escopeta de balines
/eskopeta de balines/from spelling rules
In Spanish, the term for BB gun is escopeta de balines.
The phrase refers to a type of air gun that fires small metal spheres. If the device is a handgun rather than a shotgun/rifle, use pistola de balines instead.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase escopeta de balines literally translates to 'shotgun of pellets'.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Chile, the term rifle de balines is commonly used to describe a BB gun.
How do you pronounce it?
/eskopeta de balines/
Did you know?
- The word escopeta is used in the common Spanish idiom salir escopetado, which means to leave a place very quickly or in a hurry.
- The word escopeta shares a common ancestor with the Italian word scoppietto, which refers to a small or popping sound.
- While balines refers to pellets in this phrase, the singular balín is also the standard Spanish term for a small metal ball bearing used in machinery.
Examples in context
- Me gustaría comprar una pistola de aire comprimido para practicar tiro al blanco.I would like to buy a compressed air gun to practice target shooting.
- Ayer, Mario me mostró su pistola de balines. Es muy divertida para jugar en el campo.Yesterday, Mario showed me his BB gun. It is very fun to play in the field.
- Él compró una escopeta de balines nueva.He bought a new bb gun.
- Ten cuidado con esa escopeta de balines.Be careful with that bb gun.
- La escopeta de balines es de color negro.The bb gun is black.
Example conversation
Mateo and Sofía are looking at a sports equipment catalog.
- Mateo¿Te gusta esta escopeta de balines, Sofía?Do you like this bb gun, Sofía?
- SofíaSí, es muy bonita, Mateo.Yes, it is very pretty, Mateo.
- MateoPodemos usarla para practicar en el jardín.We can use it to practice in the garden.
- SofíaEs una buena idea.That is a good idea.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries de, escopeta, CC BY-SA 4.0.
