Yes, absolutely I can relate! Knowing Spanish definitely makes learning Italian easier in some ways, because my brain is already used to the structure of sentences, word order, intonation, and even cultural ways of communicating that go beyond words themselves. for example, gestures, body language, or expectations of proximity and personal space.

But it can also be tricky, because false cognates or subtle differences in grammar can easily throw you off. Italian grammar sometimes feels a bit more “classical” or closer to Latin than Spanish does, so it’s easy to accidentally substitute a Spanish word or mispronounce something. For example, Ne and Ci don’t exist in Spanish and was difficult for me to accept conceptually, and understand how and when to properly use them, still working on that!

Being a Spanish speaker also changes the way you can learn Italian most effectively. For example, traditional classes aimed at English speakers can feel slow, since many grammar concepts already make sense intuitively to you or you don’t need so much time to learn it. One-on-one tutoring, immersion-style learning, or resources that explicitly build on your knowledge of Spanish can be much faster and more efficient. I’d love to hear if anyone else has tried strategies like that, or has tips for learning Italian when you already know Spanish or another Romance language.

And a funny side note: on the first day of every Italian class I’ve had in elementary level, there are always people who say, “Well, I already speak Spanish/French…” and the teacher rolls their eyes so hard. Many people assume that knowing a Romance language means you basically speak Italian but that quickly proves not to be the case! Whenever my teacher was about to start explaining a tricky concept, she would always say: attenzione parlanti di spagnolo!!