How similar is Italian vocabulary to English
Italian and English vocabulary share a notable number of similarities, primarily due to their common Latin roots and historical language interactions. Although Italian is a Romance language and English is Germanic, about 60% of English vocabulary has Latin origin, much of it introduced via Old French after the Norman Conquest of England in 1066. This shared Latin influence results in many cognates—words that look similar and have the same meaning—in both languages.
Examples of Italian-English cognates include words like “nature” (natura), “station” (stazione), and “necessary” (necessario), where English and Italian share similar spellings and meanings. Moreover, many Italian words have been directly borrowed into English, especially in areas like music (e.g., piano, solo), art, cuisine (e.g., pizza, mozzarella), and culture (e.g., mafia, paparazzi). 1, 2, 3, 4
In summary, English vocabulary overlaps significantly with Italian vocabulary due to shared Latin roots and cultural exchanges, making many Italian words recognizable or understandable to English speakers even without prior study.