At least for me, I have heard aguacate used more in the US. It is the only word I've heard used when I was in Latin America. Although I have never been to Peru or Bolivia.

Because this is probably one of my favorite foods, I pay special attention to it.

I looked in two dictionaries and they include "palta" as avocado, so you're not mistaken. Maybe it's a regional use?

I've always heard "aguacate."

from a wikipedia article:

Palta is also a name for avocado in Peru, Bolivia, Chile, Uruguay and Argentina.

Moe, I am seeing both words come up. This sometimes means they are synonyms, but sometimes it means one is those big avocados, the other is the smaller dark avocados, or maybe I should use el aquacate in Mexico and la palta in Bolivia (which seems to be the case.) When I am confused or unsure what the dictionary. translator and lessons are saying, I come here to clear it up.

I appreciate if you are confused and maybe you don't know what I am asking and why; but I do want to assure you I do not use the forum as a translator. Real live people give me much better advice on word usage than the machine.

And it's a small detail but I am learning these words now, so I want to learn the right way first or I will never get it straight. I am glad I asked, because I have gotten the insight I seek and am comfortable sticking with el aguacate for the time being as I am trying to focus on Spanish as used in Mexico for now. (although after this discussion, I will probably remember both "el aguacate" AND "la palta" better than most words!

kittybrougham

Am I beating myself up? Have you seen this?

Asking a Question using Span¡shD!ct 'Answers'

Here is what you are expected to do for yourself.

After you have taken as many of these steps as you are able, then, if you still need help, proceed to ask your question.

Here are your steps to follow:

• Enter any single words you are asking about into our dictionary (See the “Dictionary Tab” in the blue Span¡shD!ct menu bar at the top of the page)
• Enter any phrases you are asking about into our translator (See the “Translation Tab” in the blue Span¡shD!ct menu bar at the top of the page)
• Conduct a search of our previous Questions (On the “Answers” main page directly under the green “ASK A QUESTION “ button, there is a small window into which you can type the word or words you are searching for)
• Look through the index to our reference material (found here) to see if there is a document or answer that provides the information you are looking for as for example, “para or por”, “ser or estar” “accents over letters”, “how to type Spanish letters and characters ¡ ¿”, “Spanish words indexed by type or kind” and many many more items
• Try a Google search. (Short) phrases should be enclosed in quotation marks for search purposes. If you prefer, use any other search engine.

If these actions by you have not given you the answer you want, then post your question here in our forum.