what is the difference between lento and despacio

Question

I don't understand the difference betweem lento and despacio. They both mean slow don't they?

Despacio is an adverb (slowly), lento is an adjective (slow), so your question should be what is the difference between despacio and lentamente. - Stadt, Feb 4, 2011

Answer 1

I think we often want to be sure that the words are indeed synonyms and that we have not missed some "connotation".

Yes, we all know about these differences, but I have spent more than 15 years asking foreigners (i.e. not originally native of Spanish) who were fluent in Spanish, and almost no one could explain to me these differences any better than the average native could, and that's because they became fluent by "feeling" the language instead of analysing it.

You see: if you take the average person in the street, and you spent countless hours interrogating this person about differences like these, and you extract all the information, you'll probably end up with a 137 volume super-thick dictionary of the language. Something that no living creature could memorize... from books! Polyglots and people fluent in other language are like natives: they just do it; they don't know how. People who over-analyse these things become expert in the theory... but rarely fluent or capable or speaking.

Take someone like culé, whose language has nothing to do with Spanish. Objectively, learning an Indo-European language like English or Spanish is two to three times harder than for us to learn Turkish, and yet, after a year and a bit, she is more fluent than most people here, who are surrounded by natives. How is this possible? She listens, she reads, she guesses, but she doesn't get obsessed with literal translations, like so many people here do. You don't have to understand every word; you don't have to analyse every bit of it; just get the gist. Eventually, you'll have at least 120 out of 137 of those volumes in your head... without knowing how. If you try to analyse them, you'll be on the third volume in 5 years time, if you are lucky.

I wish everyone would read this. - margaretbl, Feb 4, 2011

Excellent response! This is somewhat counterintuitive. I guess the point is to practice using the language as much as possible and not to overanalyze things. - fatchocobo, Feb 5, 2011

I don't agree with you. these alleged polygloths, how good do they know each language? some people has a talent with pronounciation, but if you really talk with them, you can hear their knowledge is inadequate. - antonmo, Oct 19, 2014

you need to see and feel words in context, and comparing two similar words helps you to do just that. If you do not do this, you may end up using the word incorrectly. - antonmo, Oct 19, 2014

also, since spanish is used in so many countries, it is relevant to know, since some words are used only in some parts of the world, but not others. Often I find them teached in text books side by side without saying where they are used. - antonmo, Oct 19, 2014

I enjoy learning a new language in an easy way and do not want to overanalyze the words. Just use them as I can remember is hard enough for me. - chantaneeyip, Oct 11, 2016

Answer 2

lento is an adjective (slow) and despacio is an adverb (slowly)

lento is often used as an adverb, correct or not, but despacio cannot be an adjective - dangarrick, Feb 4, 2011

Answer 3

One is slower than other? Those words are called synonyms, and English has more of these than any other language, which makes me wonder why English speakers ask this question more than other people in any other language.

It is like asking "How come you have a few examples of something that my language has in excess of any other language?" So weird!

I think we often want to be sure that the words are indeed synonyms and that we have not missed some "connotation". In fact, some dictionaries give synonyms and that is then helpful. - Janice, Feb 4, 2011

I like very much, for example, that my Collins gives the "sense of" word in parenthesis (= xyz) before meanings - often, if not always, a synonym. - Janice, Feb 4, 2011

Yes, synonyms are common in English, but they are not always used in the same situations. We have different connotations for many synonyms. For instance, when I hear "round", I think of a cirular shape. When I hear "rotund," I think of a fat person. - LiveUnsheathed, Feb 4, 2011

Answer 4

Not the same always, unless you think that "Habla mas depacio' and "Habla mas lento" mean the same.

Answer 5

What's the difference between fast & quick ?

Exactly. - annierats, Oct 19, 2014

Answer 6

Habla con despacio por favor means speak slowly please. despacio is literally with space so you are asking for some spacing between the words.

if despacio is only an adverb, I don't understand how you can use it with con, as a noun. Should it not be "Habla más despacio por favor" ? yet I can find "con despacio" used searching with google. Anyone can explain this?

Answer 7

I reckon "lento" is only related with time. It's just the opposite of "rápido". However "despacio" has more meanings. It could also be the opposite of "fuerte". You could say "Pégale despacio" as "Hit it slow", but "Pégale lento" has a different meaning, related with taking more TIME, not "less strong". Also I would say in spanish: "Para calmar la ansiedad, debes respirar lento y despacio, no rápido y fuerte". Where they clearly have different meanings. At least in Chile what I am saying makes sense. Buy yeah, "despacio" can also mean slow in the same way as lento does. So they are also synonyms when we are talking about time.

Answer 8

its the same

Answer 9

Habla con despacio por favor means speak slowly please. despacio is literally with space so you are asking for some spacing between the words.

habla despacio/despacito - Rey_Mysterio, Oct 22, 2014

Answer 10

You probably mean "lentamente" instead of "lento". In that case you're looking at perfect synonyms.

Answer 11

English usually has many words, but in this instance Swedish does better, we have ' långsamt' och ' sakta'.

'sakta' is like despacio only an adverb, while 'långsamt' is more like lentamente, same word cab be formed as an adjective 'långsam' / lento and it can be a noun 'långsamhet' = lentitud :) - antonmo, Oct 19, 2014

Answer 12

I agree with the comment that margaretbl wrote.

Answer 13

While Despacio can only be an adverb, Lento can used an adjective and conjugated to an adverb (Lentamente).

Answer 14

link textThe RAE gives 4 definitions for lento as an adjective and one as an adverb, the synonym for lentamente.

lento, ta. (Del lat. lentus). 1. adj. Tardo o pausado en el movimiento o en la acción. 2. adj. Poco vigoroso y eficaz. 3. adj. Med. Glutinoso, pegajoso. 4. adj. ant. Dicho de un árbol o de un arbusto: Flexible o correoso. 5. m. Mús. largo (? movimiento fundamental de la música). 6. m. Mús. largo (? composición). 7. adv. m. lentamente. Los soldados avanzan lento.