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novela

novel

noun noh-BEH-lah Less Common

Usage Note

Novela is a false friend for English speakers: it means a full-length novel, not a novella. A short story is cuento, and a short novella-length work is novela corta. The popular TV genre telenovela takes its name from this word. The person who writes novels is a novelista, which is invariable in gender.

Examples

"Está leyendo una novela de ciencia ficción."

Natural Translation

She is reading a science-fiction novel.

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