What does aficionado mean?
Word: Aficionado
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: Aficionado means a person who knows a lot about a hobby, sport or kind of art and enjoys it very much.
Synonyms: enthusiast, fan
How do you spell aficionado?
Syllables: a - fi - cio - na - do
Tricky part: Only one f follows the opening a, even though words such as affect and afford double theirs.
Watch out for: afficionado, aficianado
Memory tip: An aficionado is a big fan, and just as in fan, the f stands on its own.
Aficionado in a sentence
Example 1: My uncle is a kite aficionado and can name every kind of kite flying on the beach.
Example 2: Football aficionados from many countries filled the stadium in Madrid.
Example 3: Ask any tea aficionado and you will hear that green tea needs water that is not quite boiling.
Fun Fact
The word came into English from Spanish, where aficion means a strong liking or fondness for something.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Cookie
Insert the correct pair of letters to form a word:
afi_ion_do
a) s, a
b) c, e
c) t, a
d) c, a
Show answer
d) c, a. A c sits before the io in the middle, and the last part reads nado.
Word Cookie
Find the extra letter in the word:
aficionnado
a) o
b) n
c) a
d) i
Show answer
b) n. Say the word aloud: the n between the o and the a is heard only once and written only once.
Spell-o-Spell
Choose the incorrectly spelt word:
a) enthusiast
b) aficionado
c) conoisseur
d) spectator
Show answer
c) conoisseur. Connoisseur, another word for an expert, needs a double n near the start.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Which of these people is most likely to be called a jazz aficionado?
a) someone who has collected jazz records for thirty years
b) someone who prefers silence to any kind of music
c) someone who heard jazz once on a car radio
d) someone who sells popcorn at the cinema on Fridays
Show answer
a) someone who has collected jazz records for thirty years
2. Paloma is a chess aficionado. What would she most enjoy on a free afternoon?
a) clearing out the cupboard under the stairs
b) sleeping until it is time for dinner
c) knitting a scarf for her little cousin
d) studying a famous chess game move by move
Show answer
d) studying a famous chess game move by move
