You Already Know Hundreds of These

Spanish · Page 1 of 2

Name Date
DIRECTIONS: Write what you think each Spanish word means. Don’t look anything up.
Why you can read them: Spanish came from Latin. English took thousands of Latin words through Norman French, and more straight from Latin. So both are full of the same words in different coats.
SpanishWhat you think it means
animal
familia
hospital
doctor
chocolate
color
importante
problema
música
idea
minuto
clase
  1. How many of the twelve did you get? Were any of them hard?

You Already Know Hundreds of These — Questions

Spanish · Page 2 of 2

  1. These words are called cognates — words with the same ancestor. Explain, in your own words, how English and Spanish ended up sharing so many when the languages are not related.
  2. Here are four you have not seen: necesario · possible · el tigre · la información. Write what each means.
  3. Does this trick work in the other direction? If a Spanish child saw the English word circular, would they have an advantage? Explain.