What's the difference between "entender" and "comprender?

Question

I want to know what the difference between the verbs entender and comprendar are. is. ack. A different word for everything. . . .

Answer 1

There really is no distinct difference. It's really just the slight nuance between "to understand" (entender) and "to comprehend" (comprender), I would say.

Another quick note about comprender is that it can mean to compirse/include. "El equipo comprende diez jugadores" - The team comprises 10 players.

The pronominal form "entenderse" has a similar meaning to "comunicarse," I think, and "entenderse bien/mal con alguien" is similar to "llevarse bien/mal con alguien."

• Nos llevamos bien. We get along well.
• Nos entendemos bien. We understand each other well.

Good to see you back on the forum Nick - Izanoni1, Jun 30, 2010

Thank you! I know, a couple of months without visiting the forum. I got caught up in so much schoolwork, etc. Ack. I abandoned you all. :-( ¡Perdónenme! - Nick-Cortina, Jun 30, 2010

Answer 2

I found this thread that might shed a little more light on it:

Entender vs comprender

For the most part they are interchangeable. (Nadie me entiende / Nadie me comprende - No one understands me) Most of the time it's a case of what sounds better, more than what changes the meaning. The only way to learn them properly is to just learn as many usage examples as you can. From my experience entender is more common than comprender. In some very rare cases comprender can mean to comprise, making it rather different to entender (personas de edades comprendidas entre los 19 y los 23 años - comprised of people between the ages of 19 and 23)

Answer 3

Hola BarbaraLouis and Welcome to SpanishDict!

Here are a couple of threads you might be interested in which discuss this topic:

What is the difference between entender and comprender

if understand is comprender why is entender used

comprender, entender y aprender que es la diferencia

Answer 4

I don't know how true this is; but, I was once told that it is more polite to say:

"No entiendo."

instead of:

"No comprendo."

When I don't understand what someone has said to me.

I was told that saying: "no entiendo" puts the fault of my not understanding on me.

and saying: "no comprendo" puts the fault of my not understanding on the person speaking to me.

Could someone please verify if this is correct or not?

Answer 5

No hay diferencia.