First, there are several U.S. cities, particularly in the Southwest, that take Spanish names. While you may know most of them, do you know what they all actually mean?
U.S. Cities With Spanish Names |
---|
Los Angeles (CA) |
The Angels |
Los Vegas (NV) |
The Meadows |
Las Cruces (NM) |
The Crosses |
El Paso (TX) |
The Pass |
Amarillo (TX) |
Yellow |
Some words overlap exactly and keep the same meanings, although with a Spanish pronunciation
Same Word, Different Pronunciation |
---|
el hospital (silent h) |
the hospital |
el hotel (silent h) |
the hotel |
real |
real, royal |
general |
general (keeps meaning of both "usually" as well as military term) |
central |
central, headquarters |
original |
original |
regular |
regular, steady, average |
Some require a bit of a jump, but not very much, as you can see the jump easily enough. This is usually done through a slightly altered spelling, addition of accent marks or an -a or -o for nouns and adjectives.
Slighty Different Spelling, Same Idea |
---|
la gasolina |
the gasoline |
la inyección |
the injection |
agresivo |
aggressive |
la causa |
the cause |
el problema |
the problem |
el líder |
the leader |
Typically, words ending in -tion in English have a corresponding -ción or -sión ending in Spanish. And, in Spanish, they are almost always of the feminine gender as an easy way to remember that.
"-tion" in English corresponds to "-ción" or "-sión" in Spanish |
---|
la acción |
the action |
la generación |
the generation |
la nación |
the nation |
la opción |
the option |
la desición |
the decision |
Many words in Spanish that begin with "es-" often translate over into starting with an "s" in English. Whenever you see an es- beginning, you can usually make sense of the word by mentally crossing out the e.
"es-" in Spanish usually corresponds to "s-" in English |
---|
escribir |
to write (think of scribes) |
el estrés |
the stress |
especial |
special |
el espacio |
the space |
la escala |
the scale |
la esposa |
the spouse |
However, you have to be careful, some words are spelled the same or almost the same but mean totally different things. Be careful, these are a few of the "false friends" in Spanish.
Spanish False Cognates (Same Spelling, Diffrenet Meaning) |
---|
Spanish: actual |
English: current |
Spanish: el red |
English: the net (both the tool and the Internet), network |
Spanish: el fin |
English: the end |
Spanish: la fábrica |
English: the factory |
We hope this shows you that there is indeed power in words you already know. As we have pointed out, you'll find words beginning with -es, words that end in -sión and -ción to be very easy to pick up, as well as words that end in -al, they are typically the same. As Spanish and English continue to influence each other, we will no doubt find that there is a continued influence between the two. However, don't always assume the word will mean the same thing if you slap an el and an -o to the end of the word. But still, isn't it cool to know that you basically already knew that many words in Spanish, and you weren't even trying?
Return to Spanish Notes