hábil

See also: habil

Portuguese

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *gʰeh₁bʰ-

Proto-Indo-European *-éh₁ti

Proto-Indo-European *-yeti

Proto-Indo-European *-éh₁yeti

Proto-Indo-European *gʰh₁bʰéh₁yeti

Proto-Italic *haβēō

Latin habeō

Proto-Indo-European *-elis

Proto-Italic *-elis

Latin -ilis

Latin habilislbor.

Portuguese hábil

Learned borrowing from Latin habilis (“suitable, skillful”).

Pronunciation

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈa.biw/ [ˈa.biʊ̯]

 

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈa.bil/ [ˈa.βiɫ]

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈa.bil/ [ˈa.βiɫ]
  • (Southern Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈa.bil/ [ˈa.biɫ]

• Audio (Brazil (Caipira)):

  (file)

• Rhymes: (Portugal) -abil, (Brazil) -abiw
• Hyphenation: há‧bil

Adjective

hábil m or f (plural hábeis)

1. skilled
2. deft, skillful

Derived terms

• habilidade
• habilmente
• inábil

Further reading

• “hábil”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026
• “hábil”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026

Spanish

Etymology

From Latin habilis (“suitable, skillful”). Cognate with English able.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈabil/ [ˈa.β̞il]
• Rhymes: -abil
• Syllabification: há‧bil

Adjective

hábil m or f (masculine and feminine plural hábiles, superlative habilísimo)

1. able, capable

   Synonym: capaz

2. deft, skillful

   Synonyms: diestro, mañoso, ducho

3. suitable, adequate

   Synonyms: apropiado, indicado, adecuado

Antonyms

• inhábil
• torpe

Derived terms

• día hábil
• hábilmente

Related terms

• habilidad
• habilitar

Further reading

• “hábil”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), 24th edition, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 30 October 2026