Catalan vs Romanian: 300 Words That Are Nearly Identical

Catalan vs Romanian: 300 Words That Are Nearly Identical: the list

Tips

• Watch the final vowel: Catalan words in -a often match Romanian words in -ă, as in mesa / masă, problema / problemă, zona / zonă and arma / armă. It is not automatic, though — Catalan programa / Romanian program and sistema / sistem drop the vowel instead.
• Catalan -e frequently corresponds to Romanian -u: simple / simplu and exemple / exemplu. When guessing, try swapping that final vowel before assuming the word is unrelated.
• Infinitives are the most reliable pattern here: drop the final -r from the Catalan verb and you often get the Romanian one, as in venir / veni, devenir / deveni, salvar / salva and verificar / verifica.
• Catalan sometimes adds an e- before an initial s-cluster where Romanian does not: estat / stat and especial / special. Trimming or adding that opening e- is a quick way to bridge the two forms.
• Catalan double ll can correspond to a single l in Romanian, as in lloc / loc and nivell / nivel, so do not let the doubled letter convince you the words are different.
• Some pairs need no rule at all — doctor / doctor, control / control, accident / accident, important / important, real / real and sergent / sergent. Treat those as free wins, but still check exact spellings, since near-matches like amic / amice differ by a letter.

Frequently asked questions

How similar are Catalan and Romanian really?

They are both Romance languages but belong to different branches, so much of the core vocabulary differs. In learned, technical and abstract vocabulary, however, many terms stayed close enough that you can often predict one form from the other once you know the common shifts, such as Catalan -a matching Romanian -ă, or Catalan -ar and -ir infinitives matching Romanian forms without the final -r.

Can I just guess the Romanian word from the Catalan one?

The patterns get you a long way, but they are tendencies rather than rules, so the last letter or two can still surprise you. Learn each pair as it is written here — amic / amice, for instance, look alike but are not spelled the same.

How do I actually study these pairs?

Sign up free with just your email — no card and no password — and review with spaced repetition: you type the Catalan word for an English prompt, and accents are forgiven, so small typing slips will not mark you wrong. Short, regular sessions beat trying to memorise the whole list in one sitting.

More Catalan

Learn Catalan · Words · Nouns · Verbs · Adjectives · Adverbs · How many Catalan words do you need? · Catalan words you already know · 200 most common feminine Catalan nouns · 200 most common masculine Catalan nouns · Catalan City & Places vocabulary · Catalan Talking & Communication vocabulary · Catalan Art & Culture vocabulary · Catalan Describing Things vocabulary · Catalan Emotions & Personality vocabulary · Catalan Family & People vocabulary · Catalan Food & Drink vocabulary · Catalan Health & the Body vocabulary · Catalan Home & Daily Life vocabulary · Catalan Money & Finance vocabulary · Catalan Nature & Animals vocabulary · Catalan Numbers & Quantities vocabulary · Catalan School & Learning vocabulary · Catalan Shopping & Clothes vocabulary · Catalan Politics, Law & Society vocabulary · Catalan Sport & Leisure vocabulary · Catalan Technology & Media vocabulary · Catalan Time, Weather & Seasons vocabulary · Catalan Travel & Transport vocabulary · Catalan Work & Business vocabulary · Catalan vs Czech: nearly identical words · Catalan vs Danish: nearly identical words · Catalan vs German: nearly identical words · Catalan vs Spanish: nearly identical words · Catalan vs Finnish: nearly identical words · Catalan vs French: nearly identical words