Episode 71: Contronyms in Spanish, What They Are and 7 Fun Examples!

Have you ever laughed at the fact that, in English, there are so many words that contradict themselves? For instance, if Paul rents a room, is he the one paying the landlord, or is he himself the landlord? Or how you can have clothes that will wear for a long time, but then eventually the wear on them begins to show? Or one of my current favorites, how you can be cheerfully sanguine (confidently optimistic) while your neighbor is a sanguine (bloodthirsty) lunatic? These types of words are called contronyms, and of course Spanish has them, too! So let's dive in, and afterwards we'll talk about the official holidays of Guatemala.

Remember, learning a language is a lifelong journey.
¡Aprovéchalo, Disfrútalo y Compártelo!

SHOW NOTES:

© 2022 by Language Answers, LLC
Blog for Episode 71

Intro and Closing Music by Master_Service from Fiverr

Cultural Tip Transition Music edited from song by JuliusH from Pixabay

Resource Links

Episode Content

• "19 autoantónimos: palabras que significan una cosa y la contraria" by Jaime Rubio Hancock for El País on August 28, 2016
• "Autoantónimos: palabras que significan una cosa y la contraria" by Translation-Traducción.com on October 13, 2016
• "8 palabras en español que son sus propios opuestos" by Greelane.com on June 4, 2019
• "75 Contronyms (Words with Contradictory Meanings)" by Mark Nichol for Daily Writing Tips
• “Contronym.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster. Accessed 5 May. 2022.
• I also used the RAE's online dictionary, wordreference.com, and Ingles.com's online dictionary to double-check words and structures.
• Blog image by Yakup Ipek from Pixabay

Cultural Tip

• "National Holidays in Guatemala in 2022" by OfficeHolidays.com. See the individual holiday links for more information.
• "Federal Republic Of Central America" by John Misachi for World Atlas on June 30, 2020
• Episode 67: Spanish's Diacritical Marks