Did you know that learning one language can help you learn another? That's even more possible when you learn similar languages, languages from the same language family, such as Italian and Spanish, for example.

These two languages share many things since both of them come from the same language, Vulgar Latin. Grammar rules, similar pronunciation, even words, and expressions; all these things are similar.

There's one particular thing that can save your time in learning languages. It is vocabulary.

That's why, in this post, we will show you the words and expressions that Italian and Spanish share. If not the best way to learn Italian, it is, undoubtedly one of the most efficient ways. This way, you don't have to learn some words twice but use the advantage of one language and apply it to the other.

Now, let's dive in.

Similarities Between Italian And Spanish

As we've mentioned, Italian and Spanish belong to the same language family. Along with Catalan, French, Portuguese, and Romanian, they are descendants of Vulgar Latin.

Therefore, many things are similar, if not the same.

• Lexically, Italian and Spanish share around 80% similarities or even the same features.
• Sentence structure follows the subject-verb-object pattern. This way, you can easily recognize them in a sentence.
• Vowels are the same both in Italian and Spanish. So, if you already speak Italian and you are proud of your pronunciation, you can count on knowing them in Spanish as well.
• Shared vocabulary between Italian and Spanish is an advantage you can use to ease your learning process. Once you learn some words in one language, you don't have to do it for the other.

Italian and Spanish Similar Words

Italian and Spanish Words That Are The Same

Below are the words these two languages have in common. The only difference between the words is the accent.

Atlantico — Italian

Atlántico — Spanish

Meaning: Atlantic

Artico — Italian

Ártico — Spanish

Meaning: Arctic

Antartico — Italian

Antártico — Spanish

Meaning: Antarctic

Pacifico — Italian

Pacífico — Spanish

Meaning: Pacific

Musica — Italian

Música — Spanish

Meaning: Music

Telefono — Italian

Teléfono — Spanish

Meaning: Telephone

Arte — Both languages

Meaning: Art

La biblioteca — Both languages

Meaning: The library

La casa grande— Both languages

Meaning: The big house

La mano— Both languages

Meaning: The hand

Una casa — Both languages

Meaning: A house

Italian and Spanish Words With Minor Spelling Differences

Caffè — Italian

Café — Spanish

Meaning: Coffee

La terra — Italian

La tierra — Spanish

Meaning: The earth

Secondo — Italian

Segundo — Spanish

Meaning: Second

Sempre — Italian

Siempre — Spanish

Meaning: Always

Supermercato — Italian

Supermercado — Spanish

Meaning: Supermarket

Tempo — Italian

Tiempo — Spanish

Meaning: Time

Zero — Italian

Cero — Spanish

Meaning: Zero

Italian Words With Spanish Origin

Azienda- Italian

Hacienda- Spanish

Meaning: Hacienda

Mozzo- Italian

Mozo- Spanish

Meaning: Waiter

Passacaglia- Italian

 Pasacalle- Spanish

Meaning: Passacaglia

Italian- Spinace

Spanish- Espinaca

Meaning: Spinach

Sigaro — Italian

Cigarro — Spanish

Meaning: Cigar

Uragano — Italian

Huracán — Spanish

Meaning: Hurricane

Spanish Words With Italian Origin

Acquerello- Italian

Acuarella- Spanish

Meaning: Acquerello

Balcone- Italian

Balcón- Spanish

Meaning: Balcony

Bussola- Italian

Brújula- Spanish

Meaning: Bussola

Disegno- Italian

Diseño- Spanish

Meaning: Design

Opera — Italian

Ópera — Spanish

Meaning: Opera

Sonetto — Italian

Soneto  — Spanish

Meaning: Sonnet

Italian And Spanish Similar Expressions

Buona notte — Italian

Buenas noches — Spanish

Meaning: Good night

Buon viaggio — Italian

Buen Viaje — Spanish

Meaning: have a nice trip

Con permesso — Italian

Con permiso — Spanish

Meaning: Excuse me

Grazie — Italian

Gracias — Spanish

Meaning: Thank you

Grazie mille — Italian

Muchas gracias — Spanish

Meaning: Many thanks.

Ho caldo — Italian

Tengo calor — Spanish

Meaning: I'm hot

Ho freddo — Italian

Tengo frío — Spanish

Meaning: I'm cold.

Mi chiamo… — Italian

Me llamo… — Spanish

Meaning: My name is...

Per favore — Italian

Por favor — Spanish

Meaning: Please

Salute — Italian

Salud — Spanish

Meaning: Health/ Hello

Sono di…— Italian

Soy de… — Spanish

Meaning: I am from...

Italian And Spanish False Friends

Do you know what are false friends? False friends are words that sound identical but have different meanings.

Here are some of them:

Barato

Italian: cheated

Spanish: cheap

Burro 

Italian: butter

Spanish: donkey

Guardare (Italian)- to look

Guardar (Spanish)- to guard, to save, to keep

Officina ( Italian)- workshop

Oficina (Spanish)- office

Pesca

Italian: peach

Spanish: fishing

Parare ( Italian)- to adorn/ to parry, shield

Parar (Spanish)- to stop

Pronto

Italian: ready

Spanish: soon

Salire (Italian)- to go up

Salir (Spanish)- to depart, to  leave, to go out

Sembrare (Italian)-  to appear, to look, to seem

Sembrar (Spanish)- to sow, to seed, to plant

Subire (Italian)- to endure, to suffer, to undergo

Subir (Spanish)- going up

Tenere (Italian)- to have, to take

Tener (Spanish)- to have

Topo

Italian: mouse

Spanish: mole

Tra (Italian)- between, among, amid

Tras (Spanish)-after, behind,  beyond

Final Thoughts

If you speak Italian and consider learning Spanish (or vice versa), keep in mind you already have a decent amount of Spanish vocabulary but you probably never realized it. As you've seen, Italian and Spanish have so many things in common.

So, do you really have to choose only one?

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What are some similarities between Italian and Spanish?

As we've mentioned, Italian and Spanish belong to the same language family. Along with Catalan, French, Portuguese, and Romanian, they are descendants of Vulgar Latin. Therefore, many things are similar, if not the same. Lexically, Italian and Spanish share around 80% similarities or even the same features. Sentence structure follows the subject-verb-object pattern. This way, you can easily recognize them in a sentence. Vowels are the same both in Italian and Spanish. So, if you already speak Italian and you are proud of your pronunciation, you can count on knowing them in Spanish as well. Shared vocabulary between Italian and Spanish is an advantage you can use to ease your learning process. Once you learn some words in one language, you don't have to do it for the other.

What words are the same in Italian and Spanish?

Atlantico — Italian Atlántico — Spanish Meaning: Atlantic Artico — Italian Ártico — Spanish Meaning: Arctic Antartico — Italian Antártico — Spanish Meaning: Antarctic Pacifico — Italian Pacífico — Spanish Meaning: Pacific Musica — Italian Música — Spanish Meaning: Music Telefono — Italian Teléfono — Spanish Meaning: Telephone Arte — Both languages Meaning: Art La biblioteca — Both languages Meaning: The library

What expressions are similar in Italian and Spanish?

Buona notte — Italian Buenas noches — Spanish Meaning: Good night Buon viaggio — Italian Buen Viaje — Spanish Meaning: have a nice trip Con permesso — Italian Con permiso — Spanish Meaning: Excuse me Grazie — Italian Gracias — Spanish Meaning: Thank you Grazie mille — Italian Muchas gracias — Spanish Meaning: Many thanks.

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