English and Spanish share thousands of cognates because both languages inherited a huge vocabulary from Latin. Once you spot the systematic sound correspondences, you can turn many English words into their Spanish equivalents without ever looking them up. This is probably the single fastest way to expand your Spanish vocabulary.
Abstract Nouns: -tion → -ción
English words ending in -tion almost always become Spanish words ending in -ción. The resulting noun is feminine and carries an accent on the o. This pattern covers thousands of words.
La nación celebró su independencia con un desfile.
The nation celebrated its independence with a parade.
Common examples: information → información, education → educación, creation → creación, population → población, situation → situación, conversation → conversación.
Qualities and States: -ty → -dad
English nouns ending in -ty regularly become Spanish nouns ending in -dad. These nouns are always feminine.
La libertad de prensa es esencial en una democracia.
Freedom of the press is essential in a democracy.
Common examples: liberty → libertad, city → ciudad, university → universidad, reality → realidad, opportunity → oportunidad, society → sociedad.
Adverbs: -ly → -mente
English adverbs ending in -ly correspond to Spanish adverbs ending in -mente, which attaches to the feminine form of the adjective.
Common examples: rapidly → rápidamente, perfectly → perfectamente, naturally → naturalmente, finally → finalmente, exactly → exactamente.
Descriptive Adjectives: -ous → -oso
English adjectives ending in -ous become Spanish adjectives ending in -oso (feminine -osa).
Ese actor famoso vive en una casa enorme con vista al mar.
That famous actor lives in a huge house with a sea view.
Common examples: famous → famoso, delicious → delicioso, curious → curioso, generous → generoso, religious → religioso, mysterious → misterioso.
Relational Adjectives: -ic → -ico
English adjectives ending in -ic become Spanish adjectives ending in -ico (feminine -ica), with an accent on the i.
El parque público abre a las seis de la mañana.
The public park opens at six in the morning.
Common examples: public → público, classic → clásico, basic → básico, romantic → romántico, tragic → trágico, democratic → democrático.
Subject Areas: -y → -ía
Many English nouns ending in -y correspond to Spanish nouns ending in -ía, especially fields of study and abstract nouns. The accent falls on the í. These nouns are usually feminine.
Estudio historia latinoamericana en la universidad.
I study Latin American history at the university.
Common examples: history → historia (no accent here), philosophy → filosofía, biology → biología, geography → geografía, economy → economía, company → compañía.
Comprehensive Table
| English Ending | Spanish Ending | English Example | Spanish Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| -tion | -ción | nation | nación |
| -sion | -sión | decision | decisión |
| -ty | -dad | liberty | libertad |
| -ly | -mente | rapidly | rápidamente |
| -ous | -oso | famous | famoso |
| -ic | -ico | public | público |
| -y (fields) | -ía / -ia | philosophy | filosofía |
| -al | -al | national | nacional |
| -ble | -ble | possible | posible |
| -ist | -ista | artist | artista |
| -ary | -ario | necessary | necesario |
| -ance / -ence | -ancia / -encia | distance | distancia |
La distancia entre las dos ciudades es de doscientos kilómetros.
The distance between the two cities is two hundred kilometers.
With these patterns in mind, you can return to prefixes and see how much more vocabulary opens up once you combine cognates with the word-formation rules you've learned throughout this section.
Related Topics
- Common PrefixesB1 — Learn the most useful Spanish prefixes to expand your vocabulary and recognize word families at a glance.
- Noun-Forming SuffixesB1 — Build Spanish nouns from verbs and adjectives using the most productive noun suffixes, and learn the gender patterns each one follows.
- Adjective-Forming SuffixesB1 — Create Spanish adjectives from nouns and verbs using productive suffixes, including patterns for nationalities and places of origin.
- Verb-Forming SuffixesB2 — Learn how Spanish creates new verbs from nouns and adjectives, including the patterns speakers use to spanify English words.