Is Catalan similar to Spanish?

Spanish and Catalan are both Romance languages, which means that they share certain similarities in terms of grammar, syntax and vocabulary. In terms of vocabulary, some words are similar enough to recognize them. They are different languages, and they are not mutually intelligible. Most Catalan speakers know Spanish, so in practice it's not an issue for them, but Spanish speakers who didn't learn Catalan cannot understand spoken Catalan at all, even though they appear quite similar in writing. Catalan has a more extensive and intricate verbal conjugation system compared to Spanish. It also retains more Latin features, making it closer to its ancient roots. Catalan also preserves the neuter gender for nouns, which Spanish has lost. Word Stress: Catalan has less predictable word stress than Spanish.