Adivinar

Adivinar is a Spanish verb that primarily means to guess or to infer something uncertain, often by using clues, information, or intuition. It can also mean to foretell or divine in contexts of fortune-telling or superstition. In everyday use, the most common sense is forming a hypothesis or solution when the answer is not known.

Etymology and usage context: The word derives from Latin roots associated with divination and foretelling. Over time, its meaning broadened to include guessing or deducing anything based on available hints, not only supernatural prediction. Adivinar is used with direct objects (adivinar algo) and with clauses introducing what is being guessed (adivinar qué pasó).

Grammar and conjugation: Adivinar is a regular -ar verb, so its conjugation follows the standard pattern for this class. Present indicative forms include adivino, adivinas, adivina, adivinamos, adivinan. The preterite gives adiviné, adivinaste, adivinó, adivinamos, adivinaron. The imperfect is adivinaba, adivinabas, adivinaba, adivinábamos, adivinaban. The present subjunctive forms are adivine, adivines, adivine, adivinemos, adivinen. The gerund is adivinando and the past participle is adivinado.

Related terms: Adivinación refers to divination or prophecy, adivino can mean a fortune-teller or seer, and adivinanza denotes a riddle or guessing game. The verb is widely used in casual speech to indicate a guess, and in literary or folkloric contexts it can imply prophecy or revelation.

Example: No puedo adivinar la respuesta; voy a intentarlo con razonamiento. Que alguien adivine la solución en un juego de adivinanzas es común en actividades lúdicas.