English-Spanish Cognates Reference Sheet

What Are Cognates? / Que son los cognados?

Cognates are words that look and sound similar in both English and Spanish because they share a common origin. As a Spanish speaker, you already know many English words! When you see a new English word, check if it looks like a Spanish word you know.

Los cognados son palabras que se parecen y suenan similar en ingles y espanol porque tienen un origen comun. Como hablante de espanol, ya conoces muchas palabras en ingles! Cuando veas una palabra nueva en ingles, verifica si se parece a una palabra en espanol que conoces.

How to Use This Resource / Como usar este recurso:

1. Look at the English word on the left
2. Compare it to the Spanish word on the right
3. Notice how similar they look and sound
4. Use your Spanish knowledge to understand the English meaning!

Cognate Patterns to Remember / Patrones de cognados

-tion → -cion

fraction → fraccion

-ty → -dad

activity → actividad

-ly → -mente

rapidly → rapidamente

-al → -al

horizontal → horizontal

-ble → -ble

possible → posible

-or → -or

author → autor

🔢

Math Cognates / Cognados de matematicas

100% or near-identical words

fraction ↔ fraccion

multiplication ↔ multiplicacion

division ↔ division

addition ↔ adicion

subtraction ↔ sustraccion

product ↔ producto

factor ↔ factor

equal ↔ igual

number ↔ numero

total ↔ total

area ↔ area

perimeter ↔ perimetro

rectangle ↔ rectangulo

triangle ↔ triangulo

parallel ↔ paralelo

vertical ↔ vertical

horizontal ↔ horizontal

📖

ELA/Reading Cognates / Cognados de lectura

Language Arts vocabulary

character ↔ caracter(personaje)

paragraph ↔ parrafo

conclusion ↔ conclusion

introduction ↔ introduccion

description ↔ descripcion

information ↔ informacion

opinion ↔ opinion

author ↔ autor

narrative ↔ narrativa

theme ↔ tema

conflict ↔ conflicto

resolution ↔ resolucion

dialogue ↔ dialogo

fiction ↔ ficcion

nonfiction ↔ no ficcion

✍

Academic Cognates / Cognados academicos

Words used in directions and instructions

compare ↔ comparar

contrast ↔ contrastar

describe ↔ describir

explain ↔ explicar

identify ↔ identificar

analyze ↔ analizar

evaluate ↔ evaluar

determine ↔ determinar

organize ↔ organizar

complete ↔ completar

select ↔ seleccionar

indicate ↔ indicar

⚠

False Cognates / Cognados falsos

Be careful! These words look similar but have different meanings

Cuidado!

actual ≠ actual

English "actual" means:

real, true (verdadero)

Spanish "actual" means:

current, present (corriente)

library ≠ libreria

English "library" means:

biblioteca (place with books to borrow)

Spanish "libreria" means:

bookstore (place to buy books)

embarrassed ≠ embarazada

English "embarrassed" means:

avergonzado (feeling shy or ashamed)

Spanish "embarazada" means:

pregnant (having a baby)

carpet ≠ carpeta

English "carpet" means:

alfombra (floor covering)

Spanish "carpeta" means:

folder (for papers)

Tips for Using Cognates / Consejos para usar cognados

1 When you see a new English word, ask yourself: "Does this look like a Spanish word I know?"
2 Look for familiar endings: -tion, -sion, -al, -ble often have Spanish cognates
3 Be careful with false cognates - always check context to make sure the meaning fits
4 Keep a personal cognate list as you discover new word pairs in your reading
5 Practice saying cognates out loud - the sounds are often similar too!
6 Use cognates as "anchor words" to help you understand sentences