In Spanish what is the difference between Bella, Bonita and Hermosa?

Question

I know they all mean pretty or beautiful. For instance though, which would be best used to describe a pretty woman and which would be used to describe a child, like "Oh, you have a beautiful baby!"? Are there any settings where one of these words might be more appropriate than another

Answer 1

Great question!
There's also linda and preciosa besides the ones you mention.
A woman can be bella, bonita, hermosa, linda and preciosa.
A baby girl can be all those words.
A baby boy can be bello, bonito, hermoso, lindo and precioso.
A man can be guapo (handsome).
A house can be all the adjectives that you can use for a woman.
I guess only with practice can you learn when to use which, because it's not so easy, since they mean more or less the same to describe beauty.

Answer 2

They all are varying degrees of pretty. Here is a list from least to most feeling: Linda, bella, bonita, guapa, hermosa

Answer 3

As you said all of them more or less mean the same.

for a pretty woman I would say una Mujer Bonita

for a beautiful baby . Un bebé hermoso

for a nice sculpture/painting . Una escultura bella/una pintura bella

I hope this helps you a little. By the way this would be in Latin American Countries in Spain they would change the bello and bonito the other way around.

Answer 4

Bella is used more for women when you are telling them how incredulously pretty they are. But you shouldn't use it as much for babies and definitely not for man :)
Bonita you can use it to say that someone is pretty but in Spain we use it more for things, such as the house is bonita, instead of for persons.
Hermosa is georgeos, and you can use it for babies, woman or things too.
I think in other countries they use those words different than people from Spain do :)

Answer 5

technically, hermosa and bella both mean beautiful, while bonita means pretty.
hmm, i think bella would best be used to describe a woman, while hermosa/o or bonito/a would best be used for a baby.
that's how i look at it, lol, i gotta go ask one of my puerto rican friends now, lol.

Answer 6

Beautiful, pretty and gorgeous

Answer 7

there no difference.. you can use all of them if you want....
for.. "Oh, you have a beautiful baby!"
you can say....
Oh, que niño/a tan bonito/a!!
Oh, que niño/a tan hermoso/a!!
Oh, que niño/a tan bello/a!

there is also lindo that mean beautiful but it can also means cute....

you can also say bebe instead of niño/a ...

Answer 8

It is who you are addressing. Be careful, a complement can turn into an insult.

Answer 9

bella... pretty
bonita.. nice
hermosa.. beautiful