Before discussing the many similarities between Spanish and French, I would like to share my observations on some of their differences.

Learning Spanish it made me realize that I couldn't pronounce certain sounds like the “g” that clears my throat or the “rr” that rolls. These two sounds are always very difficult for me to pronounce. They do not exist in the French language and are very difficult for some French people, like me, to understand.

I also had problems using the verbs "to be" and "to be", because in French these two verbs are said the same, be, while in Spanish they are used differently. The verb "to be" indicates a permanent character of a person, something immutable (eg: I am French = I am French). For its part, the verb "to be" allows to locate in space and time and indicates the provisional state of a person (eg: I am tired = I'm tired). So I keep confusing the two because our French language doesn't make the distinction between the two.

Another notable difference between the two languages ​​is the presence of the tonic accent, typical of Spanish, which contributes to making it more musical and melodic. This makes Spanish a pleasant language to listen to for foreigners.

Fortunately, the two languages ​​have many similarities, allowing a Frenchman to learn Spanish faster than a German, for example.

These are two Romance languages ​​that have words derived from Latin. Thus, a large number of words have the same root and are therefore easy to recognize. Therefore, anyone who speaks French already has a Spanish vocabulary made up of many words. For example, French words ending in -tion/-ion have their twin in Spanish, such as “disposition”, “revolución”, etc. However, one must always be careful with so-called fake friends: those words that appear to have the same meaning because they sound similar in both languages, but actually refer to very different things.

Another similarity, and no less important, is that the two languages ​​have the same 26-letter alphabet. They are the same letters, so it is easier for a French who is learning Spanish assimilate this language at the same time as writing it.

Also, feminine nouns in French are very often feminine in Spanish, just like masculine nouns. This makes it possible for one to almost never be mistaken about the use of the genre. However, there are exceptions to take into account, such as "language" which means language and which therefore uses a different definite article.

Finally, regarding the conjugation, the french and spanish each have three groups of verbs. French has verbs ending in er/ir and re and Spanish has verbs ending in ar/er and ir. The conjugation is therefore more understandable for a Frenchman who is learning Spanish, and vice versa.

To close this article, I would like to share with you 10 tips that helped me to learn Spanish faster:

• Take Spanish lessons to learn the basics of grammar/conjugation.
• Watch series and movies in Spanish.
• Read books in Spanish that you already know in your language.
• Dare to speak even if you are wrong.
• Listen to music in Spanish.
• Translate song lyrics in Spanish.
• Listen to the people who speak Spanish around you.
• Participate in language exchange nights.
• Listen to local radio and television.
• Record your vocabulary in a notebook.

This article was originally written in French by our student Emma Lanceau. We also have examples of "Fake friends" between French and Spanish.

Like Emma, ​​you too can come to Colombia to learn Spanish. Tell us about some of the peculiarities of your language in info@nuevalengua.com and we will give you more information about the plans that Nueva Lengua It has for you.