One of the best things about learning Spanish from English is that there are hundreds of words that you already know.
As an English speaker you have a huge advantage in learning Spanish compared to say a person trying to learn Spanish with a native language from a country such as Japan or China. You have the advantage of the same alphabet and a mile long list of cognates. What this means is you effectively start learning Spanish with a vocabulary of almost 1000 words without even trying.
When you find words that are the same in both languages they are referred to English-Spanish cognates.
The proper definition of cognate is reserved for words that exists in two different languages and have the same root or origin. Since Spanish and English both have Latin roots there are heaps of words that are the same or very close in both languages.
In this article I’m going to provide a list of perfect cognates and near perfect cognates for Spanish and English.
There are way more English-Spanish cognates than what I have provided in this article but the cognates that I have focused on are the more useful due to their frequency and practicality in both languages.
I suggest you read through the full list once over and then when you have a good feel for the patterns that start to emerge with the cognates, start to put them in a few Spanish sentences to get a feel for how they sound.
Obviously they aren’t pronounced the same as in English but once you have the rules down for Spanish pronunciation you are free to communicate away.
Cognates Definition
In this article, I have defined perfect cognates as words that are spelt exactly the same in Spanish and English except for maybe an accent over one letter and they mean the same thing in both languages.
I have defined near perfect cognates as words that have up to 3 letters different. But you will be able to see that there are certain patterns that form with near perfect cognates that allow you to potentially predict when a near cognate is likely to exist if, of course, you don’t have this list handy.
There is also a heap of false cognates or false friends, which will be a topic for another post but note here that they are words that are spelt the same or similar but mean completely different things. For example one of the most famous Spanish-English false friends is ‘embarazada’ which doesn’t mean ‘embarrassed’ it means ‘pregnant’.
Perfect Cognates
Here is the list of perfect English-Spanish cognates that I have selected for their practicality:
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| Actor | Actor |
| Admirable | Admirable |
| Agenda | Agenda |
| Alcohol | Alcohol |
| Altar | Altar |
| Animal | Animal |
| Area | Area |
| Artificial | Artificial |
| Auto | Auto |
| Balance | Balance |
| Bar | Bar |
| Base | Base |
| Brutal | Brutal |
| Cable | Cable |
| Canal | Canal |
| Cáncer | Cancer |
| Canon | Canon |
| Capital | Capital |
| Carbón | Carbon |
| Cartón | Carton |
| Central | Central |
| Cerebral | Cerebral |
| Cheque | Cheque |
| Chocolate | Chocolate |
| Circular | Circular |
| Civil | Civil |
| Club | Club |
| Collar | Collar |
| Colonial | Colonial |
| Coma | Coma |
| Combustión | Combustion |
| Conclusión | Conclusion |
| Conductor | Conductor |
| Confusión | Confusion |
| Considerable | Considerable |
| Control | Control |
| Cordial | Cordial |
| Criminal | Criminal |
| Crisis | Crisis |
| Cultural | Cultural |
| Debate | Debate |
| Decision | Decision |
| Diagonal | Diagonal |
| Dimension | Dimension |
| Director | Director |
| Disco | Disco |
| División | Division |
| Doctor | Doctor |
| Drama | Drama |
| Editorial | Editorial |
