Spanish and Portuguese Vocabulary Transfer

Foreign Service Institute: From Spanish to Portuguese

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Much of your Portuguese vocabulary will come via direct transfer from Spanish. Vocabulary transfer has been implicit in our discussion of sounds in part I. We showed there how certain correspondences can guide you in the process. We indicated, for example, the great utility of knowing that Spanish ie and ue often correspond to Portuguese open e and open o, respectively, and that Spanish -ión, -on and -an (the latter two both stressed and unstressed) often correspond to the Portuguese nasal diphthong -ãu. In this section we will examine other correspondences, many of them not involving new sounds. We have attempted to separate the common ones from those that occur only occasionally. We have reserved a special place for those that involve word endings.

As a final note on vocabulary transfer we have listed several items that can be transferred only with considerable caution: false cognates.

Some Patterns of Correspondences

Common Correspondences

1. Sounds

• The Spanish h sound does not exist in Portuguese. In cognate words the h sound usually converts to one of three sounds: sh, zh, or lh. Study these groupings:

 

a.

Spanish h	Portuguese sh sound
jefe	chefe
bajo	baixo
quejarse	queixar-se
embajada	embaixada
caja	caixa
dejar	deixar
bruja	bruxa

 

b.

Spanish h	Portuguese zh sound
junio	junho
julio	julho
junto	junto
juez	juiz
generoso	generoso
gente	gente
joven	jovem
ligera	ligeira
jugar	jogar
adjectivo	adjetivo
sargento	sargento
extranjero	estrangeiro
jardín	jardim
reloj	relógio
viaje	viagem
página	página

 

c.

Spanish h	Portuguese lh (ll of Spanish calle)
mujer	mulher
orejas	orelhas
mejor	melhor
trabajar	trabalhar
mojar	molhar
escoger	escolher
abeja	abelha
viejo	velho
ojo	ôlho
aguja	agulha

NOTE: Spanish jabón / Portuguese sabão (s of English 'Sam')

Note also: Spanish ejemplo, ejercicio / Portuguese exemplo, exercício (where the x is pronounced like z of English 'zebra')

 

• Spanish ll sometimes shows up as l, sometimes as sh, and sometimes as lh (no change). Study these groupings:

 

a.

Spanish ll	Portuguese l
bello	belo
cabello	cabelo
llevar	levar
gallina	galinha
amarillo	amarelo
ella	ela
allí	ali
villa	vila
caballo	cavalo
callar	calar
fallecer	falecer

 

b.

Spanish ll	Portuguese sh sound
llorar	chorar
llamar	chamar
llegar	chegar
llave	chave
llover	chover
llano	chão
lleno	cheio

 

c.

Spanish ll	Portuguese lh (no change)
fallar	falhar
milla	milha
millón	milhão
toalla	toalha
billete	bilhete

Notice that Spanish ll appears between vowels in the first group (with the exception of llevar), and at the beginning of the words in the second group.

 

• Spanish n often corresponds to Portuguese nh; and conversely, Portuguese n often corresponds to Spanish ñ. Observe these groupings.

 

a.

Spanish n	Portuguese nh
dinero	dinheiro
camino	caminho
ganar	ganhar
sobrina	sobrinha
tocino	toucinho
vino	vinho
amanecer	amanhecer
cocina	cozinha
espina	espinha

 

b.

Spanish ñ	Portuguese n
año	ano
pequeño	pequeno
caña	cana
enseñar	ensinar
dañar	danar
pestaña	pestana

 

• Portuguese inserts an f sound in a number of words where Spanish has the 'silent' printed h.

Spanish h (silent)	Portuguese f
higo	figo
hígado	fígado
hacer	fazer
hormiga	formiga
hacienda	fazenda
herir	ferir
humo	fumo
hervir	ferver
hierro	ferro
hazaña	façanha
hijo *	filho
hoja *	fôlha
huracán	furação
almohada	almofada

* See grouping 1c above.

 

• Spanish ch often corresponds to Portuguese t.

Spanish ch	Portuguese t
aprovechar	aproveitar
techo	teto
noche	noite
leche	leite
luchar	lutar
estrecho	estreito
hecho	feito
ocho	oito
mucho	muito

 

• Previously, in another context, we mentioned that sometimes the Spanish s sound corresponds to the Portuguese z sound. Let us review that point.

 

Spanish s	Portuguese z (spelled with s)
casa	casa
cosa	coisa
blusa	blusa
música	música
acusar	acusar
veces	vêzes
hacer	fazer
cocina	cozinha
azul	azul
zorro	zorro

 

• Spanish kt is often reduced to just t in Portuguese.

Spanish kt	Portuguese t
acto	ato
doctor	doutor
dictador	ditador
actual	atual
contacto	contato
carácter	caráter
víctima	vítima
perfecto	perfeito
practicar	praticar
arquitectura	arquitetura

 

• Many Spanish words containing ks lose the k in the Portuguese cognate.

Spanish ks	Portuguese s (sound)
acción	ação
sección	seção
lección	lição
accidente	acidente
occidental	ocidental

There are exceptions. Note Portuguese ficcão and succão, both of which retain the k sound.

 

• Likewise, Spanish words containing mn are likely to lose the m in the Portuguese cognate.

 

Spanish mn	Portuguese n
alumno	aluno
columna	coluna
himno	hino
solemne	solene
amnistía	anistia
indemnizar	indenizar
calumnia	calúnia

The m is retained in amnésia.

 

• The l sound, as the second element of a Spanish cluster, often changes to an r sound in Portuguese. This happens quite frequently if the first element of the cluster is p, much less frequently in other cases.

