COGNATES AND FALSE COGNATES

Hoy mi teacher me
hizo algo que me
dejó embarrased...
COGNATES AND FALSE COGNATES
COGNATES- LENGUAJE TRANSFER/WORD
BORROWING
Cognates are words which are similar in
English and Spanish. Their similarity can be in
their written form or their pronunciation.
Recognizing these words in a text make things
easier for the reader. Cognates can be names,
dates, and information.
Cognates are words that share:
 Similar meaning
 Similar Spelling
 English and Spanish share about 30 to 40% of
the words.
 Cognates are a bridge to learn Spanish!

ENGLISH
SPANISH
INTUITIVE
INTUITIVO
NEUROSIS
NEUROSIS
PSYCHOLOGY
PSICOLOGIA
PERFECT COGNATES
Artificial
 Popular
 Chocolate
 Tropical
 Usual
 Animal
 Cereal
 Banana
 Soda
 Hotel

HOW MANY COGNATES DO YOU KNOW IN
ENGLISH/ SPANISH? BRAINSTORM!
2. Complete the following box.

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

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Computer
Television
Bank
Spanish words that end in -a, -o or -e very often
have an equivalent in English. Simply drop or
change the last vowel.
 Aire
causa
costo
creativo
credito
dieta

There are many Spanish cognates that end in cion. The equivalent English word ends in -tion.
Note that all of these words have the stress on
the final syllable. Also, all of these words are
feminine in gender.
 Abreviación
acción
aclamación
administración
admiración
afirmación

Words that in in -dad are quite common in
Spanish. They usually correspond to an English
word that ends in -ty. All of these words are
feminine in gender.
 autoridad (authority)
comunidad
dificultad
necesidad
prosperidad
publicidad
universidad

English words that end in -ic usually have a
Spanish cognate that simply add an -o.
 Atlántico
automático
democrático
didáctico
patriótico
romántico
sarcástico

Like the previous category, English words that
end in -ical have a Spanish cognate that ends
in -ico.
 clásico
cómico
eléctrico
físico

English words that end in -ent often have a
cognate in Spanish that ends in -ente. These
words are usually adjectives.
 agente
cliente
diferente
equivalente
indiferente
inteligente
patente

Be careful with Spanish words that end inmente (as opposed to just -ente). They usually
have an English cognate that ends in -ly. These
are adverbs.
 afortunadamente (fortunately)
correctamente
desafortunadamente (unfortunately)
especialmente
exactamente
finalmente

Words that end in -ment in English have
equivalents in Spanish that simply add an -o.
These words are nouns.
 argumento
monumento
sacramento
suplemento

Words that end in -al in both English and
Spanish are often cognates.
 animal
anual
capital
central
comercial
especial
general
intelectual

English words that end in -ence or -ance often
have a Spanish cognate that ends in -encia or ancia.
 Abundancia
circunstancia
conciencia
diferencia
distancia
experiencia

-ant (or sometimes -ent)words in English
sometimes end in -ante in Spanish.
 abundante
constante
elegante
estudiante
importante
restaurante

Some English words that end in -ous have a
Spanish cognate that ends in -oso.
 ambicioso
curioso
delicioso
famoso
glorioso
gracioso

English words with the ending -y sometimes
have an equivalent in Spanish with the ending ia or -io.
 Aristocracia
democracia
familia
historia
misterio
remedio

English words that end in -or often have a
Spanish cognate that is identical.
 Actor
color
director
doctor

English words that end in -ist often have a
Spanish cognate.
 artista
florista
pianista
turista
recepcionista

FALSE COGNATES

False cognates are words whose written form
or pronunciation is similar in English and
Spanish, but can be different in meaning.
1. FALSE COGNATES VERSUS TRUE COGNATES

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
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Embarazado
Mapa
Carpeta
Chocolate
Horno
Pan
idea
Desierto
Religión
Teléfono
Dinero

1. FALSE COGNATES VERSUS TRUE COGNATES
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Embarazado
Mapa☻
Carpeta
Persona ☻
Horno
Pan
Idea ☻
Desierto
Religión ☻
teléfono ☻
Dinero
ANSWERS

Embarazado

Embarrased
CARPET
HORNO
PAN
Desierto
DINERO
3. Read the following text and underline /copy the
cognates or transparent words.
 4. Using your ideas, give a title to the text.

Hola!
Yo me llamo Susana y yo vivo en Madrid España. Yo tengo
12 años y tengo dos mascotas; una tortuga y perico.
Cuando voy al colegio, le digo adiós a mi mama, y pongo
mis notas, colores y otros útiles escolares en la mochila.
En el colegio tengo muchos amigos y amigas. Mis
amigos son curiosos, inteligentes y activos.
A mis amigos y a mí nos gusta jugar basquetbol y futbol.
También nos gusta comer hamburguesas, y tomar jugo
de melón.
Eso es todo por ahora, un abrazo!
Susana.

WARM UP : REVIEW YOUR ANSWERS FROM THE
COGNATES HO.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Admiration
Education
Production
Attention
Nation
Emotion
Imagination
Situation
Civilization
Aviation
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
University
Generosity
Necessity
Opportunity
Capacity
Curiosity
Dignity
Eternity
Variety
Authority
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Glory
Geography
Matrimony
Ceremony
Family
Industry
Necessary
Remedy
Memory
Courtesy
11. Mysterious
12. Nervous
13. Curious
14. Religious
15. Mountainous
16. Generous
17. Furious
18. Glorious
19. Marvelous
20. Suspicious