juvenil
Lemma Details
Translation: juvenile; youthful; young; youth; teenage
Part of Speech: adjective
Etymology: Derived from Latin 'juvenilis', from 'juvenis' meaning 'young person'. This shares the same Latin root as English words like 'juvenile', 'rejuvenate', and 'junior'. The Latin 'juvenis' ultimately comes from the Proto-Indo-European root *yeu- meaning 'vital force, youthful vigor'.
Commonality: 80%
Guessability: 90%
Register: neutral
Example Usage
Ella juega en el equipo juvenil de baloncesto.
She plays on the youth basketball team.
La delincuencia juvenil es un problema social importante.
Juvenile delinquency is an important social problem.
Tiene un aspecto muy juvenil para su edad.
He has a very youthful appearance for his age.
Esta es una novela juvenil muy popular.
This is a very popular young adult novel.
Mnemonics
- Think of 'juvenile' in English, which sounds and means almost the same thing.
- Remember 'ju-VEN-il' by thinking of young people as having lots of 'VENue' options for their energy.
Related Words, Phrases & Idioms
Synonyms
Cultural Context
In Spanish-speaking countries, 'juvenil' is commonly used in institutional contexts like sports (equipos juveniles - youth teams), literature (literatura juvenil - young adult literature), and legal contexts (justicia juvenil - juvenile justice). It's also used in marketing to target younger demographics.
Easily Confused With
Explanation: While 'juvenil' is an adjective meaning 'juvenile' or 'youthful', 'joven' can be both an adjective meaning 'young' and a noun meaning 'young person'. 'Juvenil' is more formal and often used in institutional contexts, while 'joven' is more common in everyday speech.
Confused word:
Es una persona joven.
He/She is a young person.
Notes: 'Juvenil' is more specific to youth characteristics or institutions, while 'joven' is a broader term for young age.
Mnemonic: 'Juvenil' ends with '-il' like 'juvenile', while 'joven' is shorter like 'young'.
Explanation: 'Juvenil' refers to youth or teenage characteristics (roughly ages 12-18), while 'infantil' refers to childish or childlike characteristics (roughly ages 0-12).
Confused word:
Tiene un comportamiento infantil.
He has childish behavior.
Notes: Both are adjectives describing age-related characteristics, but they refer to different age groups.
Mnemonic: 'Infantil' contains 'infant', referring to very young children, while 'juvenil' relates to 'juvenile', referring to older children and teenagers.