Learn Spanish With Etymology & Similar Sounding Words in English, French & Other Languages

I have been learning Spanish on Duolingo every day for nearly a year, since June 2025 in preparation for a trip including the island of Tenerife in the Canaries.

Before starting the Duolingo course, over the years I had bought many books on learning Spanish. Today in May 2026 I picked up my old large size book Usborne First Hundred words in Spanish sticker book.

My French is much more fluent. I can look around a room and talk to myself, giving a running commentary on everything which I see, and my reactions. For example, 'I am in the kitchen. Je suis dans la cuisine, by the table, près de la table. the tablecloth is green. It is late and it is dark.' When I don't know a word, in French or German or Italian, I look it up. My Spanish is slower.

Usborne First Hundred Words

When I looked through my Usborne book I was surprised and delighted to find that after reading it through once, reminding me of words I half knew, I could race along matches the |English and Spanish words, with the help of the pictures to speed up the matching.

I could quickly remind myself with a new memory aid of about six words, three sets of three, which |I forgot or muddled up. 

I also made up some memory aids for two new words.

My search for the origins of Spanish words threw across my screen what was to me a new website. So now I am reassured that other learners and teachers are doing the same thing and help is available online.

Tomorrow I shall list the words I found difficult to learn and the memory aids which made it easier.

Challenging words were the Spanish for apple, banana, bottom, doll, duck, hat, marmalade, socks, teddy bear. See what you come up with, then check back for my solutions tomorrow.

Useful Books For Learning Spanish

First Hundred Words in Spanish sticker book ISBN 9 780746 05 1085

Useful Websites for learning Spanish, French, German - and English!
duolingo.com

 https://buenospanish.com/

reverso

https://dictionary.reverso.net/french-english/

https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/mu%C3%B1eca

Spanish and Italian Restaurant words - part 1

 Spanish is one of the easiest languages, as well as requiring the least number of hours to learn. But you find more Italian restaurants and food. Pizza, Prosecco, spagetti, Ferrero Rocher.

I learned Italian for a year on Duolingo. Then I switched to Spanish. But I had started to forget the Italian. Should I go back to learning Italian? Duolingo offered me Italian for Spanish speakers and Spanish for Italian speakers. Since I am learning Spanish now, I chose Italian for Spanish speakers. Here are some handy words in both languages.

Spanish - Italian - English

adios - arrivederci - goodbye

amigos - amici - friends

buenas noches - buonasera - good evening

de nada - prego - you're welcome

 donde esta el bano - dove il bagno - where is the toilet

gracias - grazie - thank you

uno does tres - uno due tre - one two three

Perfecto -  perfetto - perfect

por favor - per favore - please

Yo soy de - io sono di - I am from

English - Spanish - Italian

friends - amigos - amici

goodbye - adios - arrivederci

I am from - yo soy de - io sono di

one, two, three - uno, dos, tres - uno, due, tre

perfect - perfecto - perfetto

please - por favor - per favore

Thank you - gracias - grazie 

you're welcome - de nada - prego

good evening - - buenas noches - buonasera

where is the toilet - donde esta el bano - dove il bagno

Italian - Spanish - English

amici - amigos - friends

arrivederci - adios - goodbye

buonasera - buenas noches - good evening

donde esta el bano - dove il bagno - where is the toilet? 

grazie - gracias - thank you

io sono di - yo soy de - I am from

prego - de nada - you're welcome

per favore - por favor - please

perfetto - perfecto - perfect

uno due tre - uno dos tres - one two three

Useful Translations, dictionaries and Websites for Spanish and Italian

duolingo

google translate

https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Italian_phrasebook

https://en.wikivoyage.org/w/index.php?title=Spanish_phrasebook

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Practise Speaking Spanish & Other Languages On Duolingo

 I used to avoid  extra options on Duolingo. I would stick to racing through the learning exercises. Then I realised I could read but not speak. I have made two changes.

1 In the guide section, I click on the microphone symbol and repeat the word aloud after I hear it. I do this three times, until I can say it without hesitating nor stammering.

