C2 · 50 words
Literary figures in Spanish
Metaphor, metonymy, hyperbaton, alliteration — the names for what a text does with language.
El narrador testigo is the narrator who reports only what was seen, and el testigo on its own does two more jobs that English keeps well away from each other. It is the witness — in a courtroom, at a wedding, on a contract. And it is the baton in a relay race, the tube handed from one runner to the next, so pasar el testigo is what we say as « to hand over the baton », used of a retiring minister exactly as we use it. There is even a third: el testigo de la gasolina is the warning light on a dashboard. One word for the person who saw it, the object that is passed on and the lamp that tells you — all three are there to prove something happened.
The words
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Phrase (21)
la figura retóricathe rhetorical figurePhraseC2
La figura retórica no es un adorno añadido.The rhetorical figure is not an ornament added afterwards.
la imagen metafóricathe image that replaces one thing by a likenessPhraseC2
La imagen metafórica sustituye por semejanza.The metaphorical image replaces by likeness.
la metáfora lexicalizadathe image so worn that nobody sees it any morePhraseC2
La metáfora lexicalizada ya no se percibe como imagen.The dead metaphor is no longer felt as an image.
el término realthe thing actually spoken about, under the imagePhraseC2
El término real es aquello de lo que se habla.The tenor is the thing being spoken about.
el término imaginariothe image put in the place of that thingPhraseC2
El término imaginario es la imagen que lo sustituye.The vehicle is the image that takes its place.
el símbolo literariothe image that no single reading exhaustsPhraseC2
El símbolo literario no se agota en una lectura.The literary symbol is not exhausted by one reading.
la palabra tabúthe word replaced before it is saidPhraseC2
La palabra tabú se sustituye antes de pronunciarse.The taboo word is replaced before it is uttered.
la derivación léxica en el versothe repetition of one word root in two different wordsPhraseC2
La derivación léxica en el verso junta palabras de una misma raíz.Lexical derivation in verse sets words of one root side by side.
el silencio del textowhat the text leaves out for the reader to supplyPhraseC2
El silencio del texto calla lo que el lector puede reponer.The silence of the text leaves out what the reader can supply.
la enumeración caóticathe list that puts unrelated things side by sidePhraseC2
La enumeración caótica junta lo que no pega.The chaotic list puts together what does not fit.
la gradación ascendentethe list ordered from the smallest to the largestPhraseC2
La gradación ascendente ordena de menos a más.Ascending gradation orders from less to more.
la repetición anafórica del versothe repetition of a whole line that gives a poem its shapePhraseC2
La repetición anafórica del verso da estructura al poema.The repeated line gives the poem its structure.
la vuelta de la estrofathe repetition of a whole stanza, loaded with what came beforePhraseC2
La vuelta de la estrofa llega cargada de lo anterior.The return of the stanza arrives loaded with what came before.
el paralelismo semánticothe same idea said again in other wordsPhraseC2
El paralelismo semántico repite la idea con otras palabras.Semantic parallelism repeats the idea in other words.
la prolepsis narrativathe jump forward to what will happenPhraseC2
La prolepsis narrativa adelanta lo que vendrá.Narrative prolepsis brings forward what is to come.
el narrador testigothe narrator who reports only what was seenPhraseC2
El narrador testigo cuenta lo que vio, no lo que se pensó.The witness narrator tells what he saw, not what was thought.
el discurso citadothe speech marked off with quotation marksPhraseC2
El discurso citado marca la frontera con comillas.Quoted speech marks the border with quotation marks.
el fluir de la concienciathe prose that follows a mind without punctuating itPhraseC2
El fluir de la conciencia renuncia a la puntuación del pensar.Stream of consciousness gives up the punctuation of thinking.
el tono del narradorthe tone the narrator chooses before the plotPhraseC2
El tono del narrador se elige antes que la trama.The narrator's tone is chosen before the plot.
el narrador en primera personathe narrator who says I and knows no morePhraseC2
El narrador en primera persona limita lo que se puede contar.The first-person narrator limits what can be told.
la ambigüedad calculadathe doubt a writer leaves open on purposePhraseC2
La ambigüedad calculada abre el texto sin romperlo.Calculated ambiguity opens the text without breaking it.
