Pensar as a direct synonym to esperar

Question

I see this:

El camino fue más difícil que esperaba. / no fue como esperaba.

El camino fue más difícil que pensaba. / no fue como pensaba.

and then of course this song

Cuando menos piensas sale el sol

which is like

Cuando menos esperas sale el sol.

So I'm thinking pensar can really be a direct synonym and mean expect.

Answer 1

Well, its the same in English. You could say It was harder than I thought it would be, or you could also say It was harder than I expected. Both mean essentially the same thing.

Answer 2

Well it can be pretty close in English but I wouldn't say exactly the same - the road was more difficult than I was hoping, the road was more difficult than I thought (it would be). etc With hoping it sounds like you didn't know for a fact but you hoped whereas with the second it sounds like you thought you knew, turns out you got it wrong.

Well that'd be my take anyway.

Yes, but in Spanish esperar can mean either hope or expect. They are two different meanings of the word - emily8, Nov 9, 2011

true, and expecting is definitely closer to thinking than hoping was - it's a tricky one - Kiwi-Girl, Nov 9, 2011

Answer 3

Here's a link that seems to back up your theory Jeez and I have to agree that if you use esperar to mean expect, rather than hope, it's pretty much the same as think - the trouble is with esperar meaning both expect and hope how do you show which one's going on in your head? je je

Regarding your question about how to indicate that you're expecting to do something rather than just hoping to, I'm not sure what to tell you since the verb esperar can have both meanings. Usually the context of the conversation, the interaction between speakers and the tone of voice, gives the subtle clues as to how strong the intention is and what the meaning is.

It's the same in English. Two different people can say the same exact words in the exact same phrase but convey completely different meanings depending on their intonation and body language.

If you want to give a neutral response to the invitation, just stick with "Espero ir a la fiesta."

If you want to give an unequivocal response indicating that you're 100% committed to attending the party, you could use the verb PENSAR + IR. (Pienso ir a la fiesta = I intend to go to the party. I plan to go to the party.)

If you can't go to the party and want a polite way of expressing that, "ojalá pudiera ir a la fiesta" = If only I could go to the party! (I wish I could go to the party...but I can't.)