Web Translation Projects/English-Spanish, Spanish-English Translation/Cognates

In linguistics, cognates are words that have a common etymological origin. Cognates are often inherited from a shared parent language, but they may also involve borrowings from some other language. Cognates may have evolved similar, different, or even opposite meanings, and although there are usually some similar sounds or letters in the words, they may appear to be dissimilar. Some words sound similar, but do not come from the same root; these are called false cognates, while some are truly cognate but differ in meaning; these are called false friends. About 90% of Spanish cognates have the same meaning in English.

According to a study, there are about 20,000 English-Spanish cognates. The list below provides only a small percentage of them. You may find more English-Spanish cognates here.

English word – Spanish cognate

A

Altar Altar

Acción Action

Artificial Artificial

Acusación Accusation

Admiración Admiration

B

Bar Bar

Base Base

Brutal Brutal

C

Cable Cable

Capital Capital

Combinación Combination

Colaboración Collaboration

Compensación Compensation

D

Debate Debate

Decisión Decision

Diagonal Diagonal

División Division

Doctor Doctor

E

Exclusive Exclusive

Excursión Excursion

Explosión Explosion

Expulsión Expulsion

Extensión Extension

F

Ficción Fiction

Festival Festival

Flexible Flexible

Frontal Frontal

Formación Formation

G

Gala Gala

Gas Gas

General General

Global Global

Grave Grave

H

Horror Horror

Hospital Hospital

Hotel Hotel

Heroico Heroic

I

Inevitable Inevitable

Inferior Inferior

Inseparable Inseparable

Invasión Invasion

Invisible Invisible

J / K

Judicial Judicial

Kilo Kilo

L

Lateral Lateral

Legal Legal

Liberal Liberal

Literal Literal

Local Local

M

Manual Manual

Marginal Marginal

Medieval Medieval

Mediocre Mediocre

Mental Mental

N

Natural Natural

Noble Noble

Normal Normal

Nostalgia Nostalgia

O

Ópera Ópera

Oriental Oriental

Original Original

Orgánico Organic

P

Pretensión Pretension

Principal Principal

Probable Probable

Protector Protector

Provincial Provincial

R

Radical Radical

Regular Regular

Religión Religion

Reunión Reunion

Revisión Revision

S

Sentimental Sentimental

Subversión Subversion

Superficial Superficial

Superior Superior

Secular Secular

T

Taxi Taxi

Terrible Terrible

Triple Triple

Trágico Tragic

U

Unión Unión

Universal Universal

Usual Usual

V

Versión Version

Vertical Vertical

Visible Visible

Visual Visual