What's the difference between "diario" and "cotidiano"?

Question

Hola a todos,

Since both "diario" and "cotidiano" are adjectives and mean "daily" or "everyday", is there any difference between "diario" and "cotidiano"?

Good question amiga. - ian-hill, Mar 8, 2014

Yes, good question, I was confused with word "cotidiano" too. - 00b5f6c6, Mar 9, 2014

Answer 1

I think they are interchangeable. But I agree with pescador in that I hear cotidiano used in news programs and see it in printed materials. I think it is the more formal form of the two.

Hola, Gringo. I see. Many thanks! - joygogo, Mar 8, 2014

Answer 2

I think:

Diario: daily or daily newspaper. Or something that happens or that you do every day. every day. A daily task.

cotidiano: everyday in the sense ordinary, routine everyday life.

Mi vida cotodiana: my routine, ordinary, day to day life. In sentences such as : Tengo que cambiar mi rutina cotidiana.

Mi vida diaria: My daily life such as in a description of your time schedule. Compro mi diario todos los días a la misma hora, es parte de mi rutina cotidiana. Es una tarea diaria, lo de comprar el diario.

Thisis most certainly open to further clarification, I'm largely going by what sounds right tome. - annierats, Mar 8, 2014

Hola, Annierats! Many thanks for your help though I didn't get it entirely. I still need to read it three more times. - joygogo, Mar 8, 2014

Just for my own reference: "I buy my newspaper every day at the same hour, it is a part of my daily routine. It is a daily task to buy the newspaper." - joygogo, Mar 8, 2014

Yes, probably they are interchangeable, mostly, it's splitting hairs. Themore I think about it, the less certain I feel. - annierats, Mar 9, 2014

Answer 3

In my experience I would say that "cotidiano" is a higher register/more formal way of saying "daily". I remember using "cotidiano" once while I was talking to some people from Spain and they said that they probably would never use it conversationally, but nonetheless they were impressed that I knew the word.

Hola, pescador1! Thanks a lot for sharing your experience! I got it! - joygogo, Mar 8, 2014