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How to Say "latin" in Spanish

English → Spanish

latín

nounA2general
Use this word when referring to the ancient language from which Romance languages like Spanish, French, and Italian evolved.

Examples

El español, el francés y el italiano vienen del latín.

Spanish, French, and Italian come from Latin.

latino

/la-TEE-no//laˈtino/

adjectiveB2general
Use this word as an adjective to describe something that is of Roman origin or related to Latin languages, like Spanish itself.
An ancient Roman stone archway standing under a clear blue sky.

Examples

El español es una lengua latina.

Spanish is a Latin language.

Estudiamos el alfabeto latino en la escuela.

We study the Latin alphabet at school.

Muchos términos médicos tienen raíces latinas.

Many medical terms have Latin roots.

Describing Languages

When talking about languages like Italian, French, or Spanish, we call them 'lenguas latinas' because they come from the language of Ancient Rome.

Latino vs. Latín

Mistake: “Yo estudio latino.”

Correction: Yo estudio latín. Use 'latín' (with an accent) for the actual language name, and 'latino' as a descriptor.

Latín vs. Latino

The most common mistake is using 'latino' when you mean the ancient language. Remember, 'latín' (with an accent) is the noun for the historical language, while 'latino' is an adjective describing origin or relation.

Related Translations

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