sin embargo and no obstante - formal ???

Question

Hola a todos I would like to know whether these 2 expressions - sin embargo y no obstante are considered formal or it is commonly used informally among friends, colleagues, at home with your family and so forth. Gracias por vuestras respuestas. saludos Maros

Answer 1

Sin embargo can be used in both everyday and formal language. No obstante is rather formal and I would normally use it only in writing or in formal speech. This said, please remember that context is always the key: even though often interchangeable, the two phrases are not exactly synonyms. The former means "nevertheless", "yet", "all things considered", etc., while the latter more closely means "notwithstanding", "despite" and the like.

Thank you, your reply was very much helpful to me. - maros77, Apr 13, 2012

Answer 2

Well, to me it's a lot like using the English "nevertheless". Personally, I don't use it much it may everyday vocabulary, but I definitely use it as well as "sin embargo" and "no obstante" in writing. An even more archaic, formal and literary way to express this in Spanish is with the word "empero". I think that "but" is much more common in English, and "pero" in Spanish.

Thank you. - maros77, Apr 13, 2012