malentendido
/malentenˈdido/masculine
The Spanish word for 'misunderstanding' is malentendido.
Malentendido is a masculine noun. It is distinct from a general 'error' or 'mistake', which is more broadly referred to as an error. For example, if you want to express a 'disagreement', you would use desacuerdo.
Meaning: mistake (noun)
What does it mean word for word?
The word is formed from the prefix mal-, meaning 'badly' and the past participle of the verb entender, which means 'to understand', resulting in a literal meaning of 'badly understood'.
How does it change in a sentence?
The plural form of malentendido is malentendidos.
How do you pronounce it?
/malentenˈdido/
Did you know?
- If you want to make a malentendido sound small and non-threatening, you can add the diminutive suffix to create malentendidito, which makes the mistake feel much more trivial.
- The word entender shares a common ancestor with the English word 'tension', because both stem from the idea of stretching or straining.
- Spanish speakers often pair malentendido with the verb haber in the phrase ha habido un malentendido, which avoids blaming a specific person for the mistake.
Examples in context
- Ha habido un malentendido.There's been a misunderstanding.This sentence shows how to state that a misunderstanding has occurred.Tatoeba #3775483 by marcelostockle, translation #2541270 by CK
- Debe haber un malentendido.There must be a misunderstanding.This sentence is useful for expressing the necessity of a misunderstanding existing.Tatoeba #1687689 by marcelostockle, translation #1687612 by Spamster
- Creo que fue un malentendido.I think it was a misunderstanding.This sentence is useful for expressing a belief that something was a misunderstanding.Tatoeba #5714216 by arh, translation #5691918 by CK
- Hubo un malentendido en la reunión de negocios.There was a misunderstanding in the business meeting.
- Quiero aclarar el malentendido que ocurrió ayer.I want to clarify the misunderstanding that happened yesterday.
- Tuvimos un pequeño lío con respecto a los horarios.We had a little misunderstanding regarding the schedules.
- Hubo un lío en la comunicación y no entendí lo que dijiste.There was a misunderstanding in the communication and I didn't understand what you said.
- Lo siento, hubo un embrollo con los detalles de la reserva.I'm sorry, there was a misunderstanding about the reservation details.
- No te preocupes, solo fue un embrollo temporal entre nosotros.Don't worry, it was just a temporary misunderstanding between us.
- ¿Podemos aclarar este enredo?Can we clarify this misunderstanding?
- Me metí en un enredo con las direcciones y me perdí.I got into a mix-up with the directions and got lost.
- Había un equívoco en nuestras conversaciones y no nos entendíamos.There was a misunderstanding in our conversations, and we couldn't understand each other.
- Debemos evitar los equívocos y ser más claros en nuestras instrucciones.We must avoid misunderstandings and be clearer in our instructions.
- 20 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Sofía and Daniel are talking about a missed meeting.
- SofíaFue un malentendido con la hora.It was a misunderstanding about the time.
- DanielNo te preocupes, Sofía.Don't worry, Sofía.
- Sofía¿Él también tuvo un malentendido?Did he also have a misunderstanding?
- DanielNo, él llegó a tiempo.No, he arrived on time.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “misunderstanding” translations and entries malentendido, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries malentendido, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
