cierto
certain, true
A cognate of "certain" used to mean true, sure, or a particular/unspecified thing
Encoding Strategies:
linguistic
certain
sure / true
+
-o
adjective suffix
Cierto means certain and is a direct cognate of the English word.
cierto
true, certain, sure
When something is cierto, it is established as true or certain — you are sure of it.
- ¿Es cierto que te vas a mudar? = Is it true that you're moving?
- Lo cierto es que no sé nada = The truth is I don't know anything
a certain (something) (before a noun)
Placed before a noun, cierto works like the English phrase "a certain" — it points to something specific but unnamed or unspecified.
- Cierta noche escuché un ruido extraño = A certain night I heard a strange noise
- Lo dijo con cierta ironía = He said it with a certain irony
- A cierto individuo se le vio huyendo = A certain individual was seen fleeing
certainly, indeed, that's right (adverb)
Used on its own as a confirmation, like saying "certainly" or "indeed" in English.
- — La situación es difícil. — Cierto. = "The situation is difficult." "Indeed."
- Cierto, deberíamos haber llegado antes = Certainly, we should have arrived earlier
por cierto
by the way, incidentally,
certainly, indeed (formal)
As a discourse marker, por cierto introduces a new related thought — the same as English "by the way." It can also be used more literally to mean "certainly."
- Por cierto, ¿has visto mis llaves? = By the way, have you seen my keys?
- Eso no es fácil, y por cierto tampoco es justo = That's not easy, and certainly not fair either