# How to name places in Spain



## AllHeart (Nov 22, 2013)

Hi there. I understand there are four levels of geographical (and political) divisions in Spain, namely autonomous communities, provinces, municipalities and towns/cities. 

So how would I name a place? For example, how would you indicate the city Rincon de la Victoria, in the municipality Rincon de la Victoria, in Malaga province, in the autonomous community Andalucia? Another example is, how would you say the city of Malaga and all the extras that go with it? In Canada, for the city of Kitchener, which is in the province of Ontario, one would simply say Kitchener, Ontario, Canada. 

Your anticipated help is much appreciated. :fingerscrossed:


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

AllHeart said:


> Hi there. I understand there are four levels of geographical (and political) divisions in Spain, namely autonomous communities, provinces, municipalities and towns/cities.
> 
> So how would I name a place? For example, how would you indicate the city Rincon de la Victoria, in the municipality Rincon de la Victoria, in Malaga province, in the autonomous community Andalucia? Another example is, how would you say the city of Malaga and all the extras that go with it? In Canada, for the city of Kitchener, which is in the province of Ontario, one would simply say Kitchener, Ontario, Canada.
> 
> Your anticipated help is much appreciated. :fingerscrossed:


well I live in Jávea - or Xàbia, which is in the province of Alicante - & the comunidad of Valencia

my address is Jávea (or Xàbia) , Alicante


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## AllHeart (Nov 22, 2013)

Thanks for your reply. 

So I'd just say "Malaga, Malaga" and "Rincon de la Victoria, Malaga?" 

So it's just city/town plus province, like in Canada?


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## thrax (Nov 13, 2008)

Well, Rincon, as far as I know, is not a city anyway. It is a province of Malaga, according to friends who live there.


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## AllHeart (Nov 22, 2013)

Thrax, there's a website that indicates what I'm saying. I don't want to go up against your friends, but... Rincon de la Victoria, Malaga province, Andalucía, Southern Spain

I'm going to be posting 35-year-old photos on Facebook of my family and friends who lived in the Rincon area back then. Perhaps your friends will know some of them. That would be neat, eh?  That's why I'm asking how to name places, so that I can name the location of the photos properly on Facebook.


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

You could say "Rincón de Victoria, Málaga" and "Málaga capital" respectively. The latter implies it's the city rather than the province. That's what they do on Cádiz, anyway.


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## AllHeart (Nov 22, 2013)

Thanks, Alcalaina. Some of the pics of my family are from the City of Malaga, so I'll put Malaga capital as you suggest. When I put "Malaga capital" in my online Spanish-English translation dictionary, "capital" is the same in both languages. Is this correct?


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## Lolito (Aug 25, 2012)

There is only one Rincón de la Victoria, and that's in Malaga. No need to specify anything. People (Spanish people anyway, at the end of the day, they will know). 

If the photos are from Malaga city, then put MALAGA, that's it. There is only one Malaga and one Rincon de la Victoria. 

Examples. I am from Pamplona, Navarra. 

Pamplona being the City and Navarra being the Provincia. 

Examples: I am from Rincón de la Victoria, Malaga.

Rincón being the village and Malaga de Provincia. 

Examples: I am from Malaga. 

Malaga being in Malaga. (People will always assume you are from Malaga City unless you say otherwise, or some people would ask you if you are from the city of Malaga or the area of Malaga)

There is no need to complicate things. 

You never put ANDALUCIA anywhere. There is no need to. Even if you want to post a letter, you write it like this:

Mr Jamie Smith
Calle Olivares 15
Rincon de la Victoria
Malaga

España (if the letter comes from abroad, of course).

In Spain you don't write, 'provincia', 'area', 'city', 'Andalucia', 'Southern Spain', or things like that.


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

AllHeart said:


> Thanks, Alcalaina. Some of the pics of my family are from the City of Malaga, so I'll put Malaga capital as you suggest. When I put "Malaga capital" in my online Spanish-English translation dictionary, "capital" is the same in both languages. Is this correct?


Yes it's the same word. 

Málaga ciudad has the same effect - it removes any ambiguity about whether you mean the province or the city.

Lolito is right of course, but If I say I live in Cadiz, English friends assume I live in the capital while Spanish ones assume I mean the province. So it's best to be unambiguous.


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## Lolito (Aug 25, 2012)

Just remember that as long as you put the right postcode (codigo postal), the things go to the right place. 

Rincon de la Victoria is 29730


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## AllHeart (Nov 22, 2013)

Okay, this is making sense to me now. It's like there are two different situations, in conversation, mailing something and writing about a place, like this...

Mailing something: City, province, postal code and country if mailing outside of the country.

Writing about a place: If you go to an internet site or read a book about a place, they may refer to municipalities and communities. Here's a good example of Benagalbon: Benagalbon in Axarquia, Costa del Sol, Andalucia, Spain

Conversation: How much you say depends on where you are and where the person is you're talking to. When I tell people in Canada that I'm leaving Canada, I say I'm moving to Spain. When I'm living in Malaga and talking to someone in Rincon, I'd just say that I'm living in Malaga. But if I'm living in Malaga city and talking to someone in another province, I may say that I'm living in Malaga capital. 

The fact is this is really easy for me to understand because that's exactly how it is here. I live in the Municipality of Waterloo, which consists of two cities - Waterloo and Kitchener. I just say that I live in Kitchener. Another example is the Greater Toronto Area, which is comprised of many cities. People never say they come from the Greater Toronto Area; they just say what city they're from. 

By George, I think I've got it.  Thanks for your help in understanding this. With your help, by the time I get to Spain, people may never suspect that I hail from Canada.


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