A Spanish Vocabulary Lesson: Words for Weather, Beach and Water Sports

A Spanish Vocabulary Lesson: Words for Weather, Beach and Water Sports
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Understanding the Weather Report

If you’re traveling in a Spanish-speaking country, deciphering the weather reports can be an everyday challenge. Here’s some of the vocabulary you need to make sense of what you see, hear and read about the weather:

el amanecer - sunrise (¿Cómo amaneciste? doesn’t translate directly into English, but is basically a way of inquiring how your day started out.)

el atardecer - sunset

el tiempo - weather

el tiempo TV - the TV weather report

el hombre del tiempo or el meteorólogo - weatherman

el cielo - sky

claro - clear (Although this word can also be used to signify assent.)

el sol - sun

soleado or asoleado - sunny

la luna - moon

la estrella - star

nublado - cloudy

el chubasco - a cloudburst or rain shower (a drizzle may described as “chispeando.”)

la lluvia - rain

la nube - cloud

la tormenta - thunderstorm

la humedad - humidity

el calor - heat

el frío - cold

¿Qué tiempo hace? - What’s the weather like?

hace calor - It’s hot.

hace frío - It’s cold.

hace buen tiempo - It’s nice out.

esta lluviendo - It’s raining.

esta chorreando - An everyday expression to describe a very hard rain.

el hielo - ice

la nieve - snow

el relampago - lightning

el trueno - thunder

alto - high

bajo - low

el viento - wind

la temperatura - temperature

la mareada - tide

el invierno - winter

la primavera - spring

el verano - summer

el otono - fall

Remember that in Spain, temperature is measured in Celsius instead of Fahrenheit. Here’s a convenient calculator for converting between the two units of measure.

Beach and Watersports

Spain and Latin America have many beautiful beaches. Before you enjoy a day of swimming, sunbathing and other activities, learn the following words:

el mar - sea (In Spanish, ‘sea’ can be assigned either the masculine or feminine gender. The everyday article is el, but la mar is used in poetry and literature.)

en alta mar - on the high sea

deportes aquaticos - water sports

la playa - beach

la costa - coast

la arena - sand

el parasol - beach umbrella

la tumbona - sun lounger

la ola - wave

la concha - shell

la medusa - jellyfish

el barco - boat

el barco de vela - sailboat

el yate - yacht

remar - to row

el pedalo - paddle boat

la vela - sail

el esquí náutico (also known as el esquí acuático) - water skiing

el agua - water (In Spanish, agua is considered feminine. But you use the masculine el to avoid pairing the ‘a’ at the end of the feminine la with the ‘a’ at the beginning of agua.

pescar - to fish

nadar - to swim

bucear - to dive

el chaleco de salvavidas - life vest

la pelota - ball

el traje de baño or el bañador - swimsuit

la toalla - towel

los servicios - restrooms

el chirringito - a beach stall selling snacks and drinks

Socorro! - Help!

ahogarse - to drown

una mochilla - backpack

las chanclas - flip flops

Don’t forget:

el bronceador - suntan lotion

las gafas de sol, or simply las gafas - sunglasses/sunshades