Verbs that mean the same in Spanish are a very good tool for students who want to sound natural in Spanish. Using synonyms will allow you to enrich your vocabulary and your texts will be more sophisticated.

Despite the fact that there are many words that might seem to have the same meanings, they are not always interchangeable in all situations. Today, we are going to learn some verbs that mean the same in Spanish and can be used, equally.

1. Irse and marcharse

The verb ir can be confusing for students. It usually expresses a movement towards a destination. However, when it’s a pronominal verb the meaning changes into “to leave a place”.

La fiesta es muy aburrida. Me voy / Me marcho.

(The party is very boring. I’m leaving)

 

2. Andar and caminar

We continue with verbs of movement. One more of the verbs that mean the same in Spanish is caminar, that is a little bit more formal than andar but both mean “to walk”.

A la oficina siempre voy andando / caminando.

(I always go to the office walking)

3. Huir and escapar

Now it’s time to walk but also to leave a place running away. Huir and escapar mean “to escape”.

El ladrón escapó / huyó de la policía.

(The thief escaped from the police)

4. Volver and regresar

Let’s see the opposite movement: “to come back”. In Spanish, we can use volver and regresar.

No puedes volver / regresar a casa más tarde de las 12.

(You mustn’t come back home later than 12)

5. Proponer and sugerir

Now, we’ll see verbs with the same meanings in Spanish but without the sense of movement. For example proponer and sugerir when they mean “to propose”.

Te propongo / Te sugiero que vayamos al cine

(I propose you to go to the cinema)

6. Empezar and comenzar

Everything has a beginning and it doesn’t matter if empieza or comienza (to start). You are free to choose one of these verbs that mean the same in Spanish.

La película empieza / comienza a las siete.

(The film starts at seven)

7. Terminar and acabar

Of course, everything that has a beginning, must have an end. In Spanish you can use terminar and acabar to express the end of an action (to finish).

La prueba oral del examen DELE acaba de terminar / acabar.

(The oral part of the DELE exam has just finished)

8. Contestar and responder

Spanish teachers are always warning our students not to mix up the verbs preguntar and pedir, usually translated into “to ask” in English. The first one is to ask a question, an interrogative sentence, and the other one is to request or order something. However, if you need to answer that question, there’s no problem in Spanish: you can use contestar or responder.

Si el profesor te hace una pregunta, simplemente, responde / contesta.

(If the teacher makes a question to you, just answer it)

Finally, as you can see, if you can learn these verbs that mean the same in Spanish and their synonyms, it will be useful for you to have more vocabulary and sound more natural. In order to achieve this, you can reserve a trial lesson with us today. Just start speaking Spanish from the very first day!