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telenovela

telenovela

12 3.8
A TV drama from Latin America that tells one long romantic story in many episodes
  • noun
  • /ˌtɛlɪnəˈvɛlə/
translation icon : telenovela
  • The most popular genres and producers overall are Venezuelan telenovelas and Mexican comedies, followed by Mexican and Brazilian telenovelas.
  • watch telenovelas
  • telenovela soap
  • telenovela soap opera

I started my career in telenovelas a long time ago.

Examples

  • Each year, Channel 13 produces two or three new telenovelas or soap operas.

    Academic text (1990)
  • Recently, much more varied telenovelas have been produced, and some systematic differences are beginning to appear between countries.

    Academic text (1991)
  • No, it was more like a scene from a telenovela.

  • We can have our very own telenovela!

  • It's like my own private telenovela.

  • I started my career in telenovelas a long time ago.

  • Other assessments suggest an even larger audience for telenovelas, especially those on Channel 2.

    Academic text (1992)
  • In national terms, this sort of responsiveness has added to the success of TV Globo's telenovelas.

    Academic text (1991)
  • For example, it costs around $15,000 to produce one chapter of a Rede Globo telenovela.

    Academic text (1992)
  • My mother loves to watch the latest episodes of her favorite telenovela every evening.

Synonyms

series
vstelenovela
612 2.3

A set of related television or radio programs released in episodes

is a specific Latin American episodic romance with melodramatic tone
TV show
vstelenovela
275 1.0

A TV program that people watch for fun or information

is a specific Latin American episodic romantic drama rather than any program
television show
vstelenovela
131 1.0

A program you watch on TV in separate episodes

is narrowly a Latin American continuous romantic melodrama shown in episodes
soap opera
vstelenovela
80 2.3

A TV drama that follows the daily lives and relationships of people

is more tied to Latin American serialized romance and continuous plot
novela
vstelenovela
2 5.0

A long dramatic story on TV shown in parts like a soap opera

is specifically a Latin American televised romantic melodrama told in episodes
soaper
vstelenovela
  • UK
6.0

A long TV drama with ongoing stories about relationships

is the standard term for a Latin American serialized romantic drama

How Melodramatic

melodrama
35 6.3
telenovela
12 3.8
soap opera
80 2.3
drama
239 1.8

Surface Forms

telenovela singular
telenovelas plural

Etymology

Telenovela comes from Spanish and joins tele-, short for 'television', and novela, meaning a 'novel' or long story. So a telenovela is like a 'TV novel', a continuing television drama from Latin America that is often full of romance and big emotions.