English Word/spanish Word Easy Cognates List printable pdf download

Easy Cognates List

¡Woo Spanish!

accident / accidente

describe / describir

invite / invitar

problem / problema

act / actuar

different / diferente

list / lista

quiet / quieto

admit / admitir

difficult / difícil

local / local

real / real

appear / aparecer

direct / directo

medicine / medicina

reason / razón

approve / aprobar

discuss / discutir

message / mensaje

receive / recibir

baby / bebé

distance / distancia

minute / minuto

recent / reciente

balance / balance

education / educación

modern / moderno

repeat / repetir

bank / banco

enter / entrar

move / mover

report / reporte

bottle / botella

especially / especialmente

much / mucho

responsible / responsable

camera / cámara

exact / exacto

music / música

result / resultado

car / carro

example / ejemplo

necessary / necesario

return / retorno

clear / claro

excellent / excelente

number / número

secret / secreto

coffee / café

experience / experiencia

office / oficina

separate / separar

color / color

experiment / experimento

opinion / opinión

serious / serio

common / común

family / familia

organize / organizar

silence / silencio

compete / competir

fruit / fruta

paper / papel

simple / simple

complete / completar

future / futuro

pardon / perdón

situation / situación

condition / condición

history / historia

past / pasado

special / especial

continue / continuar

hospital / hospital

perfect / perfecto

sugar / azúcar

copy / copiar

hour / hora

permanent / permanente

suggest / sugerir

correct / correcto

idea / idea

permit / permitir

support / soporte

cost / costo

important / importante

popular / popular

tea / té

dance / danzar

include / incluir

possible / posible

telephone / teléfono

day / día

inform / informar

price / precio

usual / usual

decide / decidir

interest / interés

private / privado

visit / visitor

Above chart: English word / Spanish word

A few quick notes:

1. If you do a quick web search for English/Spanish cognates, you will find thousands of examples. These can

be really useful if you pick out a few that you think you will use and then practice recognizing and using

them. However, spending a lot of time studying long lists of cognates can be counterproductive. Focus

on the ones you might find most useful and you’ll progress more quickly.

2. Another tip about using long cognates lists. When you are deciding which cognates to focus on, it can be

helpful to separate recognition from usage. In other words, some words you may only need to recognize

when you hear them while others you may need to use more frequently to form your own sentences. The

reason for the distinction is this. For words you may need to only recognize most of the time, skimming a

long cognate list can help you more easily know whether or not the word you’re hearing means what it

sounds like it means. It will also help you know when the word you’ve heard isn’t really a cognate (see #3

below) The ones you will use, however, are the ones you need to spend a little more time with since you

will need to recall them without a prompt and pronounce them in an understandable way.

3. Just because two words sound similar in Spanish and English doesn’t mean they have the same meaning.

For example, you might have heard the Spanish word, “embarazada,” and attempt to use it in a sentence

such as, “estoy embarazada.” If you intended to mean, “I’m embarrassed,” this would be a problem,

since the word embarazada means, “pregnant.” Words that sound like they should mean the same thing

but have different origins and meanings are what we call false cognates.

English Word/spanish Word Easy Cognates List

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