The lexical similarity between Spanish and Italian is over 80%. That means that 4/5 of the two languages' words are similar but does not mean that they are necessarily mutually intelligible to native speakers due to additional differences in pronunciation and syntax. read more
Italian and Spanish swear they can understand each other and in many respects they do to some degree. In fact, most Spanish and Italian speakers think of French and Portuguese as very different languages then that of their own. The reason why spanish and Italian are so similar has to do with the history of both Spain and Italy and the culture. read more
Spanish and Italian are quite similar as they are both originated from Latin. Some words in Spanish are the same in Italian. An Italian can understand a Spanish person a little bit although they can't understand all the words. read more
Spanish and Italian are both Romance languages. That means that they are derived from Latin which was the language of the Roman Empire. With the collapse of the Roman Empire around the 5th century, dialects of Vulgar Latin started to form over time in some of the Roman territories. read more