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Really and Actually

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Bolboreta
March 25, 2009, 11:39 AM
Is there any difference in meaning between this two adverbs?

I never use "actually" because it's a really (:p) confusing word. I confuse it with the spanish actualmente. Today I saw "actually" twice and had to look for it in the dictionary. The meanings for it are exactly the same than the ones I find for "really"

¿Are they synonyms?

Thanks :butterfly:

Fazor
March 25, 2009, 11:50 AM
Yes, they're synonyms and pretty interchangeable.

Bolboreta
March 25, 2009, 11:52 AM
Ok, so I can forget actually again :lol:

Thank you very much, Fazor!

Fazor
March 25, 2009, 11:59 AM
Well, you don't want to forget it; you need to know it for when you see it used (personally, I use 'actually' much more than I use 'really'). But I can't think of any situations where you'd have to use actually instead of really.

chileno
March 25, 2009, 12:14 PM
Is there any difference in meaning between this two adverbs?

I never use "actually" because it's a really (:p) confusing word. I confuse it with the spanish actualmente. Today I saw "actually" twice and had to look for it in the dictionary. The meanings for it are exactly the same than the ones I find for "really"

¿Are they synonyms?

Thanks :butterfly:

They are, but mostly in english actually means "en actualidad o actualmente" y really means "realmente"

:-)

Pero...

Si yo digo "actualmente no quiero nada", no queda muy bien en español.

En cambio "realmente no quiero nada:, queda mucho mejor en español. No?

Vamos viendo y sacando conclusions. :-)

poli
March 25, 2009, 12:29 PM
They are very similar, but we often use actually to mean as a matter of fact. Really more often means truly or very.

The differences are fine but genuine.

examples: I am really tired - should mean I am truly tired(verdaderamente cansado)
I am actually tired= I'm tired as a matter of fact.(it may even imply some surprize.) (ya veo que estoy cansado)- I hope that's good Spanish.

Actually very rarely means very or truly in American English.

Espero que te ayude. Me avisas si quieres más ejemples, o tienes otras
preguntas sobre really/actually.

pd :You can correctly say:Actually I'm really tired:sleeping::sleeping:Another way of saying it would be As a matter of fact I'm very tired