Spanish is a very rich language with a lot of vocabulary. So much so that it has a large number of words that are synonymous. If you are learning Spanish, learning synonyms will make it look like you have a much higher level.
Do you know what synonyms are? Could you say a few? In Academia Contacto we tell you what they are and we leave some exercises for you to practice. You'll see how simple it is.
What are synonyms in Spanish?
Synonyms are words that have the same or very similar meanings and belong to the same grammatical category. Therefore, they can be substituted or exchanged within a text and the sentence will have the same meaning.
If you are preparing for the DELE Exam, knowing different synonyms will make your texts richer. You will avoid cacophonies and demonstrate variety and lexical richness. Using synonyms will make it look like you have a more careful language. You will avoid unnecessary repetition of words.
However, to use them properly you will have to know them. You will have to use the synonym at the right time, because otherwise you will not solve language problems. This is a very useful resource for writing texts that must be used intelligently.
Synonyms can have different degrees. Therefore, they can be absolute, partial or contextual synonyms.
- Although not the most common case, absolute synonyms are those that mean exactly the same thing, in any context. This is the case of "dentista” (dentist) and "odontólogo” (dentist).
- Partial synonyms include words that have a relationship of proximity or affinity. In other words, it is only applicable in some cases and not always. This is the case of "alegría” (happy) and "bienestar” (well-being).
- Finally we have the contextual synonyms. These refer to cases where words function as synonyms only in certain contexts. For example, we can say that Juan was very drunk yesterday and today he has a terrible hangover (Juan iba muy borracho ayer y hoy tiene resaca). In this case, hangover (resaca) could be replaced by malaise (malestar). However, the real meaning of “resaca” is "receding waters" and in this case you could not say that the sea has malaise.
Exercise of Spanish synonyms
We give you an exercise to put into practice your knowledge about Spanish synonyms.
- Rápido “Fast” -> célebre, sencillo, cola, bobo, cabello, veloz, delgado, hermoso, danza, raro, victoria, estudiante.
- Triunfo “triumph” -> célebre, sencillo, cola, bobo, cabello, veloz, delgado, hermoso, danza, raro, victoria, estudiante.
- Tonto “silly” -> célebre, sencillo, cola, bobo, cabello, veloz, delgado, hermoso, danza, raro, victoria, estudiante.
- Bonito “Pretty”-> célebre, sencillo, cola, bobo, cabello, veloz, delgado, hermoso, danza, raro, victoria, estudiante.
- Pelo “Hair”-> célebre, sencillo, cola, bobo, cabello, veloz, delgado, hermoso, danza, raro, victoria, estudiante.
- Rabo “tail”-> célebre, sencillo, cola, bobo, cabello, veloz, delgado, hermoso, danza, raro, victoria, estudiante.
- Baile “Dance”-> célebre, sencillo, cola, bobo, cabello, veloz, delgado, hermoso, danza, raro, victoria, estudiante.
- Alumno “student”-> célebre, sencillo, cola, bobo, cabello, veloz, delgado, hermoso, danza, raro, victoria, estudiante.
- Extraño “Strange”-> célebre, sencillo, cola, bobo, cabello, veloz, delgado, hermoso, danza, raro, victoria, estudiante.
- Fácil “easy”-> célebre, sencillo, cola, bobo, cabello, veloz, delgado, hermoso, danza, raro, victoria, estudiante.
- Famoso “famous”-> célebre, sencillo, cola, bobo, cabello, veloz, delgado, hermoso, danza, raro, victoria, estudiante.
- Flaco “skinny“-> célebre, sencillo, cola, bobo, cabello, veloz, delgado, hermoso, danza, raro, victoria, estudiante.
Solution about Spanish synonyms
- Veloz
- Victoria
- Bobo
- Hermoso
- Cabello
- Cola
- Danza
- Estudiante
- Raro
- Sencillo
- Celebre
- Delgado
