¿Ahí o allí?

Question

Dang.

Ahí (place) and allí (adverb) ¿Tu familia vivas ahí? y Allí esta el libro.

Or maybe it is okay after all. Are they pronounced the same? Maybe it is only in writing that you have to be careful which one you use?

edited for the í

Answer 1

I think that whatever the answer about speaking, for writing you need the accent mark over the "i" in both words:

• ahí
• allí

Thanks. I made the edits. - aprender100, Jul 30, 2010

Answer 2

Allí is more specific. "Right there."

Ahí is more abstract. "Over there."

There's also Allá. Another abstract term:

"Voy para allá más tarde." I'm coming over later (to your house). Literally "I'm going to there" or something to that effect.

As far as pronunciation is concerned: The double L is more of a Y sound usually and H is always silent. So allí sounds like "ah-yee" and ahí is just "ah-ee"

I was just talking to my Cuban friend the other day about this topic

Answer 3

I've read the Spanishdict reference page and even the about.com page, but it never connected. During my lunch breaks I've been reading beginning Spanish text and listening to it spoken on an mp3 and allí/ahí sounded similar to my ear. After about the tenth time listening and reading over several days it sparked the aha moment where I finally understood the problem (the cuestión not the pregunta).

My learning had stalled before I found this site. This forum is awesome.

Answer 4

This thread has a very long and detailed explanation on the subject .

I had no idea there was a triple distinction aquí, ahí, y allí. - aprender100, Jul 30, 2010

Answer 5

¿Tu familia vive ahí? (The family in this case lives far. You are near the house)

Allí está el libro ( The book is is far, but not enough far as when you use ahí)

The pronunctiation is very different.

Yikes! - aprender100, Jul 30, 2010