| Electoral | Electoral |
| Elemental | Elemental |
| Enigma | Enigma |
| Error | Error |
| Exclusive | Exclusive |
| Excursion | Excursion |
| Experimental | Experimental |
| Explosión | Explosion |
| Expulsion | Expulsion |
| Extensión | Extension |
| Exterior | Exterior |
| Factor | Factor |
| Familiar | Familiar |
| Fatal | Fatal |
| Federal | Federal |
| Festival | Festival |
| Final | Final |
| Flexible | Flexible |
| Formal | Formal |
| Formula | Formula |
| Frontal | Frontal |
| Fundamental | Fundamental |
| Gala | Gala |
| Gas | Gas |
| General | General |
| Génesis | Genesis |
| Global | Global |
| Grave | Grave |
| Habitual | Habitual |
| Hobby | Hobby |
| Horizontal | Horizontal |
| Horror | Horror |
| Hospital | Hospital |
| Hotel | Hotel |
| Idea | Idea |
| Ideal | Ideal |
| Imperial | Imperial |
| Implacable | Implacable |
| Incursión | Incursion |
| Individual | Individual |
| Industrial | Industrial |
| Inevitable | Inevitable |
| Inferior | Inferior |
| Informal | Informal |
| Informative | Informative |
| Inseparable | Inseparable |
| Inspector | Inspector |
| Interminable | Interminable |
| Invasión | Invasion |
| Invisible | Invisible |
| Irregular | Irregular |
| Judicial | Judicial |
| Kilo | Kilo |
| Lateral | Lateral |
| Legal | Legal |
| Liberal | Liberal |
| Literal | Literal |
| Local | Local |
| Macho | Macho |
| Maestro | Maestro |
| Mango | Mango |
| Manía | Mania |
| Manual | Manual |
| Marginal | Marginal |
| Mate | Mate |
| Material | Material |
| Matrimonial | Matrimonial |
| Medieval | Medieval |
| Mediocre | Mediocre |
| Melon | Melon |
| Mental | Mental |
| Menú | Menu |
| Metal | Metal |
| Miserable | Miserable |
| Moral | Moral |
| Mortal | Mortal |
| Motel | Motel |
| Motor | Motor |
| Múltiple | Multiple |
| Municipal | Municipal |
| Musical | Musical |
| Natural | Natural |
| Noble | Noble |
| Normal | Normal |
| Nostalgia | Nostalgia |
| Ópera | Ópera |
| Oral | Oral |
| Oriental | Oriental |
| Original | Original |
| Panorama | Panorama |
| Particular | Particular |
| Pasta | Pasta |
| Pastor | Pastor |
| Patio | Patio |
| Patrón | Patron |
| Peculiar | Peculiar |
| Penal | Penal |
| Perfume | Perfume |
| Personal | Personal |
| Peseta | Peseta |
| Piano | Piano |
| Plaza | Plaza |
| Plural | Plural |
| Popular | Popular |
| Pretension | Pretension |
| Principal | Principal |
| Probable | Probable |
| Propaganda | Propaganda |
| Protector | Protector |
| Provincial | Provincial |
| Radical | Radical |
| Radio | Radio |
| Región | Region |
| Regional | Regional |
| Regular | Regular |
| Religión | Religion |
| Reunión | Reunion |
| Revision | Revision |
| Ritual | Ritual |
| Rural | Rural |
| Secular | Secular |
| Sentimental | Sentimental |
| Serial | Serial |
| Sexual | Sexual |
| Similar | Similar |
| Simple | Simple |
| Singular | Singular |
| Social | Social |
| Solar | Solar |
| Solo | Solo |
| Subversión | Subversion |
| Superficial | Superficial |
| Superior | Superior |
| Taxi | Taxi |
| Televisión | Television |
| Terrible | Terrible |
| Terror | Terror |
| Total | Total |
| Transcendental | Transcendental |
| Triple | Triple |
| Tropical | Tropical |
| Unión | Unión |
| Universal | Universal |
| Usual | Usual |
| Verbal | Verbal |
| Versión | Version |
| Vertical | Vertical |
| Violín | Violin |
| Visible | Visible |
| Visual | Visual |
| Vital | Vital |
| Vulgar | Vulgar |
| Vulnerable | Vulnerable |
Near Perfect Cognates
Here the near perfect cognates are divided into separate lists based on their behaviour:
The following near perfect cognates follow the rule for nouns ending ‘tion’ in English can be converted to Spanish by replacing with a ‘ción’.
