What is the difference between empezar
and comenzar
? Is one more formal than the other?
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4DerPolygott33 I'd suggest that you accept @c.p. as an answer instead of Quintrala's since the votes and comments support that one as a more precise and documented answer. Answers from us native speakers are good as reference, but a better answer is one supported by references and research.– DGaleanoNov 17, 2015 at 16:23
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3I uphold @DGaleano 's request. Quintrala's answer is confusing and false.– fedorquiMar 13, 2018 at 10:46
6 Answers
Empezar, as Eric explained is related to events. Like the beginning of history or the beginning of a work project.
Comenzar is more personalized towards a subject.
Though they mean the same, we Spanish speakers tend to use each in those contexts.
Absolutely interchangeable as Eric states in his answer. I agree. However, I'd add that empezar is a little more common than comenzar. Actually Ngrams says in written Spanish, in the last 60 years, the frequency of use has been reversed. That is:
And comenzar is slightly more formal. But I have no other sources than native speaker's gut.
An existing answer, sadly the accepted one, has stated that empezar is more widely used than comenzar for things like "a project". That just doesn't make sense
My conclusion is not that some is used more than the other. The difference is not significant enough as for being considered as a definitive answer. That's my point.
I use them interchangeably, but if I had to distinguish I'd say that comenzar is normally a group or event, and empezar is normally a third person.
That being said, ?puedo comenzar? is perfectly acceptable so they really are pretty interchangeable.
I speak Mexican Spanish as a caveat.
Spanish verbs "comenzar" and "empezar" are synonyms. There is no difference between them. Also "iniciar" means the same. Do not confuse trying to state differences where they do not exist.
I guess most of the times are interchangeable, but take care with set phrases like for example
no tengo ni para/por-dónde empezar
no empieces a hacer el tonto",
¡No empieces!
In these cases, using "comenzar" instead of "empezar" would sound sort of funny.