Is there an expression for "common sense"?

Question

The dictionary doesn't have an entry for "common sense". The machine translation is "sentido común" but I am wondering if that would really mean anything to a native Spanish speaker. Is there an equivalent expression in Spanish for "common sense"?

Also, if anyone is from Colombia and there are expressions particular to Colombia I would be especially interested to learn those.

Thanks.

Is there a difference between "sentido común" and "sensatez"? - arnold3, Sep 6, 2009

Answer 1

El sentido común no es muy común y sí bastante raro. Common sense isn't very common, and is very rare. Does that help at all?

So the very same expression "common sense" exists in Spanish? (I was afraid it was an English idiom that should not be translated literally word for word.) - arnold3, Sep 6, 2009

This one, yes. - ChamacoMalo, Sep 6, 2009

Answer 2

I got these examples from the dictionary:

She has more sense than to go out on her own ( tiene el suficiente sentido común como para no salir sola )

I thought you would have had more sense ( pensé que tenías más sentido común )

He has more money than sense ( le sobra dinero pero le falta sentido común )

He had the sense to call the doctor ( tuvo bastante sentido común como para llamar al médico )

Answer 3

Hi everybody, sentido común is actually the expression to use here. It looks like a direct translation, but in this case, the translator has been accurate.

Thank you for clarifying. Have you ever heard of the word "sensatez" someone else found in a dictionary? - arnold3, Sep 6, 2009

Yes, sensatez is a good choice, but sentido común is actually more colloquial : - 00494d19, Sep 6, 2009

Answer 4

Try "sensatez" in the dictionary. I looked up sense (in my French/Spanish dictionary) and I found the word "sensatez" which seems to be the correct term.