palabras difíciles
/palabɾas difiθiles/from spelling rules
The English phrase "hard words" is translated into Spanish as palabras difíciles.
To express a similar meaning of complexity, you can also use the phrase palabras complicadas.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of palabras (words) and difíciles (difficult/hard).
How does it change in a sentence?
The singular form of the phrase, meaning "hard word", is palabra difícil.
How do you pronounce it?
/palabɾas difiθiles/
Did you know?
- In Spanish, the word palabra does not just mean 'word' but can also mean 'promise'. If someone says tengo mi palabra, they are saying 'I give you my word' in a binding sense.
- The word palabra comes from the Vulgar Latin parabola, which originally referred to a comparison or a parable rather than a simple unit of language.
- While palabras difíciles refers to complexity, if you want to say someone is being 'harsh' or 'mean' with their words, you would say they are using palabras duras.
Examples in context
- Los idiomas tienen palabras difíciles.Languages have hard words.Tatoeba #5974978 by diegohn, translation #5974979 by diegohn
- Ese examen tenía palabras difíciles.That exam had hard words.
- No entiendo estas palabras difíciles.I do not understand these hard words.
Example conversation
Elena and Mateo are studying a textbook together.
- ElenaMateo, este libro tiene palabras difíciles.Mateo, this book has hard words.
- MateoEs verdad, Elena, es muy complicado.It is true, Elena, it is very complicated.
- Elena¿Quieres buscar el significado de las palabras difíciles?Do you want to look up the meaning of the hard words?
- MateoSí, por favor, sería una buena idea.Yes, please, that would be a good idea.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
