Free or free?: gratis vs. libre
There's some confusion about these two words for people learning Spanish, but there is a solution which is easy to remember. Both words mean "free" in English but "gratis" means "zero cost" and "libre" means "free, as in liberty". If you can see the word "libre" in "liberty", it should be easy to remember the difference. Here are some examples of each word:
Spanish
1. Salió de la cárcel - ¡por fin era libre!
2. Ella se siente más libre después de su divorcio.
3. Eres libre de ir adonde quieras.
4. Me dieron dos entradas gratis para el concierto.
5. Trabajaré gratis si prometes ir a la fiesta conmigo.
6. Te llevaré a la playa pero no te va a salir gratis.
English
1. He got out of jail - finally he was free!
2. She feels freer after her divorce.
3. You are free to go wherever you want.
4. They gave me free tickets to the concert.
5. I'll work for free if you promise to go to the party with me.
6. I'll take you to the beach but you won't get it for nothing.
And here are couple of expressions using "libre" which have the same sense of liberty, but with different translations:
barra libre - open bar, free bar (where drinks are free)
al aire libre - open air, as in "un restaurante al aire libre"
Brad
