Cognates: Words You Already Know

Before you've learned a single vocabulary word, you already know thousands. Cognates — words that share a common origin — give you a massive head start.

What Are Cognates?

Cognates are words in different languages that evolved from the same ancestor word. Because English has borrowed extensively from French, Latin, and Germanic languages, you share vocabulary with every European language.

English-French Cognates

English borrowed roughly 30% of its vocabulary from French after the Norman Conquest in 1066. Many of these words are still recognisable:

English	French	Pronunciation Difference
restaurant	restaurant	French R, nasal vowel, stress
hotel	hôtel	Silent H, stress pattern
information	information	Nasal vowels, stress
music	musique	French "u," stress
table	table	Vowel quality

The words are the same — the pronunciation is different. This is where cognates become pronunciation practice material.

English-German Cognates

English and German share Germanic roots:

English	German	Pronunciation Difference
hand	Hand	Vowel quality
water	Wasser	W→V, vowel, German R
house	Haus	Diphthong difference
finger	Finger	German -er ending
garden	Garten	German R, T

English-Spanish Cognates

Through Latin and French, English shares many words with Spanish:

English	Spanish	Pronunciation Difference
hospital	hospital	Stress, vowel purity
important	importante	Stress, vowel purity
animal	animal	Stress, vowel quality
telephone	teléfono	Stress, vowel purity
family	familia	Stress, vowels

English-Italian Cognates

English	Italian	Pronunciation Difference
piano	piano	Vowel purity
university	università	Stress, vowels
problem	problema	Stress, vowels
music	musica	Stress, vowels
idea	idea	Vowel purity

Using Cognates for Pronunciation

Cognates are ideal pronunciation practice material because:

1. You already know the meaning — you can focus entirely on pronunciation
2. You can hear the systematic differences — the same patterns repeat across many words
3. They build confidence — recognising how many words you "already know" motivates continued learning

False Cognates Warning

Not all similar-looking words mean the same thing:

• French "actuellement" = currently (not "actually")
• German "Gift" = poison (not "gift")
• Spanish "embarazada" = pregnant (not "embarrassed")
• Italian "camera" = room (not "camera")

These are called false cognates or false friends, and they're actually valuable — they're memorable precisely because they're surprising.

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Explore more:

• French pronunciation guide
• Spanish pronunciation guide
• Take the free accent quiz
• French pronunciation for your accent