2 I do the practise speaking exercise.

3 I read the news in Spanish. So I am learning up to date jargon. Also I read articles of interest to me and don't get bored.

I am learning Spanish. The written and spoken Spanish on Duolingo is for the majority of their learners, on the American continent, not Spain in Europe. I am in Europe and planning a holiday next year to Tenerife.

Listening Skills For Spanish

I shall want to understand announcements at the airport.

I shall want to hear if the people ahead of me in a queue (Americans say line) are saying hello, goodbye, , so I am ready to move forwards, and if the airline staff are saying no seats, no tickets, security or taxis on the right, whatever.

On holiday I shall want to understand the radio. I might listen to the radio played by the taxi driver. I might also be tuning in when we are driving ourselves on a fly-drive holiday.

However, the South American or Mexican Spanish is still useful to me.

1 I use it for reading online.

2 I shall use it for reading street signs.

3 At least half a sentence understood is better than nothing.

4 At my Toastmasters meeting there are two Spanish speakers. One is from Europe, Spain, and the other is from Venezuela.

Useful Websites For Learning Spanish

duolingo.com

https://www.newsinslowspanish.com

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Lingaphone Spanish, Duolingo, Earworms, which is Latin American and which is standard Spanish?

 If you are  not good at spelling and don't want to mispronounce, an easy way to learn Spanish is from recordings. I have been using my discs from Earoworms, which was made by Berlitz, and Lingaphone.

Lingaphone

I played Lingaphone discs in the car. This enabled me to get my husband to listen as well. He would not listen with me at home. He was too busy. But when I played my discs in the car he had no choice. He had to listen. That made sure his learning was keeping pace with mine.

I was puzzled as to which kind of Spanish each system was teaching you.

Duolingo

I am daily using Duolingo. This seems to be aimed at Latin American Spanish because Duolingo has more American learners. Their devotees in the USA outnumber those in the UK, because the USA, which I used to think of as just a country, is actually a continent. This is obvious, as soon as you look at it. Whether you look at the size of it on the map, or the statistics of the populations, or compare the numbers of countries where you can speak each kind of Spanish. English learners can visit Spain, and Spanish islands such as Majorca, Minorca, Tenerife. Americans can visit Mexico, Caribbean islands, and several countries in South America, the old favourite nearest being in the north of south America, Venezuela, as well as Argentina, Chile, Peru, and several more.

Spanish Helping With Portuguese

In Europe standard Spanish helped me understand Portuguese in Portugal. Also the Portuguese speaking island of Madeira.

Spanish can also help you in the Americas, with Portuguese in Brazil, which is Portuguese speaking, with a proportion of the population speaking Spanish as a second language, or even a first language.

In addition, so many people from Mexico and South America are in North America, that many places have bilingual signs in English and Spanish, which helps you to learn Spanish.

So Duolingo has a good reason for concentrating on Latin American English. I wish they would give more hints as to the variations in each part of the world. Especially if I am using Google translate as  a help when I am stuck.

I really don't mind which country's Spanish I am learning. Anything is better than nothing. I can note the minor differences in vocabulary, as well as pronunciation, later. You pick up local language and pronunciation in the country by copying what you hear when you eventually get there. Or if you are already there.

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Learn Two Languages. Words which are the same in Spanish and Italian

Flags

So many countries, so many different languages. Learning all, even several, seems a daunting task. How about learning two languages at the same time? Two similar languages. Spanish and Italian. Spanish and Portuguese.

 This year (2025) I am learning Spanish on the app Duolingo, on my laptop, and my mobile phone. Last year I was learning Italian. Many words in Spanish and Italian sound similar. To save time, which words are the same? Today I came across the word teatro. I am not the only person who has wondered.

You could pair the words you learn by subject matter. For example, months of the year, Marzo for March, and agosto for August. 

However, I have listed the words alphabetically. That is easier when making lists.

Spanish + Italian - English

agosto - August

casa - house

hotel - hotel

lago - lake

libro - book

Marzo - March

no - no

problema - problem

si - yes

teatro - theatre

uno - one

vino - wine

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Useful websites