Brown sugar and spice...

A few things, first is that andar isn’t just “to walk” it’s kind of like “to go around”

It can be used as “to walk”, but it also carries some secondary meanings like “to wander” - or it can imply “to have the ability to walk” - so if you like zombie stuff you might see los muertos andantes “the walking dead” or los muertos andan “the dead walk”

andar is at its core actually related to ir and if you study Italian you’ll see the link even stronger with andare.

In Spanish though, andar is irregular in the preterite tense and probably why they teach you caminar because caminar is very regular

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The real difference is that caminar is “to walk” in the sense of physically walking, while andar is physical and figurative “walk/go/motion”

Also because caminar is the physical motion it gets used for talking about babies taking their first steps, having the ability to walk, going on a hike or walking for exercise etc

And because andar is more figurative it shows up in different idiomatic expressions

An example: andar/ir por las nubes is understood as “to have one’s head in the clouds” but it’s literally “to go/walk through the clouds”

You can also use andar in the “go around” sense - andas quejándose “you go around complaining” which implies more of a metaphorical “walk”, but also a sense of habit or motion in general

Another one you might see is something like in Mexico andar crudo/a which is “to be hungover” [in Spain I think it’d be like andar de resaca] but it’s like you’re going, but you’re still hungover - it’s a sense of perpetual “motion” or continuation

When I think of caminar I specifically think of it as “to walk” like on two legs and it feels more like the physical specific function

[As far as something like “go for a walk” you might also see pasear “to stroll/to walk around”, dar un paseo “to take a walk/to go for a stroll” or hacer una caminata “to go hiking”]

spanishskulduggery:

minglana:

in spain (at least the region im from), andar just means “to walk” and caminar is barely used. so in my specific opinion i wouldve said that yes, caminar and andar are synonyms😅

ive also never heard “andar de resaca” just “estar/ir de resaca”, with “ir” not being as commonly used for it

I agree they’re mostly synonymous, there’s just always more you can do with andar

And interesting because I periodically see someone like ando de resaca emocional or something but maybe it’s a regional/generational thing? Idk