Natus patri similis est.

Because similis often takes the dative in Latin.

So in Natus patri similis est, patri means like his father or more literally similar to his father.

• pater = father
• patri = to/for father, but here after similis it means to his father in the sense of resemblance

This is different from English, where we usually use like with no special case marking.

A learner should remember:

• similis + dative is a very common construction
• Latin can also sometimes use the genitive with similis, but the dative is very standard

Yes, natus literally means born, but in this sentence it is being used more like a noun: the son, the child, or the one born.

It comes from the verb nascor, meaning to be born.

So:

• literal idea: the one born is like his father
• more natural English: the son is like his father or the child resembles his father

This is common in Latin: a participle can act almost like a noun.

Because it describes natus, which is the subject.

In Latin, adjectives agree with the nouns they describe in:

• gender
• number
• case

Here:

• natus = masculine singular nominative
• similis = masculine/feminine singular nominative

So similis is nominative because it matches the subject.

Latin often leaves out possessive words like his, her, or their when the relationship is obvious from context.

So patri can naturally be understood as his father here.

If Latin wanted to be more explicit, it could use suo patri:

• Natus suo patri similis est

But very often that is unnecessary, especially with family relationships.

Est is the verb is.

Latin often uses sum, esse to link the subject with a description, just like English uses to be:

• natus ... similis est = the son is similar ...

Without est, this would not be a normal complete sentence in classical prose.

So the structure is:

• natus = subject
• patri similis = description
• est = linking verb

Latin word order is much freer than English word order.

So Natus patri similis est is perfectly normal. In fact, putting est at the end is very common.

The sentence could be rearranged without changing the basic meaning very much, for example:

• Natus est patri similis
• Patri natus similis est
• Similis patri natus est

But the original order is smooth and natural.

A helpful way to read it is:

• Natus = the son / the child
• patri similis = like his father
• est = is

Yes, natus est very often does mean was born.

That is because natus is the perfect participle of nascor, and with est it can form a perfect tense:

• natus est = he was born

But in this sentence, similis shows us that natus is being used as the subject, not as part of a verb phrase meaning was born.

So here the structure is not:

• natus est = was born

but rather:

• natus = the son / the one born
• similis est = is like

Context and the rest of the sentence help us decide which interpretation is right.

Here natus is:

• nominative
• singular
• masculine

It is nominative because it is the subject of est.

It is masculine because the sentence is talking about a male child or son. If it were feminine, Latin would use nata:

• Nata patri similis est = The daughter is like her father

Yes. Similis can be followed by either:

• dative
• genitive

But the dative is very common, especially in straightforward prose.

So both of these are possible in Latin:

• patri similis
• patris similis

Both mean roughly like his father.

For a learner, though, it is very useful to remember similis + dative, since that is the construction used here.

Grammatically, it is a participle. Functionally, in this sentence, it behaves like a noun.

That is an important distinction.

• As a form, natus is the perfect participle of nascor
• In this sentence, it is being used substantively, meaning the one born, the child, or the son

Latin does this often. English sometimes does something similar with expressions like:

• the accused
• the deceased
• the wounded

So natus is still a participle in form, but it works like a noun in the sentence.