Spanish words ending in -ncia (from English -nce)
English -nce nouns keep their Latin vowel in Spanish and end in -ncia: distance → distancia, experience → experiencia, importance → importancia. The English spelling even tells you which vowel to use.
How the rule works
- -ance becomes -ancia; -ence becomes -encia. The vowel carries over.
- All are feminine: la distancia, la experiencia.
- Stress lands on the vowel before the -ncia: dis-TAN-cia. No accent needed.
- The i is pronounced, making one more syllable than the English word: ex-pe-RIEN-cia.
Start with these
- experience → experiencia
- evidence → evidencia
- science → ciencia
- conference → conferencia
- difference → diferencia
- distance → distancia
Every verified word in this family (144)
Each pair below was checked on both sides: the Spanish 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.
- absence→ausenciaLatin absentia
- abstinence→abstinenciaLatin abstinentia
- abundance→abundanciaLatin abundantia
- adherence→adherenciaLatin adhaerentia
- adolescence→adolescencia
- ambivalence→ambivalencia
- ambulance→ambulancia
- appearance→aparienciaLatin apparentia
- arrogance→arroganciaLatin arrogantia
- assistance→asistencia
- audience→audienciaLatin audientia
- beneficence→beneficencia
- benevolence→benevolencia
- cadence→cadenciaLatin cadentia
- capacitance→capacitancia
- clemence→clemencia
- coherence→coherenciaLatin cohaerentia
- complacence→complacencia
- concordance→concordancia
- concupiscence→concupiscencia
- concurrence→concurrencia
- conference→conferenciaLatin cōnferentia
- congruence→congruencia
- conscience→concienciaLatin cōnscientia
- consequence→consecuencia
- consistence→consistencia
- consonance→consonancia
- constance→constancia
- continence→continencia
- convenience→conveniencia
- convergence→convergencia
- corpulence→corpulencia
- correspondence→correspondencia
- decadence→decadencia
- deference→deferencia
- dehiscence→dehiscencia
- dependence→dependencia
- difference→diferenciaLatin differentia
- diligence→diligenciaLatin dīligentia
- discordance→discordancia
- distance→distanciaLatin distantia
- divergence→divergencia
- dominance→dominancia
- elegance→elegancia
- emergence→emergenciaLatin emergens ‘emergentem’
- eminence→eminencia
- equidistance→equidistancia
- equivalence→equivalencia
- essence→esenciaLatin essentia
- evidence→evidenciaLatin ēvidentia
- existence→existenciaLatin exsistentia
- experience→experienciaLatin experientia ‘knowledge; experience’
- extravagance→extravagancia
- exuberance→exuberancia
- flatulence→flatulencia
- florescence→florescencia
- fluence→fluencia
- fluorescence→fluorescencia
- France→Francia
- ignorance→ignoranciaLatin ignōrantia
- impedance→impedancia
- importance→importancia
- impudence→impudencia
- incandescence→incandescencia
- incidence→incidencia
- independence→independencia
- indigence→indigencia
- indulgence→indulgenciaLatin indulgentia
- inference→inferencia
- influence→influenciaLatin īnfluentia
- inheritance→herencia
- innocence→inocenciaLatin innocentia ‘innocentia’
- insistence→insistencia
- insolence→insolencia
- instance→instanciaLatin īnstantia
- insurgence→insurgencia
- intelligence→inteligencia
- interference→interferencia
- jurisprudence→jurisprudencia
- licence→licencia
- magnificence→magnificencia
- malevolence→malevolencia
- militance→militancia
- munificence→munificencia
- negligence→negligenciaLatin negligentia
- obedience→obedienciaLatin oboedientia
- observance→observancia
- obsolescence→obsolescencia
- omnipotence→omnipotencia
- omnipresence→omnipresencia
- omniscience→omnisciencia
- opalescence→opalescencia
- opulence→opulencia
- patience→pacienciaLatin patientia
- penitence→penitenciaLatin paenitentia
- permanence→permanencia
- perseverance→perseverancia
- persistence→persistencia
- pertinence→pertinencia
- pestilence→pestilencia
- petulance→petulancia
- precedence→precedencia
- preexistence→preexistencia
- preference→preferencia
- preponderance→preponderancia
- prescience→presciencia
- presence→presenciaLatin praesentia
- prominence→prominencia
- protuberance→protuberancia
- provenience→proveniencia
- providence→providenciaLatin prōvidentia
- province→provincia
- prudence→prudenciaLatin prūdentia
- recurrence→recurrenciaLatin recurrentia
- reference→referencia
- relevance→relevancia
- reminiscence→reminiscencia
- repugnance→repugnancia
- residence→residenciaLatin residēns ‘residing’
- resilience→resiliencia
- resistance→resistenciaLatin resistentia
- resonance→resonanciaLatin resonantia
- reticence→reticencia
- reverence→reverenciaLatin reverentia
- sapience→sapiencia
- science→cienciaLatin scientia
- sentence→sentenciaLatin sententia
- sequence→secuenciaLatin sequēns
- somnolence→somnolencia
- subsistence→subsistencia
- substance→sustanciaLatin substantia
- surveillance→vigilanciaLatin vigilantia
- teleconference→teleconferencia
- tolerance→toleranciaLatin tolerantia
- transcendence→transcendencia
- transference→transferencia
- truculence→truculencia
- turbulence→turbulenciaLatin turbulentia
- valence→valencia
- vehemence→vehemencia
- videoconference→videoconferencia
- vigilance→vigilanciaLatin vigilantia
- violence→violencia
- virulence→virulencia
FAQ
How do I know whether it is -ancia or -encia?
Copy the English vowel. Importance → importancia, preference → preferencia. It is one of the most reliable spelling cues in the language.
Are these words as common in Spanish as in English?
More so, if anything — Spanish uses this abstract-noun family freely in everyday speech, not just in formal writing.
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