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| Abstracción | Abstraction |
| Acción | Action |
| Acusación | Accusation |
| Adaptación | Adaptation |
| Admiración | Admiration |
| Aplicación | Application |
| Apreciación | Appreciation |
| Asociación | Association |
| Aspiración | Aspiration |
| Atención | Attention |
| Atracción | Attraction |
| Autorización | Authorization |
| Celebración | Celebration |
| Circulación | Circulation |
| Civilización | Civilization |
| Clasificación | Classification |
| Colaboración | Collaboration |
| Colección | Collection |
| Combinación | Combination |
| Compensación | Compensation |
| Composición | Composition |
| Concentración | Concentration |
| Concepción | Conception |
| Condición | Condition |
| Conservación | Conservation |
| Consideración | Consideration |
| Constitución | Constitution |
| Construcción | Construction |
| Exposición | Exposition |
| Ficción | Fiction |
| Formación | Formation |
| Nación | Nation |
| Simplificación | Simplification |
The following near perfect cognates follow the rule for English nouns ending ‘ary’ can be converted to Spanish by replacing with a ‘ario’.
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| Adversario | Adversary |
| Aniversario | Anniversary |
| Arbitrario | Arbitrary |
| Comentario | Commentary |
| Complementario | Complementary |
| Contrario | Contrary |
| Diario | Diary |
| Glossario | Glossary |
| Estuario | Estuary |
| Primario | Primary |
| Rosario | Rosary |
| Salario | Salary |
| Secretario | Secretary |
| Solitario | Solitary |
| Vocabulario | Vocabulary |
| Temporario | Temporary |
The following near perfect cognates follow the rule for English adjectives ending ‘ic’ can be converted to Spanish by replacing with a ‘ico’.
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| Académico | Academic |
| Alcohólico | Alcoholic |
| Artístico | Artistic |
| Auténtico | Authentic |
| Automático | Automatic |
| Básico | Basic |
| Característico | Characteristic |
| Clásico | Classic |
| Cómico | Comic |
| Democrático | Democratic |
| Dinámico | Dynamic |
| Diplomático | Diplomatic |
| Doméstico | Domestic |
| Dramático | Dramatic |
| Económico | Economic |
| Electrónico | Electronic |
| Erótico | Erotic |
| Exótico | Exotic |
| Fantástico | Fantastic |
| Genérico | Generic |
| Genético | Genetic |
| Geométrico | Geometric |
| Heroico | Heroic |
| Irónico | Ironic |
| Mágico | Magic |
| Médico | Medic |
| Mosaico | Mosaic |
| Orgánico | Organic |
| Pánico | Panic |
| Plástico | Plastic |
| Poético | Poetic |
| Público | Public |
| Romántico | Romantic |
| Sistemático | Systematic |
| Trágico | Tragic |
The following near perfect cognates follow the rule for English adjectives ending ‘ous’ can be converted to Spanish by replacing with a ‘oso’.
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| Curioso | Curious |
| Delicioso | Delicious |
| Glorioso | Glorious |
| Misterioso | Mysterious |
| Numeroso | Numerous |
| Precioso | Precious |
| Religioso | Religious |
| Tedioso | Tedious |
The following near perfect cognates follow the rule for nouns ending ‘ct’ in English can be converted to Spanish by replacing with a ‘cto’.
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| Abstracto | Abstract |
| Acto | Act |
| Artefacto | Artefact |
| Compacto | Compact |
| Conflicto | Conflict |
| Contacto | Contact |
| Correcto | Correct |
| Exacto | Exact |
| Excepto | Except |
| Insecto | Insect |
| Perfecto | Perfect |
| Producto | Product |
There you have it, not all, but a good summary of the most useful English-Spanish cognates.
If you enjoyed this post then make sure you check out the Spanish Conversation Hacking Guide, in there you will find the 1000 most useful Spanish words based on frequency use in the Spanish language (and that aren’t cognates!).
What have I missed? Can you think of any others?
