"empezar", "comenzar" and "iniciar"

Question

What is the difference between "comezar", "empezar" and "iniciar"?

Answer 1

Both "empezar" and "comenzar" are usually interchangeable. Where they are not, has been discussed.

However with "iniciar" you can't follow it with an infinitive. It is always followed by a noun.

Here are some examples that I found. (I was too lazy to make some up. )

a. to begin María inició su carrera como abogada hace un mes. Maria began her career as a lawyer last month.

b. to initiate (formal) El congreso inició un programa de reforma fiscal.Congress initiated a fiscal reform program.

c. to commence (formal) El sindicato dice que está listo para iniciar las negociaciones.The union says it's ready to commence negotiations.

d. to originate Liliana inició el proceso que se usa hoy en día para entrenar a los delfines. Liliana originated the process we use today for training dolphins.

e. to pioneer David inició un nuevo método para detectar microbios en la comida.David pioneered a new method for detecting microbes in food.

f. to start Joaquín inició su restaurante en 1973 y ahora su hijo es el dueño.Joaquin started his restaurant in 1973, and now his son is the owner.

1. (to orient) a. to initiate Su hermana menor lo inició en la secta.His younger sister initiated him into the sect.

b. to introduce Su mamá la inició en el violín cuando tenía apenas cuatro años.Her mother introduced her to the violin when she was only four years old.

c. to start off Jorge la inició en el mundo de los negocios y ahora dirige una empresa multinacional.Jorge started her off in the business world and now she runs a multinational company.

Note that all of the above have a noun as the direct object.

IniciarSE: is a little different;

iniciarse PRONOMINAL VERB 3. (to get into)

a. to start Se inició como maestro hace 20 años.He started as a teacher 20 years ago.

1. (to kick off)

a. to begin Se inicia la huelga el lunes si no se llega a un acuerdo antes.The strike begins on Monday if there isn't a contract before then.

b. to commence (formal) Se iniciará la campaña contra el mosquito del dengue mañana.The campaign against the dengue mosquito will commence tomorrow.

Note that in every example the direct object is a noun even when used pronominally.

(My spell checker tells me that I spelled that last word wrong.)

Four hours--no votes, no comments? If there is no response I will delete it, and think twice about answering any more grammar questions. - Daniela2041, Jan 7, 2017

Please don't delete your answer. I'm sure others will see it and gain knowledge from it. - rac1, Jan 7, 2017

Answer 2

What is the difference between initiate, start and begin?

Small, subtle and difficult to tease out. Initiate may have some other uses. Empezar is more common than comenzar, iniciar is more formal sounding. Iniciar may have the same meaning as initiate as into a society that the others don’t have.

Personally I use empezar unless I have have used it already too close and want to switch to avoid redundancy. I rarely use iniciar, and only if I would have used initiate in English, as initiate also sounds formal to me.

Here are some native views:

http://forum.wordreference.com/threads/iniciar-comenzar-empezar.164852/

En cambio INICIAR es únicamente transitivo. Siempre necesita un objeto directo. Significa exactamente lo mismo que EMPEZAR y COMENZAR cuando actúan como transitivos, y puedes usarlo exactamente igual que ellos.

http://www.spanishdict.com/answers/6760/comenzar-or-empezar

Daniel said:

I researched these in my dictionary and 2 on line dictionaries and found both "comenzar" and "empezar" used in the same phrases. I also discussed with my Mexican friend -- she said there is no difference that she knows of.

Of course, most people never analyse their own language. This sentence can only take "empezar":

¿Has empezado ya la leche' (empezar = start to consume something)

Also, with "empezar" you have more freedom in certain constructions:

https://www.duolingo.com/comment/9414282

"Empezar" and "Comenzar" for me is the same... "Iniciar" is something more formal.

I'm not sure, but I would never use "inciar" in an imperative sentence.

!No inicies a molestar! This sounds quite bad / unnatural.

And here is a more formal lesson:

http://spanish.about.com/od/usingparticularverbs/a/begin.htm

If you read the above you can also read about emprender and originarse. Just to complicate things further.

Have to love the answer by Lazarus, almost everyone would tell you empezar and comenzar are interchangeable, so of course he has to find an exception. :) - bosquederoble, Jan 7, 2017

That's our Laz, or was. I miss him. - rac1, Jan 7, 2017