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hábil

skilful

adjective AH-beel Rare

Usage Note

Hábil means competent, dexterous, or clever — it can describe manual skill, tactical cleverness, or legal capability (día hábil means a working day in legal and administrative Spanish). The stress falls on the first syllable, making it an esdrújula (proparoxytone) — learners often mis-stress it. The adverb is hábilmente.

Examples

"Es una negociadora muy hábil."

Natural Translation

She is a very skilful negotiator.

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