English-Spanish Cognates Reference Sheet

What Are Cognates? / Que son los cognados?

Cognates are words that look and sound similar in both English and Spanish because they share a common origin. As a Spanish speaker, you already know many English words! When you see a new English word, check if it looks like a Spanish word you know.

Los cognados son palabras que se parecen y suenan similar en ingles y espanol porque tienen un origen comun. Como hablante de espanol, ya conoces muchas palabras en ingles! Cuando veas una palabra nueva en ingles, verifica si se parece a una palabra en espanol que conoces.

How to Use This Resource / Como usar este recurso:

1. Look at the English word on the left
2. Compare it to the Spanish word on the right
3. Notice how similar they look and sound
4. Use your Spanish knowledge to understand the English meaning!

Cognate Patterns to Remember / Patrones de cognados

-tion → -cion

multiplication → multiplicacion

-ty → -dad

probability → probabilidad

-ly → -mente

exactly → exactamente

-ent/-ant → -ente/-ante

equivalent → equivalente

-ble → -ble

comparable → comparable

-al → -al

decimal → decimal

-or → -or

factor → factor

-ure → -ura

structure → estructura

🔢

Math Cognates / Cognados de matematicas

Grade 4 Math vocabulary - Operations, Fractions, Decimals, and Geometry

multiplication ↔ multiplicacion

division ↔ division

factor ↔ factor

multiple ↔ multiplo

product ↔ producto

quotient ↔ cociente

operation ↔ operacion

equation ↔ ecuacion

fraction ↔ fraccion

decimal ↔ decimal

equivalent ↔ equivalente

numerator ↔ numerador

denominator ↔ denominador

unit ↔ unidad

angle ↔ angulo

perimeter ↔ perimetro

area ↔ area

line ↔ linea

parallel ↔ paralelo

perpendicular ↔ perpendicular

symmetry ↔ simetria

triangle ↔ triangulo

rectangle ↔ rectangulo

quadrilateral ↔ cuadrilatero

parallelogram ↔ paralelogramo

trapezoid ↔ trapezoide

vertical ↔ vertical

horizontal ↔ horizontal

kilometer ↔ kilometro

meter ↔ metro

centimeter ↔ centimetro

millimeter ↔ milimetro

kilogram ↔ kilogramo

liter ↔ litro

capacity ↔ capacidad

volume ↔ volumen

number ↔ numero

total ↔ total

formula ↔ formula

solution ↔ solucion

problem ↔ problema

convert ↔ convertir

data ↔ datos

graph ↔ grafica

📖

ELA/Reading Cognates / Cognados de lectura

Grade 4 Language Arts vocabulary - Literary Elements and Text Analysis

character ↔ caracter(personaje)

theme ↔ tema

narrator ↔ narrador

protagonist ↔ protagonista

antagonist ↔ antagonista

conflict ↔ conflicto

resolution ↔ resolucion

dialogue ↔ dialogo

narrative ↔ narrativa

structure ↔ estructura

paragraph ↔ parrafo

introduction ↔ introduccion

conclusion ↔ conclusion

sequence ↔ secuencia

chronological ↔ cronologico

inference ↔ inferencia

evidence ↔ evidencia

comparison ↔ comparacion

prediction ↔ prediccion

summary ↔ sumario

context ↔ contexto

metaphor ↔ metafora

simile ↔ simil

hyperbole ↔ hiperbole

idiom ↔ modismo

fiction ↔ ficcion

nonfiction ↔ no ficcion

biography ↔ biografia

autobiography ↔ autobiografia

myth ↔ mito

legend ↔ leyenda

fable ↔ fabula

drama ↔ drama

poetry ↔ poesia

author ↔ autor

description ↔ descripcion

information ↔ informacion

opinion ↔ opinion

argument ↔ argumento

persuade ↔ persuadir

✍

Academic Cognates / Cognados academicos

Words used in test directions, instructions, and academic tasks

analyze ↔ analizar

compare ↔ comparar

contrast ↔ contrastar

describe ↔ describir

explain ↔ explicar

identify ↔ identificar

evaluate ↔ evaluar

determine ↔ determinar

organize ↔ organizar

complete ↔ completar

select ↔ seleccionar

indicate ↔ indicar

demonstrate ↔ demostrar

interpret ↔ interpretar

classify ↔ clasificar

categorize ↔ categorizar

illustrate ↔ ilustrar

formulate ↔ formular

example ↔ ejemplo

detail ↔ detalle

reason ↔ razon

result ↔ resultado

process ↔ proceso

method ↔ metodo

strategy ↔ estrategia

objective ↔ objetivo

response ↔ respuesta

question ↔ cuestion(pregunta)

correct ↔ correcto

incorrect ↔ incorrecto

🌎

Science & Social Studies Cognates

Cross-curricular vocabulary for Grade 4

experiment ↔ experimento

observation ↔ observacion

hypothesis ↔ hipotesis

conclusion ↔ conclusion

energy ↔ energia

electricity ↔ electricidad

temperature ↔ temperatura

organism ↔ organismo

habitat ↔ habitat

ecosystem ↔ ecosistema

geography ↔ geografia

history ↔ historia

culture ↔ cultura

region ↔ region

continent ↔ continente

ocean ↔ oceano

government ↔ gobierno

democracy ↔ democracia

economy ↔ economia

resources ↔ recursos

⚠

False Cognates / Cognados falsos

Be careful! These words look similar but have different meanings

Cuidado!

actual ≠ actual

English "actual" means:

real, true (verdadero)

Spanish "actual" means:

current, present (corriente)

sensible ≠ sensible

English "sensible" means:

practical, reasonable (razonable)

Spanish "sensible" means:

sensitive (emotionally)

large ≠ largo

English "large" means:

big (grande)

Spanish "largo" means:

long (in length)

exit ≠ exito

English "exit" means:

way out, to leave (salida)

Spanish "exito" means:

success (logro)

library ≠ libreria

English "library" means:

biblioteca (place with books to borrow)

Spanish "libreria" means:

bookstore (place to buy books)

realize ≠ realizar

English "realize" means:

to understand, become aware (darse cuenta)

Spanish "realizar" means:

to accomplish, carry out (hacer)

record ≠ recordar

English "record" means:

to write down, document (registrar)

Spanish "recordar" means:

to remember (acordarse)

attend ≠ atender

English "attend" means:

to go to, be present (asistir)

Spanish "atender" means:

to pay attention, serve (prestar atencion)

Tips for Using Cognates / Consejos para usar cognados

1 When you see a new English word, ask yourself: "Does this look like a Spanish word I know?"
2 Look for familiar endings: -tion, -sion, -ent, -al, -ble often have Spanish cognates
3 Be careful with false cognates - always check context to make sure the meaning fits
4 Keep a personal cognate list as you discover new word pairs in your reading
5 Practice saying cognates out loud - the sounds are often similar too!
6 Use cognates as "anchor words" to help you understand sentences and passages
7 In math problems, look for cognates to help understand what the question is asking
8 On tests, circle cognates to help you focus on key vocabulary and concepts