Today’s Spanish word of the day is “duro” in the masculine form, or “dura” in the feminine form.
It’s an adjective meaning “hard”, “tough” or “stiff”.
It can also mean “harsh”, “severe” or “tough” when describing people and their actions.
Like how we use the word “hard” in English, “duro” can also mean “difficult”, for example:
- El examen fue duro. – The exam was very hard.
It can also be used as an adverb, like how we sometimes use the word “hard” to refer to doing something with intensity in English:
- Trabajé duro todo el año. – I worked hard all year
As you might have guessed, the word “duro” is related to English “durable”. Both words come from Latin durus, which also meant “hard”. Other related English words include “dour” and “endure”.
The most obvious antonym (opposite word) of “duro” is “blando”, meaning “soft”.
Example sentences
La almohada es demasiada dura.
The pillow is too hard
La noticia me dio un golpe duro.
The news hit me hard.
El cambio de horario está duro, ¡todavía tengo jet lag!
The time change is rough; I still have jet lag!
Napoleón era duro con sus enemigos.
Napoleon was harsh with his enemies
El queso cotija se pone muy duro con el tiempo.
Cotija cheese [a type of Mexican cheese] gets very hard with time
