gratis vs gratuito

Question

What's the difference between these two? I thought they were interchangeable but the exercise 'Campsite activities' doesn't accept 'gratis'.And, is 'canotaje' not used in Spain?Saludos

Inma Sánchez · Answer

Hola Graeme,
Gratis and gratuito/-a/-os/-as are interchangeable when they are adjectives (which is what they are in this sentence in the exercise) Gratuito may sound just slightly more formal.
When it is an adverb, then we use gratis (or gratuitamente):

Han ofrecido todos sus servicios gratis (how? "for free": adverb)
Han ofrecido todos sus servicios gratuitamente (how? "for free": adverb)

I hope this clarified it.
I just added your sentence using "gratis" as also correct in the exercise.
Note: "canotaje" is not a Spanish word as far as I know. Did you get the right spelling? What were you referring to?
Saludos
Inma

Graeme Revell · Answer

Thanks for your answer Inma.Regarding 'canotaje', I first came across this word for canoeing on a site I was learning from that leans heavily towards Latin American Spanish . They did also accept piragüismo, but as a second preferred answer. Canotaje stuck with me because I couldn't work out how to type that ü at the time jajaja!Well, I just found it here https://www.spanishdict.com/translate/canotaje (a US-based site so often prefers Latin American Spanish variations). But oddly, it's not in RAE is it! This may sound strange but caBotaje is in RAE and kind of suggests 'navigation', so I wonder if it could it be a word that has been changed slightly in South America, to mean the Olympic sport 'slalom' perhaps? (https://www.ecured.cu/Canotaje). I'll leave that to the etymologists!Saludos :)

Jerald Winter · Answer

For what it´s worth, according to SpanishDict.com, there are three options for canoeing: piragüismo,canotaje, and canoa. Under example sentences, piragüismo is by far the most common (~700), canoa is second (~250), and canotaje is the least common (~200). And thanks for making me practice typing ü!

https://www.spanishdict.com/examples/canoeing?lang=en

Jerald Winter · Answer

One side note, Cave Diving is NOT a routine summer camp activity at all.  Regular caving=spelunking in a big open cave might be a summer camp activity, but cave diving in scuba gear is not. It is quite dangerous and requires extensive technical training using special gear.