Can Spanish distinguish between "lonely" and "alone"?

Question

I learned that *solo* in Spanish means both "alone" (the simple fact of not having anyone else around) and "lonely" (feeling sad because of being alone). Is there any way of distinguishing between these two English meanings in Spanish? Or is the context in which *solo* is used the only way to determine which of the two senses is intended?

Answer 1

It's easy to confuse the words in Spanish conveying only/alone/single, etc.

"Solo/sola" means "alone", but it should be noted that "sólo" (with an accent on the first "o") means "only".

ie: Spanish: Ella estaba sola ayer en la tienda.

English: She was alone yesterday in the store.

Spanish: Nosotros sólo queremos comer pan.

English: We only want to eat bread.

"Lonely" in Spanish is "solitario", a cognate to "solitary".

Note, also, that "single", as in "unmarried" in Spanish is "soltero/soltera".

Answer 2

The Spanish word for lonely is "solitario(a)" and as you stated for alone is "solo" or "por mi solo"