distinguir

/distinˈɡiɾ/ · B2 · verb

to make out, manage to see, hear etc.

🔍 Cognate of distinguish: Latin dis- (apart) + stinguere (to prick, to mark)

Drop the -sh from distinguish and add the -ir verb ending to get distinguir. The Latin root meant to mark things with pricks so you could tell them apart. The gu is hard, like in guitarra, so say dees-teen-GEER.

More Spanish words · How Spanish works