aliento
nounCEFR B2
What does “aliento” mean in English?
breath
breath (exhaled air) and encouragement, inspiration — both the physical breath and the figurative sense of moral support (soplo de aliento; dar aliento; sin aliento)
Example sentences
Sus palabras fueron un soplo de aliento para el equipo, que llevaba semanas inmerso en un proyecto sin resultados visibles.
His words were a breath of fresh air for the team, which had been immersed for weeks in a project with no visible results.
La victoria en las primarias le dio aliento suficiente para continuar la campaña hasta las elecciones generales.
The victory in the primaries gave him enough encouragement to continue the campaign through to the general election.
La escritora, ya sin aliento tras tres décadas de lucha, recibió el premio como el reconocimiento de toda una vida.
The writer, already breathless after three decades of struggle, received the award as the recognition of a lifetime.
How to use it
El aliento (noun, masculine) means 'breath' (the air one breathes out — el aliento a ajo — garlic breath) and, more productively at B2, 'encouragement, support, inspiration'. Core figurative collocations: dar/infundir aliento (to give encouragement); un soplo de aliento (a breath of fresh air/a spark of hope); cobrar aliento (to catch one's breath, or to regain strength); sin aliento (breathless — both literal and figurative). In literary and political register, alentar (the verb) means to encourage, inspire, or fan the flames of something. The B2 register is dominated by the figurative sense.
Common mistake
El aliento covers both literal 'breath' (exhaled air) and figurative 'encouragement'. Don't confuse with respiro (relief, breathing space — me dio un respiro) or respiración (breathing as a process). The idiomatic verb form alentar (to encourage, to fan) is distinct from respirar (to breathe). 'Bad breath' = mal aliento (direct compound).