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Learning English Made Easy with Word Endings

Updated on January 05, 2017
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I grew up in Paris and Amsterdam, lived and worked in Berlin, London, and currently live in Spain. I now speak 5 languages by necessity.

Around 800,000 million people worldwide speak Latin based languages.
Around 800,000 million people worldwide speak Latin based languages.

For over 800 million Latin based language speakers spread out all over the world, English can be learned quickly and efficiently. Why? Because unwittingly, their native languages already contains over 9,000 words that are the same or very similar. Here is a comprehensive list of those crucial words, but first, why is learning English so very important today?

Global spread of Latin Based languages. The circles denote little islands on this map.

Why Is English So Popular?

Learning fluent English is of paramount importance today. Its rich linguistic origins and history contribute to the spread of the English language literally like wild fire. With its roots partly in northwest Germany and the Netherlands, English was first brought to Britain by invaders and settlers during the fifth to seventh centuries. Dating back to the Norman Conquest in 1066, English also acquired the influence of Anglo-Norman French, a Latin based language. In the modern world, bi-lingual children prefer to use English when given the choice because they say "it's easier". But why should this be so?

Benefits of the English Language - short, concise
Any English text printed next to its translation in another language is shorter. The second language usually needs a few more lines of text to convey the same content. The reason is that the English language has shorter words, a vast vocabulary, lager than most other languages, and therefore allows communication to take place in the shortest possible and most directly meaningful way. Compare the three columns in the picture below.

The relative shortness of English versus other languages is evident.
The relative shortness of English versus other languages is evident.

So What s the Big Secret?

The link between English and so many other languages lies in word endings. The last syllable in thousands of words are virtually the same in English as in French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Romanian, and several other related languages like Filipino etc. Let us begin by looking at words ending on "-ion".

Common suffixes denote a shared vocabulary.
Common suffixes denote a shared vocabulary.

Words Ending in –ion or –able –ible

In all Latin based languages, With a distinct difference in pronunciation, a slight difference in spelling, and where they are placed in a sentence most words that end on

  • -ion
  • -able or
  • -ible

are the same or very similar. Let us put this to the test with a few examples.

Levitation has magical connotations
La levitación tiene connotaciones mágicas
La lévitation a des connotations magiques
Levitazione ha connotazione magiche
Adorable babies touch emotions
Los bebés adorables tocan emociones
Les bébés adorables touchent les émotions
Bambini adorabili toccano emozioni
Inflation is not always detectable
La inflación no siempre es detectable
L'inflation n'est pas toujours détectable
L'inflazione non è sempre rilevabile
Vacations are for rehabilitation
Las vacaciones son para la rehabilitación
Les vacances sont pour la réhabilitation
Le vacanze sono per la riabilitazione
The situation is irrevocable
La situación es irrevocable
La situation est irrévocable
La situazione è irrevocabile
This extension is measurable
Esta extensión es mensurable
Cette extension est mesurable
Questa estensione è misurabile
This apparition is most presentable
Esta aparición es más presentable
Cette apparition est la plus présentable
Questa apparizione è più presentabile
The constitution defines what is acceptable
La constitución define lo que es aceptable
La constitution définit ce qui est acceptable
La Costituzione definisce ciò che è accettabile

From the above examples, it looks like it may be easier to learn several related languages all at once. The saying that the more languages you know, the easier it is to learn a new one is very true. Bu let us stick to word endings. The next category contains all words ending on -ant, -ent, ance, and -ents.



  • -ant
  • -ent
  • -ance
  • -ence



More About Romance (Latin based) Languages


Cognates are words in different languages that

  • look the same
  • sound the same
  • mean the same

When I was new to London, aged 25, hardly speaking a word of English, I began to realize that many English words were the same as, or very similar to French. Being fluent in French, my trick was to simply use a French word like for example "journal", and then try to pronounce it in an English fashion. And more often than not, it worked. I later found out that such words are called cognates. The next illustration shows some examples of English/French cognates listed alphabetically.

False Cognates

False Cognates are words in different languages that

  • look the same
  • sound the same
  • do not mean the same

The next short video explains the difference between cognates and false cognates.

Embarrassing Misunderstandings

False cognates often create embarrassing misunderstandings as illustrated by the next unintentional joke.

The Ant in the Beer

“Come here”
The Frenchman waves his arms about in fright and replies,

Adventures of a New Language Learner


The Sauerkraut Story

'Juliette, quickly go to the greengrocers and get me to go and buy some "zuurkool" for dinner but I protested.
I repeated 'zuur'
I copied him and said 'kool'
'Good. Now say "zuurkool"
I said 'zuurkool'

My linguistic ignorance turned cabbage into oxygen.
My linguistic ignorance turned cabbage into oxygen.


When I returned home empty handed, my step father asked,
'Well, where is the sauerkraut?'
'The man in the shop didn't have any koolzuur.'

Meeting My First Cockney

'Wotshlahsst?' he asked.



But enough with funny language stories, let us now add up how many words are already lurking in your brain according to the above revelations.

Add Up the Number of Words You May Already Know


How do you prefer to learn a language?

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Over 9000 words may be the same in your own language. Considering that the average native English speaking adult uses a vocabulary of around 20,000 words, you are almost halfway there without even realising it. Of course it takes more than just vocabulary to learn a language, but now that you know about the suffixes and cognates that English has in common with all Latin based languages, there is surely a lot less to memorise than you expected.


© 2016 Juliette Kando


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