What does en vez de in Spanish mean?

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

The word en vez de in Spanish means instead of, instead of doing, in place of, once in a while, from time to time. To learn more, please see the details below.

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Meaning of the word en vez de

instead of

locución preposicional (en lugar de algo)

(conjunction: Connects words, clauses, and sentences--for example, "and," "but," "because," "in order that.")
Hoy tomaré té en vez de café.
Today I will drink tea instead of coffee.

instead of doing

locución preposicional (en lugar de hacer algo)

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")
Los niños se fueron a jugar en el parque en vez de hacer la tarea.
The children went to play in the park instead of doing their homework.

in place of

locución preposicional (en lugar de alguien)

(expression: Prepositional phrase, adverbial phrase, or other phrase or expression--for example, "behind the times," "on your own.")
En vez de Melisa, en la recepción había una mujer desconocida.
In Melissa's place, there was a woman we didn't know at reception.

once in a while, from time to time

locución adverbial (de tanto en tanto)

(expression: Prepositional phrase, adverbial phrase, or other phrase or expression--for example, "behind the times," "on your own.")
Mis padres vienen de vez en cuando a visitarnos.
Occasionally my parents come to visit us.

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So now that you know more about the meaning of en vez de 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.