Learn Hardcore Spanish (Latin America): Para mí, la justicia no solo es una palabra, sino también un hábito diario de respeto. - For me, justice is not only a word, but also a daily habit of respect.

Para mí is very common and slightly more informal/natural in everyday speech.
En mi opinión is a bit more formal or “textbook,” used in debates, essays, or when you want to sound more objective.

In many situations they’re interchangeable:

Para mí, la justicia es fundamental.
En mi opinión, la justicia es fundamental.

Both are fine; the first sounds more conversational.

Why does mí have an accent, and how is it different from mi without an accent?

In Spanish:

mí (with accent) is a stressed pronoun meaning me (after a preposition).
- para mí, de mí, sin mí
mi (without accent) is a possessive adjective meaning my.
- mi casa, mi opinión, mi hábito

So:

para mí = for me
para mi amigo = for my friend

They are not interchangeable; the accent changes the meaning.

Why does Spanish use la justicia with the article, while English often just says justice without “the”?

Spanish uses definite articles more than English, especially with abstract nouns.

la justicia, la libertad, el amor

In English we often say justice is important, but in Spanish it’s very natural to say:

La justicia es importante.

The article la here doesn’t mean the justice in a narrow sense; it refers to the concept of justice in general. Leaving it out (Justicia es importante) sounds wrong in Spanish.

Is justicia only legal justice, or can it also mean fairness in general?

Justicia can mean both:

Legal justice (courts, laws, the justice system):
- El sistema de justicia = the justice system
Moral or general fairness:
- Trátalos con justicia = treat them fairly/with justice

In this sentence, la justicia clearly refers to the broader moral idea (a daily habit of respect), not just courts and laws.

Why is it no solo es una palabra instead of no es solo una palabra? Are both correct?

Both are grammatically correct, but the word order changes the emphasis slightly.

No solo es una palabra
→ Emphasis on “not only is it a word” (highlighting that there’s more to it).
No es solo una palabra
→ Emphasis slightly more on “it isn’t just a word” (denying the “just” part).

In everyday speech, both forms are used. In the structure no solo … sino también, the version in your sentence (no solo es…) is very typical and flows naturally.

What is the difference between sino and pero, and why is sino used here?

Pero and sino both can translate as but, but they are used differently:

pero = but / however, to add or contrast information, without directly replacing what came before.
- Quiero ir, pero estoy cansado. = I want to go, but I’m tired.
sino = but rather / but instead, used after a negation to correct or replace the previous idea.
- No quiero café, sino té. = I don’t want coffee, but rather tea.

In your sentence:

no solo es una palabra, sino también un hábito diario…

We’re not simply adding more information; we’re saying it’s not only X, but rather also Y. This contrast-with-addition fits the no solo … sino también pattern, so sino is the correct choice, not pero.

How does the structure no solo … sino también … work, and is it a fixed expression?

Yes, no solo … sino también … is a very common pattern meaning:

not only … but also …

Structure:

No solo
- [first element], sino también
  - [second element]

Examples:

No solo estudio español, sino también francés.
= I not only study Spanish, but also French.
No solo es inteligente, sino también muy trabajador.
= He/She is not only intelligent, but also very hardworking.

In your sentence:

No solo es una palabra, sino también un hábito diario de respeto.
= Not only is it a word, but also a daily habit of respect.

Why can we omit es before un hábito? Shouldn’t it be sino también es un hábito?

You could say:

…no solo es una palabra, sino también es un hábito diario…

and it would be grammatically correct, but it sounds a bit heavier and less elegant.

Spanish often omits repeated verbs when it’s clear from the context. Since es already appeared with una palabra, it’s understood to apply to un hábito too:

no solo es una palabra, sino también (es) un hábito diario…

Leaving out the second es is very natural and stylistically better here.

What’s the nuance of hábito compared to costumbre in Spanish?

Both relate to things we do regularly, but there is a nuance:

hábito
- Closer to habit, often something conscious you cultivate or a repeated behavior, sometimes with a moral or self-improvement tone.
- un buen hábito, hábito de lectura, hábito saludable
costumbre
- More like custom / usual practice, often cultural or social.
- costumbres familiares, costumbres de un país

In this sentence, hábito diario de respeto suggests a personal practice you intentionally maintain, which fits the moral idea of justice as behavior.

Why is diario placed after hábito and not before it?

In Spanish, most adjectives normally go after the noun:

un hábito diario = a daily habit
una comida rápida = a fast meal

Diario here is a regular descriptive adjective, so hábito diario is the usual order.
Diario hábito would sound incorrect or at least extremely unnatural.

Note: diario can also be a noun meaning newspaper or diary, but here it’s clearly an adjective meaning daily.

What does the phrase de respeto add, and why is de used instead of something like con respeto?

De respeto literally means of respect, but here it functions like a habit of respect or a respectful habit.

un hábito de respeto = a habit characterized by respect

Why de?

In Spanish, de is often used to show what something is made of, characterized by, or related to:
- un acto de generosidad = an act of generosity
- palabras de aliento = words of encouragement

Con respeto would usually mean with respect, focusing more on the manner:

Habla con respeto. = Speak with respect.

But un hábito de respeto focuses on the nature of the habit itself (it is fundamentally about respect).

How is justicia pronounced in Latin American Spanish?

Approximate pronunciation (Latin American):

justicia → hoo‑STEE-syah

Breakdown:

j = like a strong English h (from the throat), as in jih but voiceless
u = like oo in food (but shorter)
sti = like stee
cia = in Latin America, usually sounds like syah (similar to see-ah but merged)

So: hoo-STEE-syah (all syllables clear, stress on -STI-).

Why is it la justicia and not el justicia? How do I know the gender?

In Spanish, noun gender is mostly arbitrary and must be memorized:

la justicia is feminine.
Many nouns ending in -cia are feminine:
- la paciencia, la democracia, la experiencia, la justicia

Because justicia is feminine, it needs the article la and feminine adjectives or pronouns if needed. There is no logical reason it’s not masculine; it’s just part of vocabulary you have to learn.

Is there any accent mark missing on solo? I thought it sometimes had an accent (sólo).

Historically, sólo (with accent) was sometimes used when it meant only (adverb), to distinguish it from solo (alone). However, the Real Academia Española now recommends not using the accent in normal cases.

Current standard:

solo (no accent) for both meanings:
- Estoy solo. = I’m alone.
- Solo quiero ayudarte. = I only want to help you.

In your sentence, no solo is correctly written without the accent. The accent sólo is now considered unnecessary in almost all contexts.