Samples
Portuguese and Spanish share a great number of words that are either spelled identically (although they may be pronounced quite differently), almost identically (though they may be pronounced more or less the same), or are similarly predictable. Consider, for example, the following paragraph, taken from the Gramática esencial del español, by Manuel Seco (Espasa Calpe, 1989), and compare it to the Portuguese rendition below, noting the extensive lexical similarity and the only slight changes in word order:
Pero, a pesar de esta variedad de posibilidades que la voz posee, sería un muy pobre instrumento de comunicación si no contara más que con ella. La capacidad de expresión del hombre no dispondría de más medios que la de los animales. La voz, sola, es para el hombre apenas una materia informe, que para convertirse en un instrumento perfecto de comunicación debe ser sometida a un cierto tratamiento. Esa manipulación que recibe la voz son las "articulaciones".
Porém, apesar desta variedade de possibilidades que a voz possui, seria um instrumento de comunicação muito pobre se não se contasse com mais do que ela. A capacidade de expressão do homem não disporia de mais meios que a dos animais. A voz, sozinha, é para o homem apenas uma matéria informe, que para se converter num instrumento perfeito de comunicação deve ser submetida a um certo tratamento. Essa manipulação que a voz recebe são as "articulações".
Some common words are however quite different in the two languages, for instance:
| Meaning | Spanish | Portuguese | Origin | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 'store, shop' | tienda | loja | Late Latin tendam (< tendere), Germanic via Old French loge |
The primary meaning of the Portuguese term tenda is 'tent' (in Spanish tienda also can mean 'tent'). Spanish lonja ('market') is rare. |
| 'knee' | rodilla | joelho | Latin rotellam, genvcvlvm | Rótula ('kneecap' in both Spanish and Portuguese) is etymologically related to Spanish rodilla ('little wheel'). The Spanish idiom de hinojos 'kneeling' has the same etymology as Portuguese joelho. |
| 'street' | calle | rua | Latin callem, rvgam |
Spanish rúa and Portuguese calhe also exist, but are far less common (and their forms indicate that they are borrowings from the other language, rather than inheritances from Latin). |
| 'window' | ventana | janela | Latin ventvs, iānvella (iānva+ella) |
Latin ventvs means 'wind', ventana is etymologically 'wind opening'. Portuguese janela comes from Latin iānvella, diminutive form of iānva ('door, opening'), the same root as English 'January' and 'janitor' (originally from the name ianvs, the God of gates or doors). |
| 'to erase' | borrar | apagar | Late Latin bvrra, Latin adpācāre |
The same word borrar exists in Portuguese but means 'to smudge' (e.g. está borrado 'it's smudged', compare Spanish borroso 'blurry'); and Spanish apagar means 'to turn off' (a meaning that also exists in Portuguese, in expressions such as apagar a luz 'turn the light off'). |
| 'to forget' | olvidar | esquecer | Latin oblītare, excadescere |
Olvidar also exists in Portuguese but is far less common, as well as obliterar and obliviar, from the same root as English 'oblivion'. |
Read more about this topic: Differences Between Spanish And Portuguese
Famous quotes containing the word samples:
“Good government cannot be found on the bargain-counter. We have seen samples of bargain-counter government in the past when low tax rates were secured by increasing the bonded debt for current expenses or refusing to keep our institutions up to the standard in repairs, extensions, equipment, and accommodations. I refuse, and the Republican Party refuses, to endorse that method of sham and shoddy economy.”
—Calvin Coolidge (1872–1933)