Spanish Conversation · Level 28
89 words
Spanish word
alrededor
Pronunciation
IPA/alreðeˈðoɾ/
Meaning
- adverbabout
Example
Hay alrededor de cien personas en la sala.
There are about a hundred people in the room.
More examples
La reunión empezó alrededor de las ocho.
The meeting started at about eight.
Core concept
Loose circle indicating a nearby area or range.
Common phrases
alrededor de
about
alrededor del
around the
Similar words
por ahí: Gives a vague idea of a nearby spot in colloquial speech.
cerca: Conveys that something is nearby, stressing closeness.
en torno a: Conveys the vicinity around a place or quantity in formal contexts.
Definition in Spanish
Indica que algo está en las inmediaciones de un lugar o que una cifra es aproximada; en contextos numéricos suele ir acompañado de 'de'.
Word origin
From the medieval forms redor and derredor plus the preposition a, with a stem meaning 'surrounding' that extends its sense to approximate amounts and times.
Usage tips
- In numeric and time expressions alrededor is normally followed by de (alrededor de tres horas), so it signals an estimate rather than an exact number.
Other meanings
- aroundpreposition
Opposites
- exactamenteexactlyadverb
- precisamentepreciselyadverb