la vida

Definition & meaning

vida is a feminine Spanish noun meaning “life.” It can refer to:

1. The state of being alive

   • La vida es frágil. — “Life is fragile.”

2. A person’s existence or lifetime

   • Ha dedicado su vida a la música. — “He/She has dedicated his/her life to music.”

3. The way someone lives or their circumstances

   • Lleva una vida tranquila. — “He/She leads a quiet life.”

4. Biographical account or life story

   • Leyó la vida de un famoso escritor. — “He/She read the life story of a famous writer.”

5. Vitality, energy, or liveliness

   • Esta ciudad tiene mucha vida. — “This city is very lively.”

6. A beloved person, used affectionately

   • Eres el amor de mi vida. — “You are the love of my life.”

It can also be used in expressions meaning “lifetime,” “livelihood,” “living,” or “life” in contrast with death.

Grammar & Word origin

• Part of speech: feminine noun
• Gender: la vida
• Plural: las vidas
• Pronunciation: approximately BEE-dah in most varieties of Spanish
• Related verb: vivir ↗ — “to live”
• Related adjective: vital ↗ — “vital” or “essential”

Vida comes from the Latin noun vīta, meaning “life.” It is related to the Spanish verb vivir ↗.

Synonyms & antonyms

Synonyms

• existencia ↗ — “existence”; more formal and focused on the fact of being.
• vivencia ↗ — “lived experience”; emphasizes personal experiences rather than life as a whole.
• trayectoria ↗ — “trajectory” or “course”; often refers to the development of someone’s life or career.
• vitalidad ↗ — “vitality”; refers specifically to energy and liveliness, not life itself.
• biografía ↗ — “biography”; refers to a written account of someone’s life.

Antonyms

• muerte ↗ — “death,” the direct antonym of vida.
• inexistencia ↗ — “nonexistence,” referring to the absence of existence.
• inactividad ↗ — “inactivity,” an antonym only when vida means energy, movement, or liveliness.

Common phrases & collocations

• la vida [?](vocabuo://word/la vida) — “life”
• estar en vida [?](vocabuo://word/estar en vida) — “to be alive”
• dar vida [?](vocabuo://word/dar vida) — “to give life” or “to enliven”
• salvar la vida [?](vocabuo://word/salvar la vida) — “to save someone’s life”
• perder la vida [?](vocabuo://word/perder la vida) — “to lose one’s life”
• ganarse la vida [?](vocabuo://word/ganarse la vida) — “to earn a living”
• pasar la vida [?](vocabuo://word/pasar la vida) — “to spend one’s life”
• de por vida [?](vocabuo://word/de por vida) — “for life” or “lifelong”
• toda la vida [?](vocabuo://word/toda la vida) — “all one’s life” or “forever”
• amor de mi vida [?](vocabuo://word/amor de mi vida) — “love of my life”
• calidad de vida [?](vocabuo://word/calidad de vida) — “quality of life”
• estilo de vida [?](vocabuo://word/estilo de vida) — “lifestyle”
• modo de vida [?](vocabuo://word/modo de vida) — “way of life”
• vida cotidiana [?](vocabuo://word/vida cotidiana) — “everyday life”
• vida privada [?](vocabuo://word/vida privada) — “private life”
• vida real [?](vocabuo://word/vida real) — “real life”
• ¡Qué vida! [?](vocabuo://word/¡Qué vida!) — an expression of admiration, complaint, or surprise depending on context.