competencia
nounCEFR B1
What does “competencia” mean in English?
competence, skill
competence, skill (communicative competence; set of specific learned abilities — not competition)
Example sentences
El Marco Común Europeo de Referencia describe las competencias comunicativas necesarias para desenvolverse en situaciones cotidianas a partir del nivel B1.
The Common European Framework of Reference describes the communicative competences needed to get by in everyday situations from B1 level upwards.
Desarrollar la competencia escrita requiere mucho más que aprender gramática: también implica aprender las convenciones de cada tipo de texto y la adecuación al registro.
Developing written competence requires much more than learning grammar: it also involves learning the conventions of each text type and appropriateness of register.
En este país, la competencia entre los candidatos para una plaza universitaria es muy alta, así que conviene tener el expediente académico en perfectas condiciones.
In this country, competition among candidates for a university place is very high, so it is advisable to have your academic record in perfect shape.
How to use it
Competencia in educational and linguistic contexts means 'competence' or 'skill' — a learned ability to perform effectively in a specific domain. It is most common in formal education and language assessment discourse, particularly in the phrase competencia comunicativa (communicative competence), which is the B1-level learner's goal. The plural competencias refers to a set of specific skills or learning outcomes. Important false friend warning: competencia also means 'competition' in business or sports contexts — only context disambiguates. In education, competencia is always about skills, not contests.
Common mistake
The false friend alert: competencia means both 'competence' (skill, educational) and 'competition' (rivalry, business/sports). In an educational sentence like 'desarrollar competencias' it always means skills; in 'la competencia del mercado' it means market competition. At B1, both uses are common — recognise the context. Do not use *competencia for 'competency' in the HR sense — use competencia or habilidad.