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Italian words that are spelled the same as English

Italian borrowed a stack of words from English and shares far more with it through Latin, so a surprising number arrive with no spelling change at all: hotel, bar, sport, film, computer. Italian pronunciation, however, insists on sounding every letter you can see.

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Every verified word in this family (122)

Each pair below was checked on both sides: the Italian word exists in a spell-checker and a frequency list, and the meaning was cross-checked rather than assumed from the spelling. Tap 🔊 to hear it.

  1. acne→acne
  2. album→albumLatin album
  3. aloe→aloeLatin aloē
  4. anaconda→anaconda
  5. antenna→antennaLatin antenna
  6. assist→assistEnglish assist
  7. automobile→automobileLatin mōbilis
  8. avocado→avocado
  9. badminton→badmintonEnglish badminton
  10. bagel→bagel
  11. ballerina→ballerina
  12. banana→banana
  13. banjo→banjo
  14. barista→barista
  15. baseball→baseballEnglish baseball
  16. bikini→bikiniFrench bikini
  17. binder→binderEnglish binder
  18. bipartisan→bipartisanEnglish bipartisan
  19. boa→boaLatin boa
  20. boomerang→boomerang
  21. bra→bra
  22. brownie→brownie
  23. bulldog→bulldogEnglish bulldog
  24. bunker→bunkerEnglish bunker
  25. burrito→burrito
  26. cactus→cactus
  27. campus→campus
  28. casino→casinò
  29. champagne→champagneLatin campania
  30. cheesecake→cheesecakeEnglish cheesecake
  31. cinema→cinemaAncient Greek kínēma
  32. clown→clownEnglish clown
  33. cobra→cobraLatin colubra
  34. collage→collage
  35. computer→computerEnglish computer
  36. costume→costumeLatin consuetudo
  37. coyote→coyoteEnglish coyote
  38. cracker→crackerEnglish cracker
  39. curry→curryEnglish curry
  40. emu→emùEnglish emu
  41. fertile→fertileLatin fertilis ‘fertilem’
  42. film→filmEnglish film
  43. fragile→fragileLatin fragilis
  44. freezer→freezerEnglish freezer
  45. futile→futileLatin fūtilis ‘futile, worthless’
  46. garage→garageFrench garage
  47. golf→golfEnglish golf
  48. gong→gong
  49. gorilla→gorilla
  50. hamburger→hamburger
  51. hangar→hangar
  52. hotel→hotelLatin hospitālis
  53. iceberg→icebergEnglish iceberg
  54. iris→irisLatin iris
  55. jockey→jockey
  56. jogging→joggingEnglish jogging
  57. kebab→kebabArabic kabāb ‘fried meat’
  58. ketchup→ketchupEnglish ketchup
  59. kiwi→kiwi
  60. koala→koalaEnglish koala
  61. lasagna→lasagnaLatin lasanum
  62. laser→laserEnglish laser
  63. lava→lavaLatin lābēs ‘a fall; a collapse; subsidence’
  64. machete→machete
  65. magma→magmaLatin magma
  66. magnolia→magnolia
  67. mango→mangoEnglish mango
  68. martini→martini
  69. mascara→mascaraEnglish mascara
  70. mediocre→mediocre
  71. menu→menù
  72. meteorite→meteorite
  73. motel→motelEnglish motel
  74. mozzarella→mozzarella
  75. noodle→noodleEnglish noodle
  76. online→onlineEnglish online
  77. orchestra→orchestraAncient Greek orkhḗstra
  78. pancreas→pancreas
  79. panda→pandaFrench panda
  80. pasta→pastaLatin pasta
  81. patio→patio
  82. picnic→picnicEnglish picnic
  83. pizza→pizza
  84. placenta→placentaLatin placenta ‘cake’
  85. pony→ponyEnglish pony
  86. porridge→porridge
  87. poster→posterEnglish poster
  88. primate→primate
  89. pub→pubEnglish pub
  90. pus→pusLatin pūs
  91. radar→radarEnglish radar
  92. radio→radio
  93. robot→robotFrench robot
  94. saliva→salivaLatin salīva
  95. samurai→samuraiJapanese さむらい, samurai
  96. satellite→satelliteLatin satelles ‘satellitem’
  97. sauna→sauna
  98. scanner→scannerEnglish scanner
  99. server→serverEnglish server
  100. smartphone→smartphoneEnglish smartphone
  101. soda→sodaArabic suwaydāʔ
  102. sterile→sterileLatin sterilis
  103. taxi→taxi
  104. tiara→tiaraLatin tiāra
  105. timer→timerEnglish timer
  106. toast→toastEnglish toast
  107. tofu→tofu
  108. tornado→tornadoEnglish tornado
  109. torso→torsoLatin thyrsus
  110. trance→tranceEnglish trance
  111. tutu→tutù
  112. tweed→tweed
  113. ukulele→ukulele
  114. versatile→versatileLatin versātilis
  115. video→videoEnglish video
  116. videotape→videotapeEnglish videotape
  117. villa→villaLatin vīlla ‘country house’
  118. viola→violaLatin viola
  119. yacht→yachtEnglish yacht
  120. yak→yak
  121. yogurt→yogurt
  122. zoo→zoo

Traps in this family

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FAQ

Do Italian plurals of English words take -s?
No. Unadapted loanwords are invariable: un film → due film. Adding -s is one of the most audible learner mistakes.

Is the stress the same as in English?
Often not. Italian usually stresses the second-to-last syllable, so sport is fine but longer borrowings can shift.

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