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Is there any difference in meaning between "estante", "repisa" and "balda", when they mean "shelf" (an horizontal surface on which you put objects) ?

I had never heard "balda" before, but I have just heard it in the TV series "Vis a Vis", which takes place in Spain. Is that word used exclusively in that country?

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  • It should be noted that repisa has several related meanings: dle.rae.es/repisa?m=form (estante has even more meanings but they are unrelated). I would say repisa is often used for other kind of shelf-like surfaces - like an elongated niche in some old houses that can be used as a shelf. The use of "repisa rocosa" (a geological or topographical feature) is a natural extension of the meaning of repisa that wouldn't work with estante.
    – Pere
    Commented May 13, 2020 at 19:34

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According to the DRAE:

estante
5. m. Cada una de las tablas dispuestas horizontalmente en un mueble o en la pared para colocar objetos sobre ellas.

repisa
2. f. Estante o placa de madera, cristal u otro material, colocados horizontalmente contra la pared para servir de soporte a algo.

balda
estante

As you have pointed everyone of them matches the definition of shelf provided by the Oxford Dictionary

A flat length of wood or rigid material, attached to a wall or forming part of a piece of furniture, that provides a surface for the storage or display of objects.

But notice that the definition of repisa doesn't mention it as part of a piece of furniture. It usually refers to a shelf directly attached to the wall, la pared. I've never heard that word mentioned as part of a bookshelf (estantería). I tend to identify a repisa also for being made of something different from wood like plaster (escayola) or stone (piedra) but I can't not generalize such distinction to all Spanish speakers.

I'm from Spain so I can not answer the second part of your question. Balda is a common word here, there's nothing strange about it being mentioned in a TV series.

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  • 2
    Balda is not used in Argentina, or at least I've never heard it.
    – Martin Epsz
    Commented May 13, 2020 at 16:08
  • Could Mexicans and Colombians confirm that "balda" is not usual in their countries either? I suspect this word is not used in Latin America.
    – Alan Evangelista
    Commented May 14, 2020 at 4:47

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