Is there any difference between 'aquí' and 'acá'?

Question

ENGLISH

I've been taught that aquí and acá are completely interchangable.

From personal observation, acá seems to be used more often than aquí in the context of "I live down this road." Example:

Vivo por acá.

I don't think I've ever heard a person say vivo por aquí, even though I think they have the exact same meaning, right?

I'm wondering if there are any guidelines for when one is preferred over the other.

---

ESPAÑOL - Diferencias entre "aquí" y "acá".

Me han enseñado que "aquí" y "acá" son completamente intercambiables.

Por mi observación personal, "acá" parece ser utilizado con más frecuencia que "aquí" en el contexto de "I live down this road". Ejemplo:

Vivo por acá.

Creo que he nunca he oído a nadie decir vivo por aquí, aunque pienso que tienen exactamente el mismo significado, ¿verdad?

Me pregunto si hay pautas para decidir cuándo se prefiere una sobre la otra.

Answer 1

In situations where aquí and acá are both acceptable, aquí would connote more precision. It's worth considering all four words together:

• Aquí: here
• Acá: over here
• Allí: there
• Allá: over there

In cases where the location is very specific, you must use aquí (or allí):

Bajo la ley federal, el edificio debe permanecer aquí. (not acá)
Bajo la ley federal, el edificio debe permanecer allí. (not allá)
"Está, como he dicho, aquí en el margen escrito" (not acá)

Acá is better when referring to a general area, for movement, and in combinations such as "por acá" (around here), "más acá" (closer to here). Allá follows the same patterns, and can also connote a farther distance than allí.

Acá tenemos otra forma de jugar. (aquí less common)
Ven acá. (aquí less common)
Por acá viven muchos estudiantes, pero los maestros viven por allá.
"Acá es al revés, que quien canta una vez llora toda la vida."

EDIT: I don't have much experience with "ahí" and "acullá", but this page explains them.

Answer 2

This is just a matter of regionalisms or variations of Spanish.

In the case of Spain "acá" is very rarely used (I can only think of the (somehow rural/regional) expression "ven p'acá" = "ven aquí"). If you use "acá" in Spain people will of course understand you but immediately identify you with South America.

"Vivo por aquí" is exactly the way we say "I live around here" in Spain. Not only is it perfectly valid and is heard everyday in Spain, it is also much more frequent in Google:

"Vivo por aquí": 1.640.000 results. "Vivo por acá": 327.000 results.

Answer 3

From the RAE:

acá.

(Del lat. eccum hac, he aquí).

1. adv. l. En este lugar o cerca de él, a este lugar o cerca de él. No es tan explícito como aquí, por eso admite ciertos grados de comparación. Tan acá. Más acá. Muy acá.

and:

aquí.

(Del lat. eccum hic).

1. adv. l. En este lugar.

So, they are the same, but acá is not as explicit as aquí, and therefore admits comparison. As you can see, each has a different Latin root.

Although nowadays in a casual environment they are interchangeable. The main difference is acá is used more in Latin America (some countries) and aquí more in Spain.

Answer 4

They are mostly interchangeable. In Argentina 'acá' is a little more common-colloquial, but both are used. I believe that in Spain 'aquí' is slightly more common.

Answer 5

They are interchangeable. Usage of one or the other is cultural/geographic.

Answer 6

En Cuba aquí se usa mucho mas que acá (al menos en los pueblos y ciudades). Me atrevo a decir que el uso de acá se restringe a cuando aquí no es apropiado. Con esto afirmo además que no son iguales. Difícilmente diría "Muévete hacia aquí!" señalando a un lugar cerca de mí... diría "hacia acá" (pa'cá...). Noten que el sentido de direccion es lo que definitivamente las diferencia en la definición de la RAE que da @pferor.