Noun (f) (16)
la metonimiathe substitution by nearness rather than likenessNoun (f)C2
La metonimia sustituye por contigüidad.Metonymy replaces by contiguity.
la sinécdoquethe substitution of the part for the wholeNoun (f)C2
La sinécdoque nombra la parte por el todo.Synecdoche names the part for the whole.
la alegoríathe image held up across a whole textNoun (f)C2
La alegoría sostiene la imagen a lo largo del texto.Allegory sustains the image throughout the text.
la personificaciónthe giving of a will to lifeless thingsNoun (f)C2
La personificación da voluntad a lo inerte.Personification gives a will to what is inert.
la hipérbolethe exaggeration that shows rather than deceivesNoun (f)C2
La hipérbole exagera para señalar, no para engañar.Hyperbole exaggerates to point, not to deceive.
la paradojathe statement that only seems to contradict itselfNoun (f)C2
La paradoja parece contradecirse y no lo hace.A paradox seems to contradict itself and does not.
la sinestesiathe image that crosses one sense with anotherNoun (f)C2
La sinestesia cruza los sentidos en una imagen.Synaesthesia crosses the senses in one image.
la anáforathe repetition of the opening of each lineNoun (f)C2
La anáfora repite el comienzo de cada verso.Anaphora repeats the beginning of every line.
la epíforathe repetition of the ending of each lineNoun (f)C2
La epífora repite al final.Epiphora repeats at the end.
la aliteraciónthe repetition of a sound at the start of wordsNoun (f)C2
La aliteración repite el sonido, no la letra.Alliteration repeats the sound, not the letter.
la onomatopeyathe imitation of a sound by the word itselfNoun (f)C2
La onomatopeya imita el ruido con la lengua.Onomatopoeia imitates the noise with language.
la paronomasiathe play on two words that sound almost alikeNoun (f)C2
La paronomasia juega con palabras casi iguales.Paronomasia plays with words that are almost the same.
la antonomasiathe substitution of a name by a qualityNoun (f)C2
La antonomasia cambia el nombre por una cualidad.Antonomasia exchanges the name for a quality.
la hipálagethe adjective moved onto the wrong nounNoun (f)C2
La hipálage traslada el adjetivo a otro sustantivo.Hypallage shifts the adjective onto another noun.
la tautologíathe repetition of the same statement as if it explained somethingNoun (f)C2
La tautología dice lo mismo dos veces y parece explicar.Tautology says the same thing twice and seems to explain.
la analepsisthe jump back to what happened beforeNoun (f)C2
La analepsis vuelve atrás sin avisar.Analepsis goes back without warning.
Noun (m) (13)
el símilthe comparison that keeps the word likeNoun (m)C2
El símil deja visible el como.The simile leaves the like on show.
el disfemismothe word chosen to make a thing sound worseNoun (m)C2
El disfemismo llama a algo por su peor nombre.A dysphemism calls a thing by its worst name.
el oxímoronthe two words that contradict each other side by sideNoun (m)C2
El oxímoron junta dos palabras que se niegan.An oxymoron joins two words that cancel each other.
el epítetothe adjective that adds tone and no informationNoun (m)C2
El epíteto no añade información, añade tono.The epithet adds no information, it adds tone.
el políptotonthe repetition of one word in a different grammatical formNoun (m)C2
El políptoton repite la palabra en otra forma.Polyptoton repeats the word in another form.
el retruécanothe joke made by reversing the word order of a phraseNoun (m)C2
El retruécano invierte la frase y cambia el sentido.The retruécano inverts the phrase and changes the sense.
el hipérbatonthe change in the expected word orderNoun (m)C2
El hipérbaton altera el orden esperado.Hyperbaton alters the expected order.
el quiasmothe crossed word order of two membersNoun (m)C2
El quiasmo cruza el orden de dos miembros.Chiasmus crosses the order of two members.
el asíndetonthe omission of the conjunctionsNoun (m)C2
El asíndeton suprime las conjunciones y acelera.Asyndeton drops the conjunctions and speeds up.
el polisíndetonthe piling up of the conjunctionsNoun (m)C2
El polisíndeton multiplica las conjunciones y frena.Polysyndeton multiplies the conjunctions and slows down.
el encabalgamientothe sentence broken across two linesNoun (m)C2
El encabalgamiento parte la frase entre dos versos.Enjambment splits the sentence between two lines.
el zeugmathe one verb made to serve two sensesNoun (m)C2
El zeugma usa un verbo para dos sentidos distintos.Zeugma uses one verb for two different senses.
el pleonasmothe repetition of what a word has already saidNoun (m)C2
El pleonasmo repite lo que ya estaba dicho.Pleonasm repeats what was already said.
This list belongs to Art and culture — 29 lists and 1450 words that can also be practised as a whole.
Practise this list
From these 50 words, as many per round as you like — up to all of them: first what is due today, then new ones. First you choose, then you fill the gap, then you write it yourself. Mistakes come back again shortly.