Skip to content
Parlet

Suffixes pattern

The -ty words: -dad in Spanish, -tà in Italian

Abstract nouns — quality, city, university — share one Latin spine across all three languages.

Formula-ty → -dad → -tàFamilySuffixes
quality
calidad
quali

-ty → -dad → -tà

The rule

English abstract nouns ending in -ty almost always come from Latin -tas. Spanish turned that into -dad; Italian into -tà, with a stressed final vowel that always takes an accent.

Quality, university, city, liberty, activity — the rule holds across the whole family. The Italian accent is not decoration; it tells you exactly where the stress lands.

More words this unlocks

city
ciudad
cit

-ty → -dad → -tà

university
universidad
universi

-ty → -dad → -tà

Related patterns

See the next one refract

Parlet teaches you to read Spanish and Italian together, one pattern at a time. Every lesson ends with one prompt and two answers — you can’t pass by knowing just one language.

Coming to the App Store

Browse all patterns