  8. radio(s)
  9. solo(s)[a]
  10. tornado(s)
  11. veto(s)
  12. video(s)
  1. ^ a b c False friends
  2. ^ Originally Greek

Words with an -or ending

All of the following words are adjectives and/or nouns.

  1. actor
  2. auditor
  3. candor
  4. clamor[a]
  5. conductor
  6. doctor[b]
  7. exterior
  8. factor[b]
  9. favor[a]
  10. furor
  11. honor[a]
  12. horror
  13. humor[b]
  14. inferior
  15. interior
  16. interlocutor
  17. labor[b]
  18. labrador[c]
  19. mayor[c]
  20. monitor
  21. motor[b]
  22. pastor
  23. posterior
  24. reactor
  25. rector
  26. rumor[b]
  27. sector
  28. superior
  29. supervisor
  30. terror
  31. vigor
  1. ^ a b c In English, also functions as an intransitive verb
  2. ^ a b c d e f In English, also functions as either an intransitive or transitive verb
  3. ^ a b False friends

Māori cognates

  1. kiwi(s)[a]
  1. ^ Entered Spanish via English

Nahuatl cognates

  1. avocado(s)
  2. chocolate(s)
  3. coyote(s)
  4. guacamole(s)
  5. peyote(s)
  6. quetzal
  7. tamales

Proto-Indo-European cognates

  1. me
  2. no
  3. gripe(s)[a]
  1. ^ In Spanish, gripe ("the flu") is a loanword from French (grippe). The English word grip also comes from grippe. All of these words have the same Proto-Indo-European origin as a verb that means "to grab" or "to grasp".

Quechua cognates

  1. guano(s)[a]
  2. poncho(s)[b]
  3. pisco(s)[c]
  1. ^ Entered English via Spanish[4]
  2. ^ Or possibly from the Mapuche language[5][6]
  3. ^ Entered English via Spanish

Russian cognates

  1. vodka(s)

Sinhalese cognates

  1. anaconda(s)

Taíno cognates

  1. iguana(s)[a]
  1. ^ Spanish corruption of the Taíno word iwana, which entered Spanish via English.[7]

Tamil cognates

  1. mango(s)[a]
  1. ^ Mango is a multi-generational corruption from Tamil that entered English via the Portuguese word manga.

Tupi cognates

  1. jaguar
  2. tapioca

Turkish cognates

  1. fez

Wolof cognates

  1. banana(s)[a]

False cognates

Although the words in this section are written identically in English and Spanish, they have different meanings in each language, and they are not cognates.

  1. a
  2. afear
  3. alas
  4. aliases
  5. as
  6. auditoria
  7. ave
  8. barred
  9. batiste
  10. bote
  11. calla
  12. can(es)
  13. case
  14. cola(s)
  15. coma(s)
  16. come(s)
  17. con
  18. da(s)
  19. dad
  20. dais
  21. dan
  22. den
  23. dice(s)
  24. dime(s)
  25. dinos
  26. do(s)
  27. doled
  28. done
  29. dude(s)
  30. ex(es)
  31. fresco(s)
  32. gala(s)
  33. gane
  34. gen
  35. gran(es)
  36. grape(s)
  37. ha(s)
  38. hay
  39. he
  40. id
  41. ingle(s)
  42. intended
  43. la(s)
  44. lamer
  45. lave(s)
  46. lea(s)
  47. lean
  48. lee(s)
  49. leed
  50. leer
  51. leo
  52. liar
  53. lote(s)
  54. manga(s)
  55. mar(es)
  56. mate(s)
  57. maya
  58. mayo(s)
  59. mead
  60. meter
  61. mole(s)
  62. mote(s)
  63. once
  64. pacer
  65. pagan
  66. pan(es)
  67. papa(s)
  68. par(es)
  69. pedo(s)
  70. pee(s)
  71. peed
  72. peen
  73. peer
  74. pica(s)
  75. pie(s)
  76. pillar
  77. pita(s)
  78. placer
  79. playa(s)
  80. publican
  81. quince
  82. quite
  83. rape(s)
  84. red(es)
  85. remate(s)
  86. replicase(s)
  87. robe(s)
  88. romped
  89. romper
  90. saber
  91. sable(s)
  92. salve(s)
  93. sauce(s)
  94. sin
  95. so
  96. son
  97. taller
  98. ten
  99. tender
  100. tolled
  101. toller
  102. tose(s)
  103. tosed
  104. urge(s)
  105. vale(s)
  106. van
  107. viola(s)
  1. ^ Possibly from one of the Niger–Congo languages other than Wolof; entered English via either Spanish or Portuguese[8]

Loanwords

The table below lists English-to-Spanish and Spanish-to-English loanwords, as well as loanwords 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

Wiktionary has a category on Spanish terms derived from English.

All of the following loanwords are either nouns or gerunds. Words ending in -ing are gerunds in English and nouns in Spanish.

