Cognate 同源詞 (同源词)

tóngyuáncí · from Latin

What is a cognate?

A cognate is a word sharing a common origin with a word in another language, like English night and German Nacht, or Sino-derived words across East Asia.

Cognates are learners' best shortcut. Thanks to Classical Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Vietnamese share thousands of Sino-xenic cognates with Chinese, even though the languages are unrelated. Sound correspondences make them recognisable once you know the patterns.

Examples

準備 zhǔnbèi / じゅんび junbi / 준비 junbi / chuẩn bị (prepare); 學生 xuésheng / gakusei / 학생 haksaeng / học sinh (student); night / Nacht

Kungfucius says: Learn one Chinese word, get three cousins in Japanese, Korean and Vietnamese free.