Here are some terms that are exactly the same in English as
they are in a few other languages.
First of all, to describe something as banal is to express
the sentiment that the object of your conversation is to some extent trivial,
rather mundane or indeed commonplace or lacking any form of originality. Banal
is written exactly the same way but with minor pronunciation differences in
Spanish, Portuguese, German and French, and it is the latter language that not only gave
us this word in the first place but also its definition of commonplace. In
French, the term referred to military service which was mandatory throughout
France and thus applied to every citizen. Hence its use to describe something
as commonplace.
Another term common to more than just English, and also derived
from French, more specifically Middle French, is suave. It is used to refer to
someone, typically a male, who has a smooth and sophisticated manner about him,
and generally has the meaning of agreeable or polite. When it originally
entered the language from Middle French, which itself derived from the Latin suavis,
it meant gracious or kindly. This word is exactly the same in Spanish,
Portuguese and modern French, with only Spanish pronouncing the final “e” to
create a second syllable.
Our third term is verbal and this too is exactly the same
not only in French, Spanish and Portuguese but also in German. Verbal refers to
something consisting of, expressed in, or pertaining to words. Furthermore, in
grammar, verbal is used to denote that something is derived from or pertains to
a verb. The word also has another sense, as in word for word or verbatim.
Finally, a cheque, albeit “check” in US English, is the
same word in Spanish, French and Portuguese and each of these languages equally
use it to refer to that piece of paper you complete and sign to draw funds from
a back account or to place money into an account. Interestingly, in Australia and
New Zealand, a cheque can be a worker’s wages or the total payment for
contracted labour.
Translations2u is a specialist provider of French translation, German translation, Portuguese to English and English to Portuguese, as well as Spanish to English and English to Spanish translation in addition to numerous other language pairs.
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