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As I mentioned in my article “An Introduction to the Romance Languages,” the romance languages evolved from the Latin Language.
Romance means “roman based.” The romance languages: Spanish, French, Portuguese and Italian bear a striking similarity, yet they are essentially different.
Since they all have the same Latin root, they are similar in nature. On the other hand, they are completely different languages and therefore radically different.
How close is this similarity? Let’s compare these twenty common words from the Romance Languages:
English Spanish Portuguese French Italian
| English | Spanish | Portuguese | Italian | French |
| baby | bebé | bebê | bambino | bébé |
| son | hijo | filho | figlio | fils |
| daughter | hija | filha | figlia | fille |
| girl | niña | menina | ragazza | fille |
| boy | niño | Garoto | ragazzo | garçon |
| father | padre | pai | padre | père |
| mother | madre | mãe | madre | mère |
| house | casa | casa | Casa | maison |
| cat | gato | gato | gatto | chat |
| year | año | ano | anno | année |
| work | trabajo | trabalhos | lavoro | travail |
| thank you | gracias | obrigado | grazie | Je vous remercie |
| tomato | tomate | tomate | pomodoro | tomate |
| mango | mango | manga | Mango | mangue |
| teacher | profesor | professor | insegnante | prof |
| school | colegio | escola | scuola | école |
| boyfriend | novio | namorado | fidanzato | copain |
| girlfriend | Novia | amiga | fidanzata | petite amie |
| husband | marido | marido | marito | mari |
| wife | esposa | esposa | moglie | femme |
Recommended Reading: Why Learn a Second Language?