Answer:
Spanish Cognates Without Spelling Changes
The easiest Spanish cognates to recognize are exactly the same in English. However, the Spanish pronunciation of the word is usually slightly different than what you’re used to.
Some examples are metro, hospital, idea, escape, lava, visa, sociable, inevitable, funeral, original, cereal, horrible, and motor.
Spanish Cognates that Add an –ar or –ir
In Spanish, verbs ending in –ar, -er, or –ir, and each follows its own conjugation rules. Many verb cognates exist by simply adding –ar or –ir to the English version of the word.
Some examples are: adopt – adoptar, calm – calmar, control – controlar, limit – limitar, invert – invertir, and insist – insistir.
Spanish Cognates that Change –tion to –ción
The common English suffix –tion is used to form noun versions of verbs. It commonly expresses the state or action of the verb. Luckily for Spanish learners, the rule is consistent in Spanish nouns as well but with the ending –ción.
Some examples are: action – acción, celebration – celebración, condition – condición, nation – nación, and fiction – ficción.
Spanish Cognates that Add an –o
This type of cognate is so common that many Spanish learners will try adding an –o to any English word when they don’t know the Spanish version. Sometimes it works, although this isn’t always the case.
Some examples are: academic – académico, alcoholic – alcohólico, domestic – doméstico, organic – orgánico, and panic – pánico.
There are many more cognates in Spanish, as well as patterns, other than the ones listed above. Taking the time to study cognate patterns will increase your vocabulary tenfold. However, be aware of false cognates! These are words that appear to be the same in two languages but actually have very different meanings.
For example, embarazada means “pregnant” in Spanish, but it’s often confused with “embarrassed” in English because they appear to be similar.