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

expression → expresion

-ty → -dad

quantity → cantidad

-ly → -mente

precisely → precisamente

-al → -al

decimal → decimal

-ence/-ance → -encia/-ancia

evidence → evidencia

-ous → -oso

numerous → numeroso

🔢

Math Cognates / Cognados de matematicas

Grade 5 mathematics vocabulary

decimal ↔ decimal

thousandths ↔ milesimas

hundredths ↔ centesimas

tenths ↔ decimas

operation ↔ operacion

multiplication ↔ multiplicacion

division ↔ division

subtraction ↔ sustraccion

addition ↔ adicion

expression ↔ expresion

equation ↔ ecuacion

variable ↔ variable

parentheses ↔ parentesis

order of operations ↔ orden de operaciones

coordinate ↔ coordenada

coordinate plane ↔ plano de coordenadas

origin ↔ origen

axis ↔ eje

horizontal ↔ horizontal

vertical ↔ vertical

volume ↔ volumen

cubic ↔ cubico

unit ↔ unidad

dimension ↔ dimension

fraction ↔ fraccion

numerator ↔ numerador

denominator ↔ denominador

equivalent ↔ equivalente

rectangle ↔ rectangulo

prism ↔ prisma

rectangular prism ↔ prisma rectangular

triangle ↔ triangulo

quadrilateral ↔ cuadrilatero

trapezoid ↔ trapecio

rhombus ↔ rombo

parallel ↔ paralelo

perpendicular ↔ perpendicular

product ↔ producto

quotient ↔ cociente

factor ↔ factor

multiple ↔ multiplo

pattern ↔ patron

sequence ↔ secuencia

conversion ↔ conversion

metric ↔ metrico

📖

ELA/Reading Cognates / Cognados de lectura

Grade 5 Language Arts vocabulary

argument ↔ argumento

evidence ↔ evidencia

inference ↔ inferencia

conclusion ↔ conclusion

comparison ↔ comparacion

tone ↔ tono

theme ↔ tema

conflict ↔ conflicto

resolution ↔ resolucion

narrative ↔ narrativa

protagonist ↔ protagonista

antagonist ↔ antagonista

dialogue ↔ dialogo

monologue ↔ monologo

structure ↔ estructura

paragraph ↔ parrafo

introduction ↔ introduccion

chronological ↔ cronologico

sequence ↔ secuencia

metaphor ↔ metafora

simile ↔ simil

hyperbole ↔ hiperbole

personification ↔ personificacion

alliteration ↔ aliteracion

onomatopoeia ↔ onomatopeya

fiction ↔ ficcion

nonfiction ↔ no ficcion

biography ↔ biografia

autobiography ↔ autobiografia

myth ↔ mito

fable ↔ fabula

drama ↔ drama

poetry ↔ poesia

author ↔ autor

narrator ↔ narrador

opinion ↔ opinion

perspective ↔ perspectiva

point of view ↔ punto de vista

description ↔ descripcion

information ↔ informacion

central idea ↔ idea central

✍

Academic Cognates / Cognados academicos

Words used in directions and instructions

analyze ↔ analizar

compare ↔ comparar

contrast ↔ contrastar

describe ↔ describir

explain ↔ explicar

identify ↔ identificar

evaluate ↔ evaluar

determine ↔ determinar

organize ↔ organizar

summarize ↔ resumir

classify ↔ clasificar

categorize ↔ categorizar

select ↔ seleccionar

indicate ↔ indicar

interpret ↔ interpretar

demonstrate ↔ demostrar

support ↔ apoyar

justify ↔ justificar

verify ↔ verificar

complete ↔ completar

respond ↔ responder

construct ↔ construir

represent ↔ representar

revise ↔ revisar

🌎

Science & Social Studies Cognates / Cognados de ciencias y estudios sociales

Cross-curricular academic vocabulary

continent ↔ continente

ocean ↔ oceano

colony ↔ colonia

constitution ↔ constitucion

democracy ↔ democracia

economy ↔ economia

climate ↔ clima

ecosystem ↔ ecosistema

organism ↔ organismo

photosynthesis ↔ fotosintesis

energy ↔ energia

cycle ↔ ciclo

gravity ↔ gravedad

experiment ↔ experimento

hypothesis ↔ hipotesis

revolution ↔ revolucion

⚠

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, de ahora)

argument ≠ argumento

English "argument" means:

a reasoned claim with evidence (razonamiento)

Spanish "argumento" can also mean:

plot of a story (trama)

billion ≠ billon

English "billion" means:

1,000,000,000 (mil millones)

Spanish "billon" means:

1,000,000,000,000 (un millon de millones)

once ≠ once

English "once" means:

one time (una vez)

Spanish "once" means:

eleven (el numero 11)

sensible ≠ sensible

English "sensible" means:

practical, reasonable (razonable)

Spanish "sensible" means:

sensitive (emotivo)

realize ≠ realizar

English "realize" means:

to understand or become aware (darse cuenta)

Spanish "realizar" means:

to accomplish, carry out (hacer, llevar a cabo)

record ≠ recordar

English "record" means:

to write down or save (anotar, grabar)

Spanish "recordar" means:

to remember (acordarse)

library ≠ libreria

English "library" means:

biblioteca (place with books to borrow)

Spanish "libreria" means:

bookstore (place to buy books)

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, -ence 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 complex sentences
7 In Grade 5 FAST tests, look for cognates in word problems and reading passages
8 Remember: You already know more English than you think! / Ya sabes mas ingles de lo que crees!