Do 'suficiente' and 'bastante' always have the same meaning?

Question

Do 'suficiente' and 'bastante' always have the same meaning" ? No sé exactamente.

Answer 1

They both mean enough, but they both have other meanings that don't overlap. There is a legal phrase in Spanish "Con representación bastante y suficiente para. . ." so lawyers think there's a difference

Answer 2

Joseph Keenan covers this really well in his book "Breaking Out of Beginner's Spanish". See page 153 in chapter 12.

Basically, he says 'bastante' has a meaning closer to 'plenty' than 'enough' and can sound rude / bragging in many contexts ("Tengo bastante dinero" means "I've got loadsa money" rather than "Tengo suficiente dinero" which simply means "I have enough money").

Great book!! - sunshinzmommie, Jan 23, 2010

Sure is - if only I could commit all of it to memory! - Jespa, Jan 23, 2010

I know right!! - sunshinzmommie, Jan 23, 2010

Thanks, Jespa - Ruth-Bishop, Jan 23, 2010