novela

See also: novelá

English

Noun

novela (plural novelas)

1. A Latin American soap opera.

Related terms

• telenovela

Chavacano

Etymology

Inherited from Spanish novela.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /noˈbela/, [noˈbe.la]
• Hyphenation: no‧ve‧la

Noun

novela

1. novel

Czech

Etymology

Ultimately from Latin novellus. This etymology is incomplete. You can help Wiktionary by elaborating on the origins of this term.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈnovɛla]

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

novela f

1. novella
2. (law) amendment

Declension

Declension of novela (hard feminine)

	singular	plural
nominative	novela	novely
genitive	novely	novel
dative	novele	novelám
accusative	novelu	novely
vocative	novelo	novely
locative	novele	novelách
instrumental	novelou	novelami

Further reading

• “novela”, in Příruční slovník jazyka českého (in Czech), 1935–1957
• “novela”, in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého (in Czech), 1960–1971, 1989

Galician

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Italian novella (“tale”).

Noun

novela f (plural novelas)

1. novel

Derived terms

• novelar
• novelesco
• novelista
• novelístico
• telenovela

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

novela

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

Further reading

• “novela”, in Dicionario da Real Academia Galega (in Galician), A Coruña: Royal Galician Academy, 2012–2026

Indonesian

Etymology

From from Italian novella, from Latin novella, feminine of novellus. Doublet of novela and novelet.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [no.vɛ.la]
• Rhymes: -ɛla
• Hyphenation: no‧vè‧la

Noun

novela (plural novela-novela)

1. (literature) novel: a work of prose fiction, shorter than a novel

   Synonym: roman

Hyponyms

• novelet

Related terms

• novelis

Further reading

• “novela”, in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia [Great Dictionary of the Indonesian Language] (in Indonesian), Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016

Old Occitan

Alternative forms

• novella

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Noun

novela f (oblique plural novelas, nominative singular novela, nominative plural novelas)

1. item of news

Portuguese

Alternative forms

• novella (obsolete)

Etymology

Borrowed from Italian novella (“tale”), from Latin novella, feminine of novellus (“new; fresh”), from novus (“new”), Proto-Indo-European *néwos.

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /noˈvɛ.lɐ/

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /noˈvɛ.lɐ/
  • (Southern Brazil) IPA^(key): /noˈvɛ.la/

 

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /nuˈvɛ.lɐ/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /nuˈvɛ.lɐ/
  • (Northern Portugal) IPA^(key): /nuˈbɛ.lɐ/ [nuˈβɛ.lɐ]

• Rhymes: -ɛlɐ
• Hyphenation: no‧ve‧la

Noun

novela f (plural novelas)

1. novella (short novel or long short story)
2. soap opera (a type of television or radio series)
3. (figuratively) any overdramatic case or event
   • 2025 February 26, “Qual o futuro de Baby? Destino da elefanta do Beto Carrero vira novela e segue indefinido [What's the future of Baby? Destiny of Beto Carrero's female elephant becomes a drama and stays undefined]”, in ND+‎^[1], Florianópolis, archived from the original on 5 April 2025

Derived terms

• novelador
• novelar
• noveleiro
• novelesco
• noveleta
• novelismo
• novelista
• novelística
• novelístico
• novelização
• radionovela
• telenovela

Related terms

• novilho
• novo

See also

• romance

Further reading

• “novela”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026
• “novela”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /noˈbela/ [noˈβ̞e.la]

• Audio (Colombia):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ela
• Syllabification: no‧ve‧la

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Italian novella (“tale”).

Noun

novela f (plural novelas)

1. novel
2. soap opera, telenovela

Hyponyms

• novela autobiográfica (“autobiographical novel”)
• novela biográfica (“biographical novel”)
• novela de aprendizaje (“coming-of-age novel, coming-of-age story; bildungsroman”)
• novela de caballerías
• novela de campus (“campus novel”)
• novela de formación
• novela de terror (“horror novel”)
• novela de tesis
• novela detectivesca, novela de detectives (“detective novel; detective fiction (by extension)”)
• novela epistolar (“epistolary novel”)
• novela existencialista (“existentialist novel”)
• novela filosófica (“philosophical novel”)
• novela gráfica
• novela histórica (“historical novel; historical fiction (by extension)”)
• novela ligera
• novela negra
• novela policíaca (“crime novel; crime fiction (by extension)”)
• novela por entregas
• novela social (“social novel”)
• novela visual

Derived terms

• fotonovela
• novelar
• novelista
• novelístico

Descendants

• → Central Bikol: nobela
• → Cebuano: nobela
• → Tagalog: nobela

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

novela

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

Further reading

• “novela”, 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