enfrente, al frente, de frente, delante

Question

Hello,

Without overly explaining this to where it becomes too complicated - can someone tell me if enfrente de, al frente de, de frente de, and delante de more or less mean the same thing (in front of) and perhaps the only subtle way they vary is similar to the subtle way they vary in english - "in front of', "to the front of" "facing" etc.

I've read all the posts on this subject on a few sites and I'm still not 100% sure of the answer.

Thanks to anyone who can help!

Answer 1

If you look up frente in the Dictionary on this site, you will get most of the information you are looking for. The short answer is that these phrases do not all have the same meaning. Here is my understanding of these words and phrases.

enfrente de - across from or facing. This is very commonly used to describe a place that is across the street from (enfrente de) another place. It also seems to be OK to write "enfrente" as one word or as two: en frente. The meaning is the same.

al frente de - in the lead (of a parade, or line-up, for example) or in charge of

de frente de - honestly, I'm not sure about this one. de frente con can mean face-to-face and de frente can mean forward as in facing forward.

delante de - in front of. You are in front of me = Estás delante de mí.

Thank you! - Erin, JUN 13, 2010

Answer 2

Yes but in different sense, blame this on ambiguity of the English term in f

Enfrente de opposite across Al frente de in the front part of something delante de is more general word for infront of when your not sense of infront of you´re using infront of it best to use this term.

De frente is more like facing something or someone

Voted up : ) - michellech, NOV 7, 2011

Answer 3

There's also ''frente a'' which is pretty similar to ''enfrente de.'' The general idea is that whatever you're talking about is facing something, across from it or opposite just like ''enfrente de'' like everybody previously mentioned.

Some examples: Lo tienes frente a los ojos. ''You have it in front of your eyes'' or as more often heard in English, ''It's staring you in the face.''

also: ''Pablo se sienta frente a la maestra. ''Pablo sits facing the teacher.'' This can also be translated as ''Pablo sits in front of the teacher.''

You can see how this can get slightly confusing.

ya, i've got no idea - coolclay, NOV 7, 2011

Answer 4

Yes, they are similar to the phrases in English.

Look at these links: 1, 2