Do you speak Italian and want to learn or are you learning Spanish? In this article we are going to look at the main similarities between Spanish and Italian, but also the differences between both languages.
This way you will be able to use your knowledge of Italian to help you learn Spanish, but you will also know how they are different and what you need to pay special attention to in order to avoid mistakes.
How similar are Spanish and Italian?
The lexical similarity between Spanish and Italian is more than 80% and a large part of the words in both languages are similar, although not necessarily the same, as they differ in aspects such as pronunciation and syntax.
For this reason, Spanish and Italian speakers can hold a conversation and understand enough to get each other, even when speaking their respective languages.
This is because they are Romance languages, which means that they derive from Latin. The same is true for other languages, such as Catalan (spoken in Northeastern Spain, Catalonia), French, Portuguese and Romanian.
Similarities between Spanish and Italian
As we mentioned, these two languages have many things in common. Here is a summary of the most important ones.
The alphabet
One of the great advantages is that both languages use the same alphabet. For this reason, if you are an Italian speaker it will be much easier for you to start learning and understand Spanish compared to other languages with different alphabets, such as Chinese, Russian or Arabic.
Similar pronunciation
Both languages share many sounds, so pronunciation will not be too difficult for you.
For example, one sound that is often complicated for many learners of Spanish as a foreign language is the sound of the letter R, especially when pronounced in a “strong way”, as in the words “perro”, “Roma” or “carnaval”.
However, this sound also exists in Italian, so if you learn Spanish you are already at a great advantage.
Of course, the pronunciation of some letters is quite different. After all, we can’t forget that they are two different languages, can we?
Grammatical similarities between Spanish and Italian
Being languages derived from Latin, both share many aspects of grammar:
- Spanish sentences also follow the subject – verb – object structure.
- Nouns and adjectives have gender as well.
- There are also different words according to number (singular or plural).
- In Spanish we also use the third person to show politeness or in more formal contexts (although this varies among Spanish-speaking countries, being more common in Latin American countries and in some areas of Spain).
- Verb tenses between Spanish and Italian are also very similar, although with some differences.
A large number of the same or similar words
Another very positive aspect is that if you speak Italian, you already know many Spanish words that are used in everyday life.
For example, we have many words related to food: cena, pasta, pizza, mozzarella, ravioli, pesto, al dente….
But there are also others such as: alerta, bronce, carnaval, lavanda, modelo, poema, etc…
Of course, although they are spelled the same, there can be important changes in the way of pronouncing them.
On the other hand, there are also a large number of words that are not exactly the same but are very similar and you can understand them even if you have never studied Spanish.
For example, this is the case of some verbs such as: camminare → caminar, cantare → cantar, vendere → vender, comprare → comprar…
We also find similarities between Spanish and Italian in numbers: due → dos, tre → tres, quattro → cuatro…
And in words like:
- piazza → plaza
- voce → voz
- grazie → gracias
- bene → bien
- quanto → cuanto
- sole → sol
- caffê → café
But beware, because there are also other words that are the same in Italian and Spanish (or very similar) and yet their meaning totally changes.
Read on to learn about some of these words.
Main differences between Spanish and Italian
While it is true that there are many similarities, you should also know that there are some differences.
Here are the most important ones:
Differences in pronunciation
Although there are many similar sounds between Spanish and Italian, there are also quite important differences in pronunciation.
For example:
- The v in Spanish is pronounced like a b (both letters have the same pronunciation).
- ch- in Spanish (e.g. chimenea, techo…) sounds like ce, ci in Italian.
- The z has a different sound, especially in Spanish from Spain.
- The letters qu in Spanish are pronounced like a ch- in Italian.
- The ñ is pronounced as gn.
Grammatical differences
In terms of grammar, the most significant differences are as follows:
- Italian infinitives end in a vowel (-are, -ere, -ire), while in Spanish they end in a consonant (-ar, -er, -ir).
- In Italian, the verb “essere” is normally used, and its equivalent in Spanish would be the verbs “ser” and “estar”.
- In Spanish there are no “adverbial pronouns”. For example, the sentence “Quante mele vuoi? / Ne voglio due”, in Spanish would be “¿Cuántas manzanas quieres? / Quiero dos”, because there is no equivalent for the pronoun “ne”.
- In Italian, unstressed possessives are almost always accompanied by an article. However, in Spanish this is not the case. For example: la mia casa – mi casa.
- En italiano los tiempos compuestos se forman con los verbos “essere” y “avere”, que significan “ser/estar” y “tener”. Sin embargo, los tiempos compuestos en español van con el verbo “haber”. Por ejemplo: “io sono venuto” – “yo he venido”; “io ho visto” – “yo he visto”.
- In the case of the subjunctive there are also some differences. For example, “penso che sia una lingua bellissima” in Spanish would be “pienso que es una lengua preciosa” (using the infinitive verb).
- When forming the plural, in Spanish we usually add an -s at the end. For example: chico, chicos; chica, chicas (in Italian: ragazzo, ragazzi; ragazza, ragazze).
- The use of some prepositions is different. For example, in Italian we say “pensare a”, but in Spanish it would be “pensar en”.
Difference in the meaning of the words: false friends Spanish – Italian
It is true that being such similar languages you can understand many words easily, but be careful!
You have to keep in mind that there are many false friends between these two languages. For example, one of the best known is the word “burro”, which in Italian means “butter” but in Spanish would be “donkey”.
Can you imagine being in Spain and asking for “pan con burro”? Imagine the faces of the people in the cafeteria or bar. In this case, the correct way would be to say “pan con mantequilla” (bread with butter).
Another example that may sound strange if you speak Italian is to hear someone say they are going to eat “arroz con gambas”. Don’t panic, we are not referring to a part of the human body, as “gamba” in Spanish is a type of shellfish (“gambero”, in Italian).
Learning Spanish and Italian as foreign languages: easy or difficult?
If you are not a native speaker of either of these languages you may be wondering if it is difficult to learn both at the same time.
As mentioned above, they are very similar languages, which will help you learn the other more easily if you have already studied one of them.
However, this also has a downside, and that is that you may find it difficult to keep the two languages separate, at least at first.
For example, it is normal for you to use words or the pronunciation and intonation of one language when speaking the other, although this will also depend on your level in the respective languages.
But don’t worry, because after a while you will see that your brain is able to separate the two most of the time without any problem.
Conclusions
To sum up, you have already seen that there are many similarities between Spanish and Italian and that this is a great advantage when learning the language. However, there are also differences, but you don’t have to worry.
If you like Spanish language and have the motivation and perseverance to learn it, you will succeed!
We hope to help you learn this wonderful language through the contents available in our blog to learn Spanish.
