belleza

Spanish

Etymology

Probably borrowed from Catalan bellesa or Old Occitan belhesa, from Vulgar Latin *bellitia. By surface analysis, bello +‎ -eza. Compare Italian bellezza, Portuguese beleza.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /beˈʝeθa/ [beˈʝe.θa] (Equatorial Guinea, most of Spain)
IPA^(key): /beˈʎeθa/ [beˈʎe.θa] (rural northern Spain)

IPA^(key): /beˈʝesa/ [beˈʝe.sa] (most of Latin America)
IPA^(key): /beˈʎesa/ [beˈʎe.sa] (Andes Mountains, Paraguay, Philippines)

IPA^(key): /beˈʃesa/ [beˈʃe.sa] (Buenos Aires and environs)
IPA^(key): /beˈʒesa/ [beˈʒe.sa] (elsewhere in Argentina and Uruguay)

Audio (Colombia): (file)
Rhymes: -eθa (Spain, Equatorial Guinea)
Rhymes: -esa (Latin America, Philippines)
Syllabification: be‧lle‧za

Noun

belleza f (plural bellezas)

beauty (the quality of being beautiful)
Synonym: hermosura
beauty (beautiful person or object)
Synonym: hermosura

Derived terms

Related terms

bello

Further reading

“belleza”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025