Learn Hardcore Spanish (Spain): A veces es difícil aceptar una crítica, pero no debemos rechazar la verdad. - Sometimes it is hard to accept criticism, but we must not reject the truth.

Es difícil aceptar críticas. = “It’s difficult to accept criticism.” (general, plural without article)
Es difícil aceptar la crítica. = “It’s difficult to accept criticism.” (as a general concept, “criticism in general”)

The original chooses una crítica to highlight a specific act of criticism, but it still feels general.

Why is crítica feminine? What’s the difference between crítica and crítico?

Crítica here is a feminine noun:

la crítica / una crítica = “the criticism / a criticism”

The masculine/feminine forms differ in meaning:

el crítico = the critic (a person, usually male, or generic “critic”)
la crítica = the critic (female) or the criticism/review (noun)
crítico / crítica (adjective) = critical (e.g. un momento crítico, “a critical moment”)

In this sentence, crítica is clearly a noun meaning “criticism”, not the person.

Why is there no subject pronoun before debemos? Shouldn’t it be nosotros debemos?

Spanish is a “pro‑drop” language: subject pronouns are usually omitted when the verb ending already shows who the subject is.

debemos clearly indicates “we”.
So no debemos rechazar la verdad is naturally understood as “we must not reject the truth.”

You can add the pronoun for emphasis or contrast:

Nosotros no debemos rechazar la verdad.
→ “We must not reject the truth (as opposed to others).”

But in a neutral statement like this, omitting nosotros is more natural.

Why is it no debemos rechazar la verdad and not debemos no rechazar la verdad?

In Spanish, the negative no normally goes right before the conjugated verb:

no + debemos + (infinitive)

So:

No debemos rechazar la verdad.
= “We must not reject the truth / We shouldn’t reject the truth.”

Debemos no rechazar la verdad is grammatically possible but sounds awkward and very marked, like you are fighting over where exactly to place the “not.” The natural, everyday form is No debemos + infinitive.

What exactly does debemos mean here—“must” or “should”?

Debemos is from deber, which expresses duty/obligation. Depending on tone and context:

It can be strong: must / have to
Or milder: should / ought to

Here:

no debemos rechazar la verdad
could be translated as
- “we must not reject the truth” (strong moral rule)
  or
- “we should not reject the truth” (advice / moral recommendation)

Both are possible; Spanish doesn’t clearly distinguish them the way English does.

Why is la verdad using the in Spanish when English usually just says “truth”, without “the”?

Spanish often requires the definite article where English omits it in abstract/general nouns.

la verdad = literally “the truth,” but often used for truth in general.
English: “We must not reject truth.” → sounds strange; we say “reject the truth” or “reject the truth when we see it.”

So:

no debemos rechazar la verdad
= “we must/should not reject the truth (in general).”

In many abstract cases Spanish keeps the article:

el amor, la justicia, la libertad, la paciencia, etc.
vs English: “love, justice, freedom, patience” (often without “the”).

Can A veces go somewhere else in the sentence, like in English “It is sometimes difficult…”?

Yes. A veces (“sometimes”) is fairly flexible in position. All of these are correct:

A veces es difícil aceptar una crítica.
Es difícil aceptar una crítica a veces. (less common, more oral)
Es a veces difícil aceptar una crítica. (possible, but a bit more formal/written)

The most natural and common is the original: A veces at the beginning of the sentence, just like “Sometimes, it is difficult…” in English.

Why is it es difícil aceptar una crítica and not aceptar una crítica es difícil?

Both are grammatically correct:

Es difícil aceptar una crítica.
Aceptar una crítica es difícil.

The difference is mostly about style and focus:

Es difícil aceptar… uses an impersonal construction (like “It is difficult to accept…”). It’s very common for general statements and sounds neutral.
Aceptar una crítica es difícil. puts “accepting a criticism” as the subject and can slightly emphasize that act itself.

In everyday Spanish, the impersonal pattern “Es + adjective + infinitive” is extremely common and usually preferred.

Do aceptar and rechazar need any preposition like “a,” “de,” or “por” here?

No. In this use, both are simply transitive verbs that take a direct object:

aceptar una crítica = to accept a criticism
rechazar la verdad = to reject the truth

No extra preposition is needed:

❌ aceptar de una crítica
❌ rechazar de la verdad

are incorrect in this context.

Could we replace rechazar with negar or ignorar? What’s the difference?

They are related but not identical:

rechazar la verdad
= to reject the truth (refuse to accept it, push it away)
negar la verdad
= to deny the truth (say it’s not true; actively contradict it)
ignorar la verdad
= to ignore the truth (act as if it weren’t there, not pay attention)

In the original sentence, rechazar fits well because it parallels aceptar:

aceptar vs rechazar = accept vs reject

So it’s like:
“Sometimes it’s hard to accept criticism, but we mustn’t reject the truth.”

Could we use a pronoun like aceptarla or rechazarla instead of repeating crítica or verdad?

Yes, if the nouns are already known from context, you can replace them with la (direct object pronoun, feminine singular):

A veces es difícil aceptarla.
(“Sometimes it is difficult to accept it,” referring back to una crítica.)
…pero no debemos rechazarla.
(“…but we must not reject it,” referring back to la verdad.)

In the original, the nouns are spelled out for clarity, but in a longer text or conversation you would often switch to pronouns once it’s clear what you’re talking about.