What does de hecho in Spanish mean?

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

The word de hecho in Spanish means in fact, in reality, actually, de facto, factual, acquittal in fact, factual error, common law partner, presumption of fact, factual situation, hypothesis, assumption, de facto union, concubines, domestic partnership. To learn more, please see the details below.

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Meaning of the word de hecho

in fact

locución adverbial (realmente)

(adverb: Describes a verb, adjective, adverb, or clause--for example, "come quickly," "very rare," "happening now," "fall down.")

Juan no ha estado en Europa; de hecho, nunca ha salido del país.

Juan hasn't been to Europe; as a matter of fact, he's never left the country.

in reality, actually

locución adverbial (en la práctica)

(adverb: Describes a verb, adjective, adverb, or clause--for example, "come quickly," "very rare," "happening now," "fall down.")

Como la ley no solucionó su problema, Carlos decidió actuar de hecho.

ⓘEsta oración no es una traducción de la original. Raul expected his event to go very well but in reality it didn't work out that way.

de facto, factual

locución adjetiva (de facto)

(adjective: Describes a noun or pronoun--for example, "a tall girl," "an interesting book," "a big house.")

La separación de hecho puede tener efectos legales.

Effective separation can have legal consequences.

acquittal in fact

locución nominal femenina (der: no culpable por jurado)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)

factual error

(der: atañe algún elemento jurídico)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)

common law partner

(derecho: concubinato)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)

En mi país, las parejas de hecho tienen los mismos derechos que las parejas unidas en matrimonio.

In my country, common law partners have the same rights as married couples.

presumption of fact

locución nominal femenina (derecho: ficción jurídica)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)

factual situation

(der: en la práctica)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)

hypothesis, assumption

locución nominal masculina (derecho: hipótesis)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)

La alegación del abogado partió del supuesto de hecho de que el demandado era un mal padre.

The lawyer's allegation was based on the hypothesis (or: assumption) that the defendant was a bad father.

de facto union

locución adjetiva (sin estar casados) (UK)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)

Aunque nunca se hayan casado, la pareja está unida de hecho.

Even though they have never married, they are a de facto union.

concubines

locución nominal masculina plural (concubinos)

(plural noun: Noun always used in plural form--for example, "jeans," "scissors.")

Malena y Gabriel son unidos de hecho desde hace un año.

ⓘEsta oración no es una traducción de la original. They're not married but they have been a domestic partnership for 10 years.

domestic partnership

locución nominal femenina (convivencia de pareja)

(plural noun: Noun always used in plural form--for example, "jeans," "scissors.")

A partir esta enmienda se reconoce legalmente la unión de hecho.

As of this amendment, domestic partnerships are legally recognized.

Let's learn Spanish

So now that you know more about the meaning of de hecho in Spanish, you can learn how to use them through selected examples and how to read them. And remember to learn the related words that we suggest. Our website is constantly updating with new words and new examples so you can look up the meanings of other words you don't know in Spanish.

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.