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Cross-Linguistic Cognate Radar
Once you understand the phonetic shift rules from Latin, learning one verb automatically teaches you the corresponding verb across 5 other Romance and Germanic languages!
FACERE
("to do, make")
Latin Ancestor Root
๐ช๐ธ Spanish
hacer
Initial F shifted to silent H in Old Spanish.
๐ซ๐ท French
faire
Monophthongized to open /ษ/ vowel.
๐ฎ๐น Italian
fare
Contracted directly from archaic 'facere'.
๐ต๐น Portuguese
fazer
Retained initial F and soft /z/ fricative.
๐ฌ๐ง English
factor / manufacture
Borrowed via Norman French & Latin roots.
VIDERE
("to see, look")
Latin Ancestor Root
๐ช๐ธ Spanish
ver
Contracted -ide- diphthong directly to 'ver'.
๐ซ๐ท French
voir
Shifted diphthong to /vwaส/.
๐ฎ๐น Italian
vedere
Preserved exact Latin root and infinitive ending.
๐ต๐น Portuguese
ver
Contracted identically to Spanish.
๐ฌ๐ง English
vision / provide
Cognates via Latin loanwords.
DICERE
("to say, tell")
Latin Ancestor Root
๐ช๐ธ Spanish
decir
Softened intervocalic c to /ฮธ/ or /s/.
๐ซ๐ท French
dire
Shortened into monosyllabic 'dire'.
๐ฎ๐น Italian
dire
Passato remoto retains Latin 'dissi'.
๐ต๐น Portuguese
dizer
Retained Latin c -> voiced /z/.
๐ฌ๐ง English
dictate / dictionary
From participle 'dictum'.
SCRIBERE
("to write")
Latin Ancestor Root
๐ช๐ธ Spanish
escribir
Added prosthetic 'e-' before s+consonant cluster.
๐ซ๐ท French
รฉcrire
Prosthetic รฉ- with internal b dropping out.
๐ฎ๐น Italian
scrivere
Preserved initial s- and softened b to v.
๐ต๐น Portuguese
escrever
Prosthetic e- with -er ending.
๐ฌ๐ง English
scribe / describe
Direct Latin root preservation.
VENIRE
("to come")
Latin Ancestor Root
๐ช๐ธ Spanish
venir
Retained pure 4th conjugation.
๐ซ๐ท French
venir
Diphthongizes in singular: je viens.
๐ฎ๐น Italian
venire
Retained exact Latin infinitive.
๐ต๐น Portuguese
vir
Contracted heavily to 'vir'.
๐ฌ๐ง English
advent / convene
Derived from Latin participle 'ventus'.