Desgraciadamente = Unfortunately

Question

I was wondering if this word is just more Spanish words put together, because if you take out the 'S' it turns into 'De gracia de mente,' which means 'Grace gives mind.'

Answer 1

Hello niki. First of all I have to say that, 'every' time your name 'nikidoodle' comes up, it brings a smile to my face...and coupled with the Orang-Utan. Well, I have a job to concentrate! Right, back to Spanish. That was really well spotted...I'll let you know if I see anything similar. Personally, I always use 'Desafortunadamente', but that is because it was the first long word I ever learned in Spanish...and it took me ages to pronounce it, but now it just rolls off my tongue. Regards...Jool.

Me, too, Jool! - babs_irish, Feb 23, 2012

Answer 2

Nikki, I think you are analysing the word too much and so..... reading too much into it!

Taking out the s will cause you to misunderstand its meaning since in my Spanish Oxford dictionary the prefix des mean whose meaning varies according to the word but often means un

as in the dictionary example; Tandrán que desaprender lo aprendido =They will have to unlearn what they've learnt

There are two main words used for/to mean: unfortunately in Spanish which are:

1 Desafortunadamente and 2 desgraciadamente

I believe/am given to understand from a native Spanish-Speaking person that the first is used in official documents and between people who do not know each other well whereas the second word is more commonly used between friends

I hope this helps

Answer 3

Mostly, I think, this just has to do with the formation of Spanish adverbs. Many, if not most, adverbs are formed by adding -mente to the feminine singular form of the corresponding adjective. The ending corresponds to -ly in English.

See this in the Reference section: Formation of Adverbs

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