How We Make Our Smart Definitions
We put a lot of thinking and effort into our Smart Definitions' research, creation, and review process, so that you can spend as little time as possible understanding each word.
We gather, consolidate, and boil down information from multiple linguistic and Spanish language sources, and consolidate down to only what’s relevant for learners. We also work with a group of native Spanish speakers with experience teaching the language, to make sure the content reflects how Spanish is actually used.
Building Up To A Smart Definition
We build our learning material through a series of steps to make sure it’s accurate and understandable. Every writing and review process includes native Spanish speakers for authenticity and accuracy.
1. Initial Research
We comb through various Spanish language resources to research each word in order to form a full view of its usage and history. We then use AI tools to organize and summarize what we found for each word.
2. First Draft
An initial draft is generated with AI before going through an extensive manual editing and review process. Our objectives here are: (1) to check for accuracy, and (2) to keep it pedagogically useful. We go through each word usage, re-check resources, and remove any redundancies or uncommon usages. Explanations are rephrased or rewritten to keep the style consistent and easy to understand for learners.
3. Second Review
A second reviewer re-checks the entry, focusing on clarity in the explanations. This could include tightening and rewording phrases, or adding examples where needed.
4. Final Review
A final reviewer verifies that the entry is accurate and relevant for learners.
Our newest version of Smart Definitions follows the outlined process above. We are currently updating all of our entries to the new version (which will be a long, time-consuming process!).
You'll know which Smart Definition has been updated if they display the names of their primary contributors. You may have seen our new Smart Definitions already, but if you haven’t, check out this entry for dormir.
Our Guiding Principles
Our Smart Definitions are not made for grammarians or other language experts (the traditional audience for dictionary definitions). Instead, they’re made for Spanish learners who are trying to understand new words and don’t care about exacting terminology. This guiding principle is reflected throughout our work:
- We use a colloquial writing style, which keeps it approachable.
- We avoid technical jargon so it's easy to understand.
- We add analogies to English where the Spanish is similar, so you can better relate to and remember it.
- We add examples of word order changes in Spanish so you can learn to “think in Spanish.”