El rostro / la cara

Question

Hola!

I'm trying to figure out what's the difference between "el rostro" and "la cara" as both translates to "the face" in the dictionary. ¿Puede alguien ayudarme, por favor?

Answer 1

Gracias por todos los que respondieron a mi pregunta. Ahora comprendo la diferencia entre el rostro y la cara!

Answer 2

I would say that "rostro" refers more to the physical skin of your face whereas "cara" refers more to its image or visual appearance. For instance, you say "toalla de rostro" (facecloth) because the towel is used to wipe your skin; you don't say "toalla de cara". On the other hand, you say "cara de tonto" (foolish face) because it refers to the visual expression of foolishness; you don't say "rostro de tonto".

Don't know if it makes much sense, but that's the best I can come up with.