Spanish word of the week: ligero

This week’s Spanish word of the week is ligero.

Ligero is an adjective that means light, lightweight; slight. To hear how ligero is pronounced, you can click the icon below.

Ligero covers several of the same meanings as English light. It refers to things that don’t weigh very much:

fibra de carbono y otros materiales ligeros carbon fibre and other lightweight materials
una blusa ligerita a light(weight) blouse

It describes things which are light in weight in a non-literal sense:

la industria ligera light industry
la artillería ligera light artillery

It denotes artistic things which are light, that is, not profound or serious:

una comedia ligera a light comedy
música ligera light music

And it describes meals which are simple and healthy:

No tengo mucha hambre. Me apetece algo ligero. I’m not very hungry. I fancy something light.

Another of its frequent meanings describes things which are small in degree, or slight, such as increases, decreases, improvements, and the like:

una ligera subida de precios a slight price rise
Se ha producido una ligera recuperación de las ventas. There’s been a slight recovery in sales.

It also refers to breezes, noises, smells and pains which are slight:

Soplaba una brisa ligera. A slight breeze was blowing.
El más ligero ruido la despierta. She wakes at the slightest noise.
un ligero olor a lavanda a slight scent of lavender
un ligero dolor de cabeza a slight headache

Come back next week to learn a new word!