  1. airbag(s)
  2. antivirus
  3. audiovisual
  4. backup
  5. banjo(s)
  6. bit(s)
  7. byte
  8. camping
  9. chat(s)
  10. chip(s)
  11. clip(s)
  12. club(s)
  13. collie
  14. convoy
  15. doping
  16. email(s)
  17. gag(s)
  18. gene(s)
  19. hangar
  20. iceberg
  21. input(s)
  22. jersey[9][10]
  23. jumbo
  24. magnate(s)
  25. modem
  26. motocross
  27. multimedia
  28. parking
  29. picnic(s)
  30. polo(s)
  31. pop[2]
  32. pub(s)
  33. punk(s)
  34. radar
  35. rail
  36. rally
  37. rifle(s)
  38. ring
  39. robot(s)
  40. rock[a]
  41. rugby
  42. shock(s)
  43. shorts
  44. show(s)
  45. software
  46. sprint(s)
  47. surf
  48. test(s)
  49. unisex
  50. whisky
  51. windsurfing
  52. yuppie
  53. zoo(s)
  1. ^ Applies only to the music genre sense of the word.

Spanish-to-English loanwords

Wiktionary has a category on English terms derived from Spanish.

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.

  1. armada(s)
  2. armadillo(s)
  3. arroyo(s)
  4. ayuntamiento(s)
  5. azulejo(s)
  6. bajada(s)
  7. balsa(s)
  8. banda
  9. banderilla(s)
  10. burro(s)
  11. caballero(s)
  12. cacao
  13. coca
  14. cria(s)
  15. esparto(s)
  16. guerrilla(s)
  17. hacienda(s)
  18. hidalgo(s)
  19. hombre(s)
  20. jalapeño(s)
  21. machete(s)
  22. macho
  23. mantilla(s)
  24. manzanilla
  25. maraca(s)
  26. margarita(s)
  27. marina(s)
  28. masa
  29. matador
  30. menudo(s)
  31. mestizo(s)
  32. mosquito(s)[a]
  33. mulato(s)
  34. nacho(s)
  35. nada
  36. negro
  37. padre(s)
  38. paella(s)
  39. patio(s)
  40. peluca
  41. peseta(s)
  42. peso(s)
  43. picador
  44. pimiento(s)
  45. pinto
  46. piñata(s)
  47. plaza(s)
  48. pronto
  49. pueblo(s)
  50. rodeo(s)
  51. rumba
  52. salsa(s)
  53. suave
  54. taco(s)
  55. tango(s)
  56. tapa(s)
  57. tequila(s)
  1. ^ In Spanish, mosca means "fly"; mosquito literally means "little fly".

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.

From Finnish

  1. sauna(s)

From French

  1. autoclave(s)
  2. ballet(s)
  3. canapé
  4. postal
  5. taxi(s)[a]
  1. ^ In French, taxi is an abbreviation of taximètre (taximeter).

From Italian

  1. adagio(s)
  2. aria(s)
  3. mafia(s)
  4. pizza(s)
  5. ravioli(s)

From Quechua

  1. llama(s)[a]
  2. puma(s)[b]
  1. ^ Entered English via Spanish[11]
  2. ^ Entered English via Spanish[12]

From Swahili

  1. safari(s)

From Zulu

  1. impala(s)

See also

  • iconLanguage portal

English-specific

Spanish-specific

Notes

  1. ^ Dijkstra, Ton (2007). "Task and Context Effects in Bilingual Lexical Processing § Interlingual Homographs". In Kecskes, Istvan; Albertazzi, Liliana (eds.). Cognitive Aspects of Bilingualism. Springer. p. 219. ISBN 978-1-4020-5935-3. OCLC 915958351. Retrieved 2017-06-23 – via Google Books.
  2. ^ 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.
  3. ^ 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.
  4. ^ Harper, Douglas. "guano". Online Etymology Dictionary. Retrieved 2016-04-05.
  5. ^ Harper, Douglas. "poncho". Online Etymology Dictionary. Retrieved 2016-04-05.
  6. ^ Skeat, Walter William (1901). Notes on English Etymology. Oxford: Clarendon Press. p. 224. OCLC 312336. Retrieved 2016-04-05.
  7. ^ Harper, Douglas. "iguana". Online Etymology Dictionary. Retrieved 2016-04-05.
  8. ^ Harper, Douglas. "banana". Online Etymology Dictionary. Retrieved 2016-04-05.
  9. ^ Harper, Douglas. "jersey (n.)". Online Etymology Dictionary. Retrieved 2018-04-15.
  10. ^ "jersey". etimologias.dechile.net. Retrieved 2018-04-15.
  11. ^ Harper, Douglas. "llama". Online Etymology Dictionary. Retrieved 2016-04-05.
  12. ^ Harper, Douglas. "puma". Online Etymology Dictionary. Retrieved 2016-04-05.

References

  • Berlitz Spanish Pocket Dictionary. Berlitz Corporation. 2007. ISBN 978-981-246-872-7. OCLC 775780246.
  • The University of Chicago Spanish–English Dictionary (Sixth ed.). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. 2012. ISBN 978-0-226-66696-9. OCLC 775780246.

External links

  • "English Spanish Cognates". esdict.com. Retrieved 15 September 2014.
  • "Spanish Cognates". SpanishCognates.org. Velazquez Press. Retrieved 15 September 2014.