Spanish Conversation · Level 56
72 words
Spanish word
característico
Pronunciation
IPA/kaɾakteˈɾistiko/
Meaning
- adjectivetypical
Example
Ese gesto es característico de él.
That gesture is typical of him.
More examples
El olor característico de ese café me despierta.
The characteristic smell of that coffee wakes me up.
Core concept
A distinctive identifying trait.
Common phrases
rasgo característico
characteristic trait
olor característico
characteristic smell
comportamiento característico
characteristic behavior
Similar words
típico: Occurs commonly in a situation or group; regularly seen or expected there.
peculiar: Has an odd or idiosyncratic trait that belongs specifically to a person or thing.
singular: Appears strikingly singular, standing out noticeably compared with others.
distintivo: Shows a conspicuous feature or mark that distinguishes one item from another.
Definition in Spanish
Que sirve para identificar a una persona, cosa o situación por rasgos propios y distintivos.
Word origin
Comes from Greek charaktēr 'stamp, mark' via Latin and Old French into Spanish, keeping the sense of a mark that identifies something.
Usage tips
- Usually used as 'ser característico de X' to say a feature identifies X, while 'típico' often means 'commonly seen' rather than uniquely identifying.
Other meanings
- specific to ...adjective
- distinctiveadjective
Opposites
- atípicoatypicaladjective
Related words
- característicacharacteristicnoun
- caracterizarcharacterizeverb
- caracterizacióncharacterizationnoun