Romanian vs Spanish: 300 Words That Are Nearly Identical

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

Tips

• Spanish infinitives keep a final -r where the Romanian forms here do not: veni/venir, dormi/dormir, salva/salvar, trata/tratar, imagina/imaginar, explica/explicar, referi/referir. Once you notice this, many verbs become predictable in both directions.
• Many Romanian nouns end in -ă where Spanish has -a: persoană/persona, problemă/problema, listă/lista, zonă/zona. The ending swap is regular, but the stem can shift too, as in masă/mesa, so check the vowels as well.
• Spanish often adds a final vowel that Romanian lacks: moment/momento, tip/tipo, mod/modo add -o, while program/programa and sistem/sistema add -a. Adding the right vowel is usually all it takes.
• When a word starts with s plus a consonant, Spanish tends to put an e- in front: compare Romanian specie with Spanish especie. Expect that extra vowel whenever you convert Romanian s-clusters into Spanish.
• Spanish frequently turns a plain vowel into a diphthong where Romanian keeps it simple, as in punte/puente. Train your ear for the ue and ie sounds so the Spanish form doesn't look unfamiliar.
• A few pairs need no conversion at all: tren/tren and nivel/nivel are spelled the same in both languages. Treat them as quick wins, but still confirm how each word is used in context, since look-alikes are not always interchangeable in everyday speech.

Frequently asked questions

Are Romanian and Spanish similar enough that cognates like this are common?

Yes. Both are Romance languages descended from Latin, so shared vocabulary roots are common, and pairs like sistem/sistema or program/programa are typical examples of that history.

How does Vocab Voyage help me learn these word pairs?

You sign up free with an email, with no card and no password, and the app gives you an English prompt and asks you to type the Romanian word. It uses spaced repetition, so words you find tricky come back more often until they stick.

Do I need to worry about accents when typing answers?

No. Accents are forgiven, so typing persoana for persoană still counts, and you can focus on getting the word itself right.

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