---

In Cuba aquí is used much more than acá (at least in towns and cities). I dare say that using acá is restricted to when aquí is not appropriate, and so they're not quite identical. I would never say "Muévete hacia aquí!" pointing to a place close to me... instead I would say "hacia acá" (pa'cá...). Notice that the sense of direction is what definitely makes the difference in the definition of the RAE given by @pferor.

Answer 7

In Spanish there used to be a six-way proximal adverbial system:¹

(context)	Concrete	Imprecise
Near speaker	aquí	acá
Near listener	ahí	allá
Far from both	allí	acullá

However as the language evolved, these distinctions became fuzzier and many came to become synonymous in most circumstances:

• aquí = acá
• allí = allá

And in many American dialects:

• ahí = allí = allá

Which word is preferred for each meaning is often dialect/region dependent (e.g. the prevalence of acá in Argentina, and aquí in Spain).

However, note that there are some circumstances under which in Spain there is preference for the -á forms e.g. one often hears:

Para acá / Más acá
Para allá / Más allá

But it is much rarer to hear:

Para aquí / Más aquí
Para allí

And may even be considered ungrammatical to say:

*Más ahí.
*Más allí.

---

Notes:

1. _{Note the parallel between this and the adjectival system:}

                     Concrete  | Imprecise  
     ______________________________________  
     Near speaker   |  este    |  aqueste  
     Near listener  |  ese     |  aquese  
     Far from both  |        aquel  
   

2. _{Acullá has fallen out of use almost completely, only retaining a poetic/literary sense and as part of some set phrases.}

Answer 8

Based on the RAE pages and my experience, acá and aquí are almost identical.

Except for their 'range': aquí has a shorter range than acá.

Answer 9

Independent of different meanings in the past, both have come to be interchangeable, it's mostly a matter of regionalisms.

In Argentina you almost always hear acá instead of aquí, except sometimes in formal speech.

The same happens with allá which is almost always preferred over allí.

Answer 10

I have learned that acá and aqui mean the same thing "Here" but acá is more informal. And ahí and allí mean the same thing "There" but ahí is more informal.

Answer 11

In the North of Mexico we always say "aquí" even when we say "ven aqui" and we also use "allá" instead of "allí" but in the south of Mexico and most of south America "acá" is used. What is correct depends on where you are. By the way I'm in Monterrey very close to the US.

Answer 12

The 2 are NOT interchangeable.

Acá is used for near situations that use verbs of motion Example: Juan, ven acá (Juan, come here).

Aquí is used for other near situations. Example: Puedes registrarte aquí (You can sign up here).

For describing "less near" things, use allí. Example: El hombre allí no habla ingles (The guy over there doesn't speak English).

For describing things much farther, use allá. Example: Yo vivo aquí en los Estados Unidos, pero mi hermana vive allá en Costa Rica (I live here in the states, but my sister lives over in Costa Rica).

Answer 13

I use them both interchangeably. The only difference in my opinion is that "aqui" is more formal than "acá". You don't usually write "acá" in letters or documents. "Acá" is more colloquial, in the spoken language (although I wouldn't say it's slang, maybe a regionalism). As said before, in Spain they don't use "acá", which in America is widely used.

Answer 14

You only need to know: aquí, ahí, allí.

"...They are aquí, roughly the equivalent of "here"; ahí, roughly the equivalent of "there" when speaking of an object or action that is close to the person being spoken to; and allí, roughly the equivalent of "there" or "over there" when speaking of an object that is distant from both the speaker and the person being spoken to. Note also that ahí is sometimes used to refer to something emotionally close rather than simply physically close to the listener, so allí can suggest emotional as well as physical distance...."

"...Regional variations: In some parts of Latin America, you may hear acá, allá and acullá used instead of (or in addition to) aquí, allí and ahí. You may also find some subtle variations in how these terms are used in different regions...."

For simplicity's sake, I would have no problems only using aquí & allí. Every Spanish speaker in the world would know what I'm talking about.

http://spanish.about.com/od/adverbs/a/here_there.htm