The English word space has several meanings, and learners of Spanish will be happy to know that the Spanish equivalent, espacio, encompasses almost all of these meanings as well.
Latin American Pronunciation
European Pronunciation
Before we begin, let’s briefly examine its etymology. Espacio comes from the Latin spatium, a word of uncertain origin that carries the same meanings as its Spanish equivalent. It is a masculine noun and uses the following definite and indefinite articles:
- el espacio = the space
- los espacios = the spaces
- un espacio = a space
- unos espacios = some spaces
First, we have espacio in the sense of an expanse which is available and unoccupied. You might say, for example, that there is no space – no hay espacio – for your personal belongings in a locker, or that there is lots of space – mucho espacio – in the hall to hold a party. When this is the meaning, we also use the synonym room in English.
Below you’ll find some common verbs that tend to be used with espacio when this is the meaning:
- darle espacio a alguien = to give someone space
- hacerle espacio a alguien = to make space for someone
- encontrar espacio para algo = to find space for something
- ocupar espacio = to take up space
This category also includes two-, three-, and four-dimensional space, referred to as espacio bidimensional, tridimensional, and cuatridimensional, respectively.
¿Podrías hacerme espacio?
Could you make some space for me?
Just as in English, espacio also refers to a large area such as, for example, an espacio público (public space) or espacio verde (green space) within a city.
Now it’s time to move onto espacio in the sense of outer space, the vast expanse in which all objects exist and move. This is also a good time to mention the adjective espacial (space / spacial), as it is often used to describe objects and concepts associated with outer space such as:
- era espacial = space age
- nave espacial = spaceship
- estación espacial = space station
- traje espacial = spacesuit
- sonda espacial = space probe
- vuelo espacial = space flight
- exploración espacial = space exploration
El astronauta se puso el traje espacial antes de salir al espacio.
The astronaut put on the spacesuit before going into space.
Then there is the kind of espacio that refers to the distance between two objects, such as the espacio between two people or two written words. A word we often use in English for this concept is gap, which can be translated as un espacio en blanco in Spanish.
Debemos dejar más espacio entre las líneas.
We must leave more space between the lines.
Espacio can also denote a period of time, particularly in the expression en el espacio de (in the space of). For example, en el espacio de una hora translates to in the space of an hour.
Finally, in the world of radio and television, espacio is used to refer to a program, such as an espacio informativo (news program), or a slot within a program, such as an espacio publicitario (advertising slot). In musical terms, it denotes an interval.
