flor bonita
/floɾ bonita/from spelling rules
In Spanish, "pretty flower" is flor bonita.
The phrase is used to describe a flower that is attractive or pleasing to look at. If you are referring to a single pretty flower, you would say una flor bonita and to refer to multiple pretty flowers, you would say flores bonitas.
Which one should you use?
While bonita means pretty, you can also use flor bella to express the stronger meaning of "beautiful flower".
How does it change in a sentence?
The phrase uses the feminine form because the noun flor is feminine. When using the definite article for "the pretty flower", you must use the feminine form la flor bonita. Similarly, the indefinite article for "a pretty flower" must be the feminine form una flor bonita.
How do you pronounce it?
/floɾ bonita/
Did you know?
- In Spanish, the order of words can change the emphasis. While flor bonita is the standard way to say 'pretty flower', placing the adjective before the noun, as in bonita flor, adds a poetic or more lyrical quality to the phrase.
- In Spanish, the word flor can be used metaphorically to describe the 'prime' or 'best part' of something, such as la flor de la juventud for 'the flower of youth'.
- The word flor is a linguistic-conservative survivor. In many other Romance languages, the Latin flōs underwent a sound shift, but in Spanish, the original 'f' sound was preserved in words like flor.
Examples in context
- Enhorabuena por tu jardín. Tienes unas flores hermosas que alegran el paisaje.Congratulations on your garden. You have beautiful flowers that brighten the landscape.
- ¡Mira esas florcitas lindas que encontré en el parque! Creo que son de tu especie favorita.Look at those cute little flowers I found in the park! I think they are of your favorite species.
- Esa es una flor bonita.That is a pretty flower.
- Mira qué flor bonita tiene el jardín.Look what a pretty flower the garden has.
Example conversation
Lucía and Javier are walking through a botanical garden.
- Lucía¡Javier, mira esa flor bonita!Javier, look at that pretty flower!
- JavierEs verdad, es muy especial.It is true, it is very special.
- Lucía¿Quieres que la fotografíe?Do you want me to photograph it?
- JavierSí, por favor, Lucía.Yes, please, Lucía.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries flor, CC BY-SA 4.0.
