Esperanto gets its word roots from many different languages, including English. This means there are numerous Esperanto words which are very similar to English and this will help you learn Esperanto words much faster (words that a very similar are called cognates).
However, do you know what is even better than words that are similar to English? Well, words that are written identical in both English and Esperanto of course!
Since Esperanto has affixes on the end of words, words ending with an affix such as ‘-o’ are most likely to be identical to English. Here are 6 words ending in ‘-o’ that are the same in English and Esperanto.
Kendo
Not all Esperanto words are of European origin. If you hadn’t already guessed by this post’s image, the word Kendo is the same in English and Esperanto
Kendo is a Japanese martial art that uses wooden swords. Both the Esperanto and English word are derived from the Japanese word ‘kendō‘ (剣道) , which means ‘way of the sword’.
| Word | Example Esperanto Sentence | Example English Sentence |
|---|---|---|
| Kendo | Kendo estas japana luktoarto | Kendo is a Japanese martial art |
Placebo
A placebo is a treatment given to someone that is deliberately ineffective. This is sometimes done in order to fool the recipient into thinking it’s effective, thereby triggering the placebo effect (placeboefiko).
| Word | Example Esperanto Sentence | Example English Sentence |
|---|---|---|
| Placebo | La placebo estas sekreto | The placebo is a secret |
Toronto
Toronto is the most populous city in Canada and has lots of Esperanto speakers. The Canadian Esperanto association has a page with information about Esperanto meet-ups in Toronto.
| Word | Example Esperanto Sentence | Example English Sentence |
|---|---|---|
| Toronto | Mi alvenis en Toronto | I arrived in Toronto |
Mango
A mango is a tasty tropical fruit. Mangos are the tastiest fruit that have identical spelling in Esperanto and English.
| Word | Example Esperanto Sentence | Example English Sentence |
|---|---|---|
| Mango | La mango estis bongusta | The mango was tasty |
Tomato
The tomato is the 2nd tastiest fruit with the same Esperanto and English spelling. A common misconception about tomatoes is that they are vegetables, but they are in fact a fruit.
| Word | Example Esperanto Sentence | Example English Sentence |
|---|---|---|
| Tomato | La tomato estas ruĝa | The tomato is red |
Esperanto
Yes this one is a cheat, but I included it anyway! English as well as many other languages use the exact word ‘Esperanto’ for the name of the language Zamenhof created in 1887. Other languages include: Spanish, Turkish and Vietnamese.
| Word | Example Esperanto Sentence | Example English Sentence |
|---|---|---|
| Esperanto | Esperanto estas la plej bona lingvo | Esperanto is the best language |
Conclusion
Learning new vocabulary is a large part of learning a new language. The fact that there are identical words out there means you are essentially getting those words for free, which will help you make progress much faster.
There are many other identical words I have not included in this short list. If you know any more identical words please feel free to reply on social media.
