Despacito or lento?
Are despacito and lento interchangeable or is one more correct then the other. ie habla despacito, por favor or habla lento, por favor. Garcia
2 Answers
Despacito is the diminutive of despacio, which, in essence, is the same as lento. However, when you use diminutives in commands, such as "Speak to me slowly" you are trying to be polite.
The meaning of despacio is the same as lento, but "despacio" is an adverb and "lento" is an adjective.
To use "lento" in your example, it needs to "lentamente" making it an adverb.
You can use the the diminutive of "despacio" if you want, but it´s not necessary for politeness and it sounds a little "cutsie" in this case. "Por favor" is sufficient for being polite. There are people, usually from out in the country, who use dimunitives with almost everything they say, but this is not an elevated way of speaking.
