Spanish Compound Words

Compound Words are two or more words grouped to create a new word having a different, individual meaning. If we are aware of this learning a language, we will be able to infer many meaning words and profit from it.

How to catch it?

We can explore three ways:

Since we have the compound word, we can figure out the meaning of each word.

Since we have two words we can infer the compound word.

Practicing.

1 Figuring out the meaning of the compound word

Let’s go with an example. The compound word: Abrebotellas - Bottle opener

We can split the compound word in two:

Abre → abrir verb (to open)
Botellas → noun (it is used in plural because there are many types of bottles)

So now we catch two meanings from the compound word, enhancing our vocabulary.

Let’s go with another example: aparcacoches - parking attendant

Aparcar → verb (to park)
Coches (Carros) → noun (the cars)

2 Inferring the meaning of the compound word

In this case, we have two words inferring a compound word. Sadly, it doesn’t always work, but it could be worth a try.

Let’s go practice.

Two words: Romper (to broke) and olas (the waves). Give a try!

Romper + olas → Romperolas → Rompeolas (the breakwater)

Two words: Antes (before) and ayer (yesterday).

Antes + ayer → Antesayer → Anteayer (the dau before yesterday)

3 Practicing.

Now that you know what compound words are and how they become formed. Let’s practice with the most popular compound words. Solutions at the bottom.

First, split the following compound words in two.

The English translation is literally ~ Right translation.

Girasol → ... / ... ( To turn / Sun ~ Sunflower)
Cumpleaños → ... / ... (Accomplish / Years ~ Birthday)
Telaraña → ... / ... (Fabric / Spider ~ Spiderweb)
Aguanieve → ... / ... (Water / Snow ~ Sleet)
Autogobierno → ... / ... (Auto / Goverment ~ Self goverment)
Baloncesto → ... / ... (Ball / Basket ~ Basketball)
Bienvenido → ... / ... (Well / To come ~ Welcome)
Compraventa → ... / ... (Buy / Sell)
Criptomoneda → ... / ... (Cryptocurrency)
Cuentacuentos → ... / ... (To tell / Story ~ Storytelling)

Second, join two words to form a compound word.

The English translation is literally ~ Right translation.

Cubre - Bocas → ... (Covert - Mouth ~ Face mask)
Cuenta - Kilómetros → ... (Count - Kilometers ~ Speedometer)
Diez - Ocho → ... (Eighteen)
Guardar - Bosque → ... (Keep - Forest ~ Ranger)
Hierba - Buena → ... (Grass - Good ~ Peppermint)
Hispano - Hablante → ... (Hispano - Speaker ~ Spanish-speaking)
Lava - Platos → ... (Wash - Plates ~ Dishwasher)
Mal - Gastar → ... (Bad - Spende ~ Waste)
Medio - Día → ... (Half - Day ~ Midday)
Pelo - Rojo → ... (Reddish - Hair ~ Redhead)

Before finishing, You have noticed that compound words come from two words, but there is one case where it’s formed from three. This weird word is:

Limpia - Para - Brisas → Limpiaparabrisas (Clean - Stop - Breeze ~ Windshield wipers)

Conclusion

Next time we face a new word, if we are aware that we are in front of a compound word, we could split it into two words and likely find two new meanings that make sense of the compound word.

Hoping this explanation dawn on you what the compoud words can help you to enhance your Spanish vocabulary. Feel free to ask any questions.

Keep practicing!

Antonio

https://teach.italki.com/teacher/3020133

Solutions.