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Did you know that learning one language can help you learn another? That's even more possible when you learn similar languages, languages from the same language family, such as Italian and Spanish, for example.
These two languages share many things since both of them come from the same language, Vulgar Latin. Grammar rules, similar pronunciation, even words, and expressions; all these things are similar.
There's one particular thing that can save your time in learning languages. It is vocabulary.
That's why, in this post, we will show you the words and expressions that Italian and Spanish share. If not the best way to learn Italian, it is, undoubtedly one of the most efficient ways. This way, you don't have to learn some words twice but use the advantage of one language and apply it to the other.
Now, let's dive in.
Similarities Between Italian And Spanish
As we've mentioned, Italian and Spanish belong to the same language family. Along with Catalan, French, Portuguese, and Romanian, they are descendants of Vulgar Latin.
Therefore, many things are similar, if not the same.
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Lexically, Italian and Spanish share around 80% similarities or even the same features.
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Sentence structure follows the subject-verb-object pattern. This way, you can easily recognize them in a sentence.
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Vowels are the same both in Italian and Spanish. So, if you already speak Italian and you are proud of your pronunciation, you can count on knowing them in Spanish as well.
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Shared vocabulary between Italian and Spanish is an advantage you can use to ease your learning process. Once you learn some words in one language, you don't have to do it for the other.
Italian and Spanish Similar Words
Italian and Spanish Words That Are The Same
Below are the words these two languages have in common. The only difference between the words is the accent.
Atlantico — Italian
Atlántico — Spanish
Meaning: Atlantic
Artico — Italian
Ártico — Spanish
Meaning: Arctic
Antartico — Italian
Antártico — Spanish
Meaning: Antarctic
Pacifico — Italian
Pacífico — Spanish
Meaning: Pacific
Musica — Italian
Música — Spanish
Meaning: Music
Telefono — Italian
Teléfono — Spanish
Meaning: Telephone
Arte — Both languages
Meaning: Art
La biblioteca — Both languages
Meaning: The library
La casa grande— Both languages
Meaning: The big house
La mano— Both languages
Meaning: The hand
Una casa — Both languages
Meaning: A house
Italian and Spanish Words With Minor Spelling Differences
Caffè — Italian
Café — Spanish
Meaning: Coffee
La terra — Italian
La tierra — Spanish
Meaning: The earth
Secondo — Italian
Segundo — Spanish
Meaning: Second
Sempre — Italian
Siempre — Spanish
Meaning: Always
Supermercato — Italian
Supermercado — Spanish
Meaning: Supermarket
Tempo — Italian
Tiempo — Spanish
Meaning: Time
Zero — Italian
Cero — Spanish
Meaning: Zero
Italian Words With Spanish Origin
Azienda- Italian
Hacienda- Spanish
Meaning: Hacienda
Mozzo- Italian
Mozo- Spanish
Meaning: Waiter
Passacaglia- Italian
Pasacalle- Spanish
Meaning: Passacaglia
Italian- Spinace
Spanish- Espinaca
Meaning: Spinach
Sigaro — Italian
Cigarro — Spanish
Meaning: Cigar
Uragano — Italian
Huracán — Spanish
Meaning: Hurricane
Spanish Words With Italian Origin
Acquerello- Italian
Acuarella- Spanish
Meaning: Acquerello
Balcone- Italian
Balcón- Spanish
Meaning: Balcony
Bussola- Italian
Brújula- Spanish
Meaning: Bussola
Disegno- Italian
Diseño- Spanish
Meaning: Design
Opera — Italian
Ópera — Spanish
Meaning: Opera
Sonetto — Italian
Soneto — Spanish
Meaning: Sonnet
Italian And Spanish Similar Expressions
Buona notte — Italian
Buenas noches — Spanish
Meaning: Good night
Buon viaggio — Italian
Buen Viaje — Spanish
Meaning: have a nice trip
Con permesso — Italian
Con permiso — Spanish
Meaning: Excuse me
Grazie — Italian
Gracias — Spanish
Meaning: Thank you
Grazie mille — Italian
Muchas gracias — Spanish
Meaning: Many thanks.
Ho caldo — Italian
Tengo calor — Spanish
Meaning: I'm hot
Ho freddo — Italian
Tengo frío — Spanish
Meaning: I'm cold.
Mi chiamo… — Italian
Me llamo… — Spanish
Meaning: My name is...
Per favore — Italian
Por favor — Spanish
Meaning: Please
Salute — Italian
Salud — Spanish
Meaning: Health/ Hello
Sono di…— Italian
Soy de… — Spanish
Meaning: I am from...
Italian And Spanish False Friends
Do you know what are false friends? False friends are words that sound identical but have different meanings.
Here are some of them:
Barato
Italian: cheated
Spanish: cheap
Burro
Italian: butter
Spanish: donkey
Guardare (Italian)- to look
Guardar (Spanish)- to guard, to save, to keep
Officina ( Italian)- workshop
Oficina (Spanish)- office
Pesca
Italian: peach
Spanish: fishing
Parare ( Italian)- to adorn/ to parry, shield
Parar (Spanish)- to stop
Pronto
Italian: ready
Spanish: soon
Salire (Italian)- to go up
Salir (Spanish)- to depart, to leave, to go out
Sembrare (Italian)- to appear, to look, to seem
Sembrar (Spanish)- to sow, to seed, to plant
Subire (Italian)- to endure, to suffer, to undergo
Subir (Spanish)- going up
Tenere (Italian)- to have, to take
Tener (Spanish)- to have
Topo
Italian: mouse
Spanish: mole
Tra (Italian)- between, among, amid
Tras (Spanish)-after, behind, beyond
Final Thoughts
If you speak Italian and consider learning Spanish (or vice versa), keep in mind you already have a decent amount of Spanish vocabulary but you probably never realized it. As you've seen, Italian and Spanish have so many things in common.
Download free PDF list of Italian and Spanish similar words here
So, do you really have to choose only one?
You can learn both of them with Italian and Spanish tutors and increase your chances of getting the benefits that learning foreign languages can give you.
