un millón de dólares
/un miʝon de dolaɾes/from spelling rules
The English phrase "a million dollars" is translated into Spanish as un millón de dólares.
This phrase is used to refer to a specific amount of money consisting of one million units of the US dollar.
What does it mean word for word?
Literally, the phrase is constructed as "one million of dollars" (un millón de dólares).
How does it change in a sentence?
In Spanish, the word millón must be followed by the preposition de before the noun it modifies.
How do you pronounce it?
/un miʝon de dolaɾes/
What mistakes should you avoid?
English speakers often mistakenly omit the de between millón and dólares.
Did you know?
- The word millón was borrowed from the Italian word milione, which replaced the earlier Spanish term cuento for the number one million.
- In written Spanish, the number in un millón de dólares is often separated by a dot or a space rather than a comma, which can lead English speakers to misread the amount.
- While un millón de dólares is standard, in some Latin American countries, the word palanca or luca is used as slang for different denominations, but millón remains the formal anchor for large sums.
Examples in context
- Ojalá tuviera un millón de dólares.I wish I had a million dollars.This sentence is useful for expressing a wish involving un millón de dólares.Tatoeba #2246911 by Shishir, translation #2235419 by Hybrid
- ¿Cómo te gastarías un millón de dólares?How would you spend a million dollars?This sentence is useful for asking how someone would spend un millón de dólares.Tatoeba #6865322 by arh, translation #6865004 by CK
- El déficit se eleva a un millón de dólares.The loss amounts to a million dollars.This sentence is useful for describing a deficit that amounts to un millón de dólares.Tatoeba #2702970 by marcelostockle, translation #274553 by CK
- 10 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Sofía and Alejandro are discussing a lottery prize.
- SofíaEl premio es de un millón de dólares.The prize is one million dollars.
- Alejandro¿En serio? ¡Es muchísimo dinero!Really? That's a lot of money!
- SofíaSí, imagínate ganar un millón de dólares.Yes, imagine winning a million dollars.
- AlejandroYo compraría una casa muy grande.I would buy a very big house.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries de, millón, un, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
