habla

See also: hablá

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈabla/, [ˈa.β̞la]

Etymology 1

From Old Spanish fabla, from Latin fābula (“discourse”), from Proto-Italic *fāðlā, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂- (“speak”) + *-dʰleh₂. Compare fábula, a borrowed doublet.

Noun

habla f (plural hablas)

1. speech (faculty of speech)
2. speaking (action)

Usage notes

• The feminine noun habla is like other feminine nouns starting with a stressed /a/ sound in that it takes the articles el and un (normally reserved for masculine nouns) in the singular when there is no intervening adjective:

el habla

un habla

• However, if an adjective, even one that begins with stressed /a/ such as alta or ancha, intervenes between the article and the noun, the article reverts to la or una.

Related terms

• hablar (“to speak”)

Descendants

• → Tagalog: abla

Etymology 2

From the verb hablar.

Verb

habla

1. inflection of hablar:
   1. third-person singular present indicative
   2. second-person singular imperative

   Habla. ― He [or she] speaks.

   (Usted) habla. (formal singular) ― (You) speak.

2. inflection of hablar:
   1. third-person singular present indicative
   2. second-person singular imperative

   ¡Habla! (informal singular) ― Speak!

Further reading

• “habla”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014

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Tagalog

Etymology

Borrowed from Spanish habla, the presence of an /h/ initial may indicate an early borrowing. Doublet of abla.

Pronunciation

• Hyphenation: hab‧la
• IPA^(key): /habˈla/, [hɐbˈla]

Noun

hablá

1. (law) accusation; complaint (in court)

   Synonyms: sakdal, demanda, akusasyon, reklamo

Derived terms

• hablahan
• ihabla
• maghabla
• mahabla
• paghahabla