sobrevivir (a)
verbCEFR B2
What does “sobrevivir (a)” mean in English?
to survive
to survive (sobrevivir a — outlast, come through adversity or a threat)
Example sentences
Pocas empresas familiares sobreviven a la tercera generación sin una planificación de la sucesión sólida.
Few family businesses survive to the third generation without solid succession planning.
Solo tres de los doce participantes lograron sobrevivir a la primera fase de eliminación del concurso.
Only three of the twelve participants managed to survive the first elimination phase of the competition.
El gobierno sobrevivió al escándalo, pero su credibilidad quedó seriamente dañada.
The government survived the scandal, but its credibility was seriously damaged.
How to use it
Sobrevivir (a) means 'to survive'. The preposition is a: sobrevivir a un accidente, sobrevivir a la crisis. Without a complement it means to survive generally: la empresa sobrevivió (the company survived). At B2, the figurative institutional and economic senses are as important as the literal: sobrevivir a la competencia (survive the competition), sobrevivir a una generación (outlast a generation). Contrast resistir (to resist/withstand — implies active defence) and subsistir (to subsist — implies bare continuation).
Common mistake
Sobrevivir a + noun — the a is required when there is a specific threat or event. Without a, sobrevivir just means to survive generally. Don't confuse with supervivir (*not standard — use sobrevivir) or with vivir (to live — ongoing existence, not specifically surviving a threat).