Today’s Spanish word of the day is “pena”.
It’s a feminine noun that can have a range of meanings including “pity”, “shame”, “sorrow”, “trouble” and “sentence” (in the legal sense).
It’s commonly used in the phrasal verb “valer la pena”, meaning “to be worth [it]”, for example:
- No vale la pena discutir. – It’s not worth arguing.
Another common usage is the phrase “dar pena” (literally “to give pity”), which is used to refer to something that makes you feel sadness, embarrassment or pity:
- Me da pena hablar en público. – I feel embarrassed speaking in public.
- Me da pena ver a los animales enjaulados. – It makes me sad to see animals in cages.
The word “pena” comes from Greek poinē (“penalty”) via Latin poena (“punishment”). This is also the root of several English words including “pain”, “punish”, “penal” and “penalty”.
Example sentences
Es una pena que no puedas venir.
It’s a pity that you can’t come.
Siento mucha pena por lo que pasó.
I feel very sorry for what happened.
La pena de muerte es un tema controversial.
The death penalty is a controversial topic.
No vale la pena preocuparse por cosas que no puedes controlar.
It’s not worth worrying about things you can’t control.
El final de esa película me dio pena.
The ending of that movie made me feel sad.
