A cognate is a Spanish word that is spelled exactly the same, or almost the same, as a word in English and that has the same meaning.

Sometimes the English word may have been appropriated from Spanish, letter for letter, and have been incorporated into our own vocabulary. The only real difference between the two words is in the pronunciation. The meanings of the Spanish cognates should be quite obvious to anyone who speaks English.

Perfect Cognates

Following is a list of some cognates that are the same in Spanish and English. Take time to compare the different pronunciations.

Adjectives

ADJECTIVE / PRONUNCIATION

artificial / ahr-tee-fee-see-yahl
sociable / soh-see-yah-bleh
cruel / kroo-ehl
tropical / troh-pee-kahl
popular / poh-poo-lahr
usual / oo-soo-wahl

Masculine Nouns

NOUN / PRONUNCIATION

actor / ahk-tohr
chocolate / choh-koh-lah-teh
animal / ah-nee-mahl
mosquito / mohs-kee-toh
cereal / seh-reh-yahl
taxi / tahk-see

Feminine Nouns

NOUN / PRONUNCIATION

alpaca / ahl-pah-kah
plaza / plah-sah
banana / bah-nah-nah
radio / rrah-dee-yoh
llama / yah-mah
soda / soh-dah

Near Perfect Cognates

The following table lists the cognates that are nearly the same in both Spanish and English.

Adjectives

ADJECTIVE / PRONUNCIATION

americano / ah-meh-ree-kah-noh
imposible / eem-poh-see-bleh
delicioso / deh-lee-see-yoh-soh
inteligente / een-teh-lee-hehn-teh
diferente / dee-feh-rehn-teh
interesante / een-teh-reh-sahn-teh
excelente / eh-seh-lehn-teh
moderno / moh-der-noh
famoso / fah-moh-soh
necesario / neh-seh-sah-ree-yoh
grande / grahn-deh
posible / poh-see-bleh
importante / eem-pohr-tahn-teh

Masculine Nouns

NOUN / PRONUNCIATION

apartamento / ah-pahr-tah-mehn-toh
diccionario / deek-see-yoh-nahree-yoh
automóvil / ow-toh-moh-beel
garaje / gah-rah-heh
café / kah-feh
grupo / groo-poh
calendario / kah-lehn-dah-ree-yoh
insecto / een-sehk-toh
plato / plah-toh
restaurante / rrehs-tow-rahn-teh
profesor / proh-feh-sohr
tigre / tee-greh

Feminine Nouns

NOUN / PRONUNCIATION

aspirina / ahs-pee-ree-nah
gasolina / gah-soh-lee-nah
bicicleta / bee-see-kleh-tah
hamburguesa / ahm-boor-geh-sah
blusa / bloo-sah
medicina / meh-dee-see-nah
computadora / kohm-poo-tah-doh-rah
música / moo-see-kah
dieta / dee-yeh-tah
persona / pehr-soh-nah
familia / fah-mee-lee-yah
rosa / rroh-sah

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