despacio

Asturian

Alternative forms

• espacio
• dispacio
• espaciu (Western)
• aspaciu (South-Western Asturias)
• eispaciu (Miranda)

Etymology

From de +‎ espacio (“space”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /desˈpaθjo/ [d̪esˈpa.θjo]
• Rhymes: -aθjo
• Syllabification: des‧pa‧cio

Adverb

despacio

1. slowly

   Synonym: adulces

   Antonyms: rápido, aína

2. quietly

   N'hespital has falar espacio.

   You must speak quietly at hospitals.

References

• García Arias, Xosé Lluis (2002–2004), “despacio”, in Diccionario general de la lengua asturiana [General Dictionary of the Asturian Language] (overall work in Spanish), Editorial Prensa Asturiana, →ISBN
• “despacio”, in Diccionariu de la llingua asturiana [Dictionary of the Asturian Language] (in Asturian), 1st edition, Academy of the Asturian Language [Asturian: Academia de la Llingua Asturiana], 2000, →ISBN

Spanish

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *de

Proto-Indo-European *-h₁

Proto-Indo-European *déh₁

Proto-Italic *dē

Latin dē

Old Spanish de

Spanish de

Latin spatiumlbor.

Spanish espacio

Spanish despacio

From de + espacio (“space”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /desˈpaθjo/ [d̪esˈpa.θjo] (Equatorial Guinea, Spain)
• IPA^(key): /desˈpasjo/ [d̪esˈpa.sjo] (Latin America, Philippines)
• Rhymes: -aθjo (Equatorial Guinea, Spain)
• Rhymes: -asjo (Latin America, Philippines)
• Syllabification: des‧pa‧cio

Adverb

despacio

1. slowly

   Synonyms: lentamente, lento

2. (Latin America) quietly

   Synonyms: bajito, en voz baja

Interjection

despacio

1. Used to ask someone to move slowly.

Derived terms

• con despacio
• despacito (diminutive)

Further reading

• “despacio”, 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