What does al contrario in Spanish mean?

What is the meaning of the word al contrario in Spanish? The article explains the full meaning, pronunciation along with bilingual examples and instructions on how to use al contrario in Spanish.

The word al contrario in Spanish means on the contrary, to the contrary, on the contrary, contrary to, in contrast to, unlike, on the contrary, quite the contrary, quite the opposite. To learn more, please see the details below.

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Meaning of the word al contrario

on the contrary, to the contrary

locución adverbial (expresa oposición)

(adverb: Describes a verb, adjective, adverb, or clause--for example, "come quickly," "very rare," "happening now," "fall down.")
A Álvaro no le importó que yo saliera con Fernando. Al contrario, le alegró que me llevara bien con su amigo.
Alvaro didn't mind that I went out with Fernando. On the contrary, he was glad I got along with his friend.

on the contrary

locución adverbial (expresa oposición)

(adverb: Describes a verb, adjective, adverb, or clause--for example, "come quickly," "very rare," "happening now," "fall down.")
No tengo problema con dejar que mis hijos salgan solos; al contrario.
I don't have issues with letting my kids go out alone; on the contrary.

contrary to, in contrast to

locución preposicional (expresa oposición)

(adverb: Describes a verb, adjective, adverb, or clause--for example, "come quickly," "very rare," "happening now," "fall down.")
El copiloto se quedó solo en la cabina, al contrario de lo que estipulaba el protocolo.
The copilot was left alone in the cabin, contrary to (or: in contrast to) what was stipulated in the protocol.

unlike

locución preposicional (expresa oposición)

(adverb: Describes a verb, adjective, adverb, or clause--for example, "come quickly," "very rare," "happening now," "fall down.")
Nuestra empresa, al contrario que muchas compañías de la competencia, no transmite los datos confidenciales de nuestros clientes.
Our company, unlike much of our competition, doesn't share our clients' confidential data.

on the contrary

locución adverbial (expresa oposición)

(expression: Prepositional phrase, adverbial phrase, or other phrase or expression--for example, "behind the times," "on your own.")
No habrá lluvias este año, antes al contrario, se esperan sequías.
There won't be any rainfall this year, on the contrary, droughts are expected.

quite the contrary, quite the opposite

locución adverbial (lo opuesto)

(expression: Prepositional phrase, adverbial phrase, or other phrase or expression--for example, "behind the times," "on your own.")
No quiere perjudicarte más bien al contrario, te va a ayudar.
He doesn't want to hurt you; quite the contrary (or: quite the opposite), he's going to help you.

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Do you know about Spanish

Spanish (español), also known as Castilla, is a language of the Iberian-Romance group of the Romance languages, and the 4th most common language in the world according to Some sources, while others list it as a 2nd or 3rd most common language. It is the mother tongue of about 352 million people, and is spoken by 417 million people when adding its speakers as a language. sub (estimated in 1999). Spanish and Portuguese have very similar grammar and vocabulary; The number of similar vocabulary of these two languages is up to 89%. Spanish is the primary language of 20 countries around the world. It is estimated that the total number of speakers of Spanish is between 470 and 500 million, making it the second most widely spoken language in the world by number of native speakers.