A vibrant storybook illustration of a young child sitting quietly. A colorful, swirling cloud of abstract shapes and stars is floating directly above the child's head, visually representing the creation of mental images and ideas.

imaginación

ee-mah-hee-nah-SYOHN

nounfA1

imagination?the ability to form mental images or ideas,creativity?the ability to invent or express new ideas

Also:vision?a future idea or concept,resourcefulness?ability to solve problems (less common, but implied)

📝 In Action

Los niños tienen mucha imaginación.

Children have a lot of imagination.

Necesitas más imaginación para escribir una historia así.

You need more creativity to write a story like that.

Su falta de imaginación le impide ver otras soluciones.

His lack of imagination prevents him from seeing other solutions.

Word Connections

Synonyms

fantasía (fantasy)
creatividad (creativity)

Antonyms

realidad (reality)
lógica (logic)

Common Collocations

echar a volar la imaginación – to let your imagination run wild
tener mucha imaginación – to have a great imagination
fruto de la imaginación – a figment of the imagination

💡 Grammar Points

Nouns Ending in -ción

Words that end in -ción (like imaginación, canción, situación) are almost always feminine and take the feminine article 'la'.

❌ Common Pitfalls

Gender Confusion

Mistake: "El imaginación"

Correction: La imaginación. Since it ends in -ción, it is always feminine. Remember: 'la imaginación'.

⭐ Usage Tips

Cognate Alert

This word is a perfect cognate! It looks and sounds very similar to 'imagination' in English, making it easy to remember.

✏️ Quick Practice

💡 Quick Quiz: imaginación

Question 1 of 2

Which sentence correctly uses 'imaginación'?

📚 More Resources

Word Family

imaginar(to imagine) - verb

imaginario(imaginary) - adjective

imaginativo(imaginative) - adjective

Frequently Asked Questions

Is 'imaginación' countable or uncountable?

It is generally used as an uncountable noun, like 'water' or 'air'. You wouldn't say 'two imaginations.' You usually refer to the quantity or quality of imagination: *mucha imaginación* (a lot of imagination) or *gran imaginación* (great imagination).

How do I use 'imaginación' when I want to say something is just a dream or not real?

The common phrase is 'Es un fruto de la imaginación' (It's a figment/fruit of the imagination), or simply 'Es pura imaginación' (It's pure imagination).