belleza

Spanish

Etymology

Probably borrowed from Catalan bellesa or Old Occitan belhesa, from Vulgar Latin *bellitia. By surface analysis, bello +‎ -eza. Compare Italian bellezza, Portuguese beleza.

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /beˈʝeθa/ [beˈʝe.θa] (Equatorial Guinea, Spain)

• IPA^(key): /beˈʝeθa/ [beˈʝe.θa] (Equatorial Guinea, most of Spain)
• IPA^(key): /beˈʎeθa/ [beˈʎe.θa] (rustic northern Spain)

 

• IPA^(key): /beˈʝesa/ [beˈʝe.sa] (Latin America)

• IPA^(key): /beˈʝesa/ [beˈʝe.sa] (most of Latin America)
• IPA^(key): /beˈʎesa/ [beˈʎe.sa] (northern and central Andes Mountains (except central Ecuador), Bolivia, Paraguay, northeastern Argentina, Philippines)
• IPA^(key): /beˈʃesa/ [beˈʃe.sa] (Buenos Aires and environs)
• IPA^(key): /beˈʒesa/ [beˈʒe.sa] (central Ecuador, Santiago del Estero and environs, elsewhere in Pampas and southern Argentina, Uruguay)
• IPA^(key): /beˈesa/ [beˈe.sa] (northern Mexico, Yucatán, Central America (except Panama))

• Audio (Colombia):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -eθa (Equatorial Guinea, Spain)
• Rhymes: -esa (Latin America, Philippines)
• Syllabification: be‧lle‧za

Noun

belleza f (plural bellezas)

1. beauty (the quality of being beautiful)

   Synonym: hermosura

2. beauty (beautiful person or object)

   Synonym: hermosura

Derived terms

• belleza sureña
• la belleza está en los ojos de quien ve
• salón de belleza

Related terms

• bello

Further reading

• “belleza”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025