lema
“lema” means “motto” in Spanish. It has 2 different meanings depending on context:
motto, slogan
Also: watchword
📝 In Action
El lema de la Revolución Francesa era 'Libertad, Igualdad y Fraternidad'.
B1The motto of the French Revolution was 'Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity'.
La empresa cambió su lema para atraer a clientes más jóvenes.
B2The company changed its slogan to attract younger customers.
Nuestro lema familiar es 'siempre adelante'.
A2Our family motto is 'always forward'.
lemma
Also: headword
📝 In Action
En el diccionario, el lema para 'fuimos' es el infinitivo 'ir'.
C1In the dictionary, the lemma for 'fuimos' is the infinitive 'ir'.
Para demostrar el teorema principal, primero debemos probar este lema.
C2To prove the main theorem, we must first prove this lemma.
La base de datos contiene miles de lemas lingüísticos.
C1The database contains thousands of linguistic lemmas.
Translate to Spanish
✏️ Quick Practice
Quick Quiz: lema
Question 1 of 3
Which of these is the correct way to say 'The slogan'?
📚 More Resources
👥 Word Family▼
📚 Etymology▼
From the Greek word 'lēmma', meaning 'something received' or 'a gift.' It traveled through Latin as 'lemma' before becoming the Spanish word we use today for a guiding phrase or heading.
First recorded: 15th century
Cognates (Related words)
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Frequently Asked Questions
Why isn't it 'la lema'?
Spanish has a group of words ending in -ma that come from Greek (like problema, sistema, and tema). These words are almost always masculine, so we use 'el'.
Can I use 'lema' for a brand's catchphrase?
Yes, although 'eslogan' is also very common for commercial brands. 'Lema' sounds slightly more formal or serious.
Is 'lema' the same as 'tema'?
No. A 'tema' is a topic or subject (like 'the theme of the party'), while a 'lema' is a specific phrase or sentence used to represent something.