Written by Gabriela Estrada

Did you know that there are more than 2,000 French words in the Spanish dictionary and more than 6,000 words that show the influence of French in slang or scientific language?

Without a doubt, a Spanish speaker can learn French quickly from scratch (although some may find it difficult or simplistic), as our beautiful and rich Spanish vocabulary shares an interesting common heritage with French, as both languages have Latin roots. 

In fact, there are words so similar that sometimes even a beginner can deduce what he reads in a simple text thanks to this shared root. Believe me, yes! That's why I decided to write this new article of our blog about languages for immigration purposes for Canada. Join me in the reading until the end to learn a bit of that historical context that unites us and makes it easy to move from our mother tongue Spanish to French as a second language. I will also leave you with some everyday vocabulary that is very easy to understand. Let's get started!

Once upon a time there were two similar languages

French and Spanish share a common heritage: both languages evolved from the Vulgar Latin spoken in Roman times, which is why they are called Romance languages. Spanish was born in the villages and popular communes of Hispania (Iberian Peninsula) from the colloquial Latin spoken by the Romans. With the decline of the Roman Empire, this language became stronger and more present, mixed with other dialects of the region, such as Celtic and Iberian, and became the basis of our current Spanish.

In the case of French, the same thing happened, except that it originated in the region of France during the Middle Ages with the same roots in the Iberian Peninsula and the enrichment of its vocabulary from local regions. Both dialects were nourished by cultural and linguistic influences, but French was consolidated before Spanish as an official and literary language.

Therefore, many Spanish and French words have similar Latin roots. This is seen a lot in scientific, medical, religious and general cultural terminology. 

Now on to some similar terms!

Similar words in French and Spanish

If you are already living in Canada (where both English and French are spoken) or are about to come, you will be able to identify some familiar words in the supermarket, for example: 

• Apples: in French, they are pommes.
• Oranges: they are called oranges.
• Pineapples: in French, ananas.
• Watermelons: here, we call them pasteques.
• avocados: in French, avocats.
• Bananas: they are called bananas.

But there are other even more familiar words, here they go:

• Fleurflower.
• Hôtel: hotel.
• Musique: music.
• Restaurant: restaurant.
• Chocolat: chocolate.

Of course, there are much more complex words and we have not mentioned grammatical structures, verb tenses, etc., but the fact that both languages have so many similarities is what makes learning so much easier.

Important: if you want to find out your level of French instantly, you can take our free test free test.

Constant practice improves fluency in French

While it is interesting to discover the similarities between these two languages and use them to communicate in French, it is also true that you need to study the new language in a more immersive way. Here, I suggest that in your quest to explore this Romance language so similar to Spanish, you connect with other French language enthusiasts. Here are the courses we offer at Planeta Immiland.

Learn French with Planeta Immiland Education

Our language school offers online French programs with courses from scratch. The student will be able to learn at a comfortable and constant pace for 8 weeks per level. 

Beginners can start with the course DÉBUTANTAt this level we focus on the teaching-learning process so that students can understand and communicate in simple everyday situations, such as introducing themselves, understanding public announcements, participating in easy word exchanges in stores or restaurants, and writing short and simple messages. Buy course.

Then, we have the following three levels for those who are acquiring the language, these are:

• COURSE 2 - ÉLÉMENTAIRE
• COURSE 3 - PRÉ INTERMÉDIARE
• COURSE 4 - INTERMÉDIAIRE

With each level, the student builds the foundation of French as a second language, the best part is that Planet Immiland is based on Canadian standards of education and migration and can open their horizons towards a new life in Canada!

If you want to learn English or French with us, you can write us at [email protected]I also invite you to explore our website and follow us on the social networks located at the end of the blog.

That's as far as I'll keep you company for today. Thank you for reading and good luck with your French learning!

With love,

Planeta Immiland Education