Spanish consonant + l	Portuguese consonant + r
placer	prazer
playa	praia
plato	prato
plata	prata
plaza	praça
plaga	praga
plazo	prazo
cumplir	cumprir
emplear	empregar
sable	sabre
blanco	branco
doblar	dobrar
noble	nobre
obligar	obrigar
flaco	fraco
flota	frota
iglesia	igreja
esclavo	escravo

 

• Spanish -ano often corresponds to Portuguese -ão.

Spanish	Portuguese
mano	mão
hermano	irmão
verano	verão
anciano	ancião
sano	são
aldeano	aldeão

Notice, however, Portuguese puritano, and colombiano, americano, venezuelano, persiano and many other nationalities.

 

• Spanish -ana often corresponds to Portuguese -ã

Spanish	Portuguese
hermana	irmã
manzana	maçã
mañana	amanhã
alemana	alemã
anciana	anciã
aldeana	aldeã
sana	sã

Notice, however, Portuguese campana, puritana, banana, as well as americana, colombiana and many other nationalities.

 

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2. Word Endings

• Most Spanish adjectives ending in -ble will end in -vel in Portuguese.

 

Spanish	Portuguese
horrible	horrível
terrible	terrível
favorable	favorável
notable	notável
posible	possível
indispensable	indispensável
amable	amável
agradable	agradável

 

• Portuguese equivalents of Spanish words ending in -dad (or -tad) and -tud usually add an unstressed i sound. In addition, the t of Spanish -tad is likely to be a d in Portuguese.

Spanish	Portuguese
verdad	verdade
dignidad	dignidade
facilidad	facilidade
dificultad	dificuldade
lealtad	lealdade
libertad	liberdade
magnitud	magnitude
actitud	atitude

 

Some of the more notable exceptions:

Spanish	Portuguese
aptitud	aptidão
amistad	amizade

 

• The s sound of the Spanish endings -eza and -oso corresponds to a z sound in Portuguese.

Spanish	Portuguese
firmeza	firmeza
riqueza	riqueza
gentileza	gentileza
fortaleza	fortaleza
poderoso	poderoso
famoso	famoso
amoroso	amoroso
espantoso	espantoso

 

• The Spanish diminutive endings -ito(a) and -cito(a) correspond to Portuguese -inho(a) and -zinho(a)

Spanish	Portuguese
carrito	carrinho
Pablito	Paulinho
mesita	mesinha
casita	casinha
cafecito	cafezinho
pobrecita	pobrezinha

 

• The Spanish noun-ending -ero generally corresponds to the Portuguese noun-ending -eiro. Notice the diphthong in the Portuguese forms.

Spanish	Portuguese
portero	porteiro
cartero	carteiro
minero	mineiro
zapatero	sapateiro
vaquero	vaqueiro
cocinero	cozinheiro

 

The Spanish words presencia, diferencia, licencia and sentencia lose the ia diphthong in Portuguese. Most other words ending in -encia retain it. Thus:

Spanish	Portuguese
presencia	presença
diferencia	diferença
licencia	licença
sentencia	sentença

 

but

Spanish	Portuguese
eficiencia	eficiência
paciencia	paciência
inteligencia	inteligência
providencia	providência
esencia	essência
competencia	competência

 

Other word endings already discussed in other contexts include Spanish -ción / Portuguese -cão, and Spanish -aje / Portuguese -agem

 

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Less Common Correspondences

The correspondences listed below are found in a smaller number of cognates than those listed above under 'Common Correspondences.' The cognates themselves may, of course, be very common words. In some cases, the examples given may be the only ones of their kind.

 

• Absence of l in Portuguese

Spanish	Portuguese
salir	sair
volar	voar
doler	doer
saludar	saudar
diablo	diabo

 

• Absence of n in Portuguese

Spanish	Portuguese
comenzar	começar
moneda	moeda
defensa	defesa
venado	veado
amenaza	ameaça
luna	lua
crimen	crime

 

• Absence of l or n and adjacent vowel in Portuguese.

Spanish	Portuguese
color	côr
dolor	dor
poner	pôr
tener	ter
venir	vir
general	geral
sólo	só
ganado	gado

 

• Absence of r in Portuguese

Spanish	Portuguese
almorzar	almoçar
sangre	sangue
rostro	rosto

 

• Absence of br in portuguese

Spanish	Portuguese
nombre	nome
hombre	homem
acostumbrarse	acostumar-se

 

• n becomes l in Portuguese

Spanish	Portuguese
naranja	laranja
berenjena	berinjela

 

• Reversal of vowel and consonant

Spanish	Portuguese
preguntar	perguntar
apretar	apertar

 

• Shift of diphthong, from after the consonant to before the consonant.

Spanish	Portuguese
apio	aipo
barrio	bairro
novio	noivo

 

• Vowel changes

 

1. Spanish e to Portuguese i

Spanish	Portuguese
eso	isso
lengua	língua
venganza	vingança
edad	idade
profesional	profissional
enseñar	ensinar
corregir	corrigir
vecino	vizinho

 

2. Spanish u to Portuguese o

Spanish	Portuguese
jugar	jogar
ocurrir	ocorrer
sufrir	sofrer
rutina	rotina
cubrir	cobrir

 

3. Spanish o to Portuguese u

Spanish	Portuguese
costar	custar
sorpresa	surprêsa
sordo	surdo

 

• Spanish vowel to Portuguese diphthong

Spanish	Portuguese
casi	quase
más	mais
jamás	jamais
caja	caixa
bajo	baixo
dos	dois
cosa	coisa
noche	noite
poco	pouco
tesoro	tesouro

 

• Spanish diphthong to Portuguese vowel

Spanish	Portuguese
cuaderno	caderno
antigua	antiga
treinta	trinta
veinte	vinte

 

• Changes in stress patterns

Spanish	Portuguese
policía	polícia
teléfono	telefone
límite	limite
nivel	nível

 

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