prácticamente
/pɾaɡtikamente/from spelling rules
The English phrase 'pretty much' can be translated into Spanish as prácticamente.
Prácticamente is an adverb used to indicate that something is almost entirely true or nearly complete, serving as a direct equivalent for 'practically' or 'virtually'.
Which one should you use?
While prácticamente is a direct equivalent for 'pretty much', you can often use the simpler word casi (almost) interchangeably in many contexts to express the same idea. For informal contexts where you want to say 'more or less' or 'kind of', you should use the phrase más o menos instead.
How does it change in a sentence?
To say 'pretty much everything', you combine the adverb with the pronoun todo to form prácticamente todo.
How do you pronounce it?
/pɾaɡtikamente/
Did you know?
- The suffix -mente in prácticamente comes from the Latin word mēns, meaning 'mind'. This suggests that the original way of doing something 'practically' was a mental process.
- In Spanish, the adverb prácticamente retains its written accent mark from the adjective práctico, even though the word becomes much longer.
- The suffix -mente in prácticamente is a Latin remnant that turns an adjective into an adverb, much like the English suffix '-ly' in 'practically'.
Examples in context
- La reunión prácticamente finalizó.The meeting pretty much finished.
- El proyecto está casi terminado.The project is pretty much finished.
- Me falta más o menos una hora para llegar.I'm pretty much an hour away.
- Prácticamente terminamos.We're pretty much finished.
- El examen está prácticamente terminado.The exam is practically finished.
- Ya hemos dicho prácticamente todo.We have already said pretty much everything.
- Es prácticamente lo mismo.It is pretty much the same thing.
Example conversation
Sofía and Mateo are discussing their progress on a project.
- Sofía¿Terminaste tu parte del trabajo?Did you finish your part of the work?
- MateoSí, está prácticamente listo.Yes, it is pretty much ready.
- Sofía¡Qué bien! Yo casi termino también.That's great! I am almost finished too.
- MateoEntonces ya podemos irnos.Then we can leave now.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries prácticamente, CC BY-SA 4.0.
