"de repente" means "suddenly"?

Question

"repente" just sounds like "repent" to me How does that fit into "suddenly"

There is a good machine translator, Kyle.It works on basic words, please try it! - annierats, Dec 20, 2012

Answer 1

Etymology

From the Latin repent?, suddenly, from repens, sudden

Great link! - rac1, Dec 20, 2012

Thanks much! - rogspax, Dec 20, 2012

:) - Kiwi-Girl, Dec 21, 2012

Answer 2

de golpe also means suddenly, as does de pronto.

De pronto is the one that makes the most sense to my English ear yet I have never heard it used. De repente and de golpe I hear quite often.

Same here Gringo. I think we naturally gravitate towards the ones that are cognates, even if the'y're not the most frequently occurring. - rogspax, Dec 20, 2012

Answer 3

"repente" just sounds like "repent" to me How does that fit into "suddenly"

Seems to be a case of a false cognate. I couldn´t find any verbs related in both sound and meaning to suddenly when I searched for this a while back, so I just accepted it as a pat phrase - o frase hecha.

We learned ´de repente´ for suddenly, but ´de´s seem to get inserted and extracted fast and loose in Spanish.

I´d be interested in the etymology of this word too, but fear I wouldn´t understand a readily available one in Spanish. But if anyone wants to chime in in English, I´m all ears.

Answer 4

Arrepentirse is repent. Repente is suddenly.

I'm not sure what else you are asking.