Rostro vs. cara

Question

In the thread "drop one take one" the word "rostro" came up.In two years of studying I have learned there will always be new words. Yet this is the first time I've seen this word.I looked it up in the dictionary,sure enough,there it is.Can anyone tell me why this may not be used as often as "cara".

Good question...I want to know as well.. - rac1, Oct 10, 2012

Answer 1

Rostro y Cara son sinónimos. Pero rostro se refiere solo a personas, a humanos, y cara es la parte anterior de la cabeza que también puede refererirse a animales o a superficies de cosas.

thank you so much Roberto , we needed an expert opinion . - ray76, Oct 10, 2012

yes thank you - heliotropeman, Oct 10, 2012

Sí, gracias. - island_fever, Oct 10, 2012

Muy correcta contestación. - Leafshadow231, Oct 10, 2012

Answer 2

Am I right in saying that a 'rostro' can be the face of a clock/watch but a 'cara' cannot?

thanks for responding,the final verdict is stil lout,but its looking like a consensus - heliotropeman, Oct 10, 2012

Answer 3

La expresión de tu rostro lo decía todo.

The look on your face said it all.

Estaban cara a cara en la mesa.

They were face-to-face at the table.

Keep your ugly mug = face out of this!

¡No metas las narices donde no te llaman!

thanks for the help ian - heliotropeman, Oct 10, 2012

Answer 4

Su cabeza tenía un rostro grande,

con una sonrisa en su cara.

From this I take it that the" rostro' is the physical feature , the part

showing , as the face , or front , but the "cara"is imbued with emotion

and various features .

:) I think that is it mate. - ian-hill, Oct 10, 2012

gracias ray - heliotropeman, Oct 10, 2012

Answer 5

I find that rostro is used a lot more often than cara when referring to people.

Answer 6

Rostro means your face with facial expressions and cara is just your face. I think even in English we talk about a face more than than facial expressions in everyday conversation.

thanks jlh528 - heliotropeman, Oct 10, 2012