Curiosity: 1000 Words You Already Know in Portuguese
Did you know that you can use a large amount of your English vocabulary in Portuguese?
It is no secret that Portuguese is a Romance Language and that it shares many cognates with languages such as French, Italian, Spanish and English.
Here a little examination of some different categories of English/Portuguese cognates.
1. Nouns of Quality - Words ending in 'TY'
Take an English noun ending in 'TY' replace the 'TY' with 'DADE' to form (in many cases) the correct Portuguese word. It is worth noting that these resulting Portuguese nouns are generally female.
· CIDADE = CITY
· VELOCIDADE = VELOCITY
· SIMPLICIDADE = SIMPLICITY
· NATURALIDADE = NATURALITY
· CAPACIDADE = CAPACITY
2. Words ending in 'TION'
Following a similar method as in 1. simply replace the 'TION' with 'ÇÃO' to form the Portuguese correspondent.
· SIMPLIFICAÇÃO = SIMPLIFICATION
· NAÇÃO = NATION
· OBSERVAÇÃO = OBSERVATION
· NATURALIZAÇÃO = NATURALIZATION
· SENSAÇÃO = SENSATION
Again as in 1. these Portuguese nouns are typically female in gender.
3. Common Adverbs - Words Ending in 'LY'
Using the English root, one can formt he Portuguese equivalent by replacing 'LY' with 'MENTE.'
· NATURALMENTE = NATURALLY
· GENETICAMENTE = GENETICALLY
· ORALMENTE = ORALLY
4. Words Ending in 'ENCE'
In these cases, it is possible to switch 'ENCE' with 'ÊNCIA.'
· ESSÊNCIA = ESSENCE
· REVERÊNCIA = REVERENCE
· FREQÜÊNCIA = FREQUENCE
· ELOQÜÊNCIA = ELOQUENCE
5. The Grand Finale - Words that do not change
Many words that end in 'AL' in English are exactly the same in Portuguese. Since you already know these words, take all that time you saved by not having to memorize them, and practice the sound of the ending 'AL' in Portuguese.
Remember, do not pronounce the final 'L,' favoring a sound more like the 'AU' dipthong in English.
· NATURAL = NATURAL
· TOTAL = TOTAL
· GENERAL = GENERAL
· FATAL = FATAL
· SENSUAL = SENSUAL
Exceptions: As you might imagine, there are exceptions to these rules, and it is imperative that one memorize the exceptions in order to use these categories properly.
For example: geralmente is cognate with generally, and is used much as English speakers use the word “typically” which in return exists also in Portuguese and it means: “tipicamente”!
Another example: capacidade is the correct word to use to say ability; there is also habilidade in Portuguese. But in describing whether something “fits” in something one can use capacity.