What is the difference between estúpido and tonto?
What is the proper time to use each?
6 Answers
They can both be used as 'stupid'. But how you use them can make the difference.
Tonto/a with 'ser' refers to an actual lack of intellegence or cognative ability. With 'estar', it means silly or foolish.
Estúpido/a can be used in a playful or insulting manner, but originally refers to actual intelligence. It's similar to how 'retard' is used in English. The original meaning refers directly to intelligence, but due to PC, it is no longer used to refer to mental retardation. Now people use it playfully or offensively. Same with estúpido.
Although they seem the same, there are some differences between them.
They both refer to the lack of intelligence of a person and they are considered as offensive for the person who receives, but with some connotations.
I would call "estupido" to a person who makes nonsense in life. For examples: On some occasions, we call "estúpido" to someone conceited. Or someone imprudent, careless. And also to someone who is foolish.
The word "tonto" is more referring to the lack of intellligence itself.
But, many times they are interchangeable and you can use "tonto" with the sense of "stupid". The problem is that you only can guess which is the sense for the context in which you are at that moment.
Estupido has a worse much meaning than stupid. Never call a mexican that it will be an insult and considered rude. NOT A JOKE
I have heard in a movie where tonto was used affectionately. It was in Disney's Bolt (a Pixar-like animated film). Bolt is a dog who thinks he has super powers but doesn't. He gets lost in some big city and a nice dog-loving girl encounters him and says something like "¿Estás perdido, tonto?" Her tone of voice and facial expressions indicate she is using the word like one might say "baby" or "dear" or similar.
"tonto" is safer to use when not a Spanish speaker, "silly", lest you insult someone, since "estupido" is stronger, and really used as an insult more than anything. Just watch a telenovela and you will hear it used dramatically several times. Maybe it's more akin to "idiot" in mainstream language.
"Tonto" is a "Fool", someone silly or goofy. Similar but softer than "dumb" when used in that sense.
Estúpido is exactly "Stupid".
