COGNATES

WHAT ARE THEY?

What is a cognate?

Learning Italian can be made easier by developing

an ability to recognize cognates — words that look
like English words and have a similar meaning,
spelling and pronunciation.

In Italian, these are known as parole simili.

There are some patterns to be aware of to help you

recognize and use cognates.
 Nouns that end in -ia

 Nouns that end in -ia in Italian usually end in -y

in English.

For example: What does Italia mean in English?

 Nouns that end in -ica

 Nouns that end in -ica in Italian usually end in

-ic(s) in English.

 For example: What does musica mean?

 Nouns that end in -ista


Nouns that end in -ista in Italian usually end in
-ist in English.

For example, what does dentista mean?

 Nouns that end in -ario

 Nouns that end in -ario in Italian usually end in

-ary in English.

For example, what does dizionario

mean?
 Nouns that end in -ore

Nouns that end in -ore in Italian usually end in -or

in English.

For example, what does professore mean?

 Nouns that end in -tà

 Nouns that end in -tà in Italian usually end in -

ty in English.

For example, what does città mean?

 Nouns that end in -ione


Nouns that end in -ione in Italian usually end in
-ion in English.

For example, what does stazione mean?

Nouns that end in -enza

 Nouns that end in -enza in Italian usually end in

-ence in English.

For example, what does pazienza mean?

 Let us look at some adjective endings
 Adjectives ending in -ale in Italian usually end in -al in English.

 For example, what does finale mean?

 * Adjectives ending in -oso usually end in -ous in English.

 For example, what does geloso mean?

 Adjectives ending in -ile in Italian usually end in -le in English.

 For example, what does terribile mean?

Let us look at all of this information together…

ITALIAN SUFFIX ENGLISH SUFFIX

-ia -y
-ica -ic(s)
-ista -ist
-ario -ary
-ore -or
-ta -ty
-ione -ion
-enza -ence
-ale -al
-oso -ous
-ile -le