¿Distraído(a) o despistado(a)?

Question

Absent minded: Is there any difference between distraído and depistado?

Thanks!

good question, welcome to the forum:) - 00494d19, Mar 14, 2011

Answer 1

Hmmmm, when I think of a "despistado"I think of the typical guy who forgets to put on his jacket before going out, who takes the underground and gets off at the wrong stop even though he goes to the same place every day, the professor who is forever looking for his glasses.....

Distraído....

Hey, you are not listening to me!

Vaya, lo siento, estaba distraída.

I would say the second is somewhat more occasional. Despistado is a characteristic.

Thanks, extremely helpful examples. - DJ_Huero, Mar 14, 2011

Answer 2

They are similar and in some cases may be interchanged, but to be sure of your usage go to DRAE

Answer 3

Heidita....perfect...that's what I was looking for! Thanks!

Answer 4

Ok, I like these comparisons from Heidita. So basically if I'm following right., despistado would be a clumsy person, like a repeated offender, sort of speak.

Distraído would be someone who was probably distracted, as in they had "spaced out" for a moment.

Answer 5

The reason I put (a) was to show that I was using the word as an adjective.

Thanks, I did look them up in DRAE but couldn't see the difference. I thought maybe it was regional or another reason, hence my question here.

Thanks for your responses. Z

Answer 6

Correct spelling: "despistado"