cuerpo de agua
/ˌkweɾpo de ˈaɡwa/masculine
The English phrase "body of water" is translated into Spanish as cuerpo de agua. Wiktionary also lists agua and extensión de agua.
Meaning: significant accumulation of water (noun)
Ways to say it
| Spanish | IPA | Note |
|---|---|---|
| cuerpo de agua | /ˌkweɾpo de ˈaɡwa/ | masculine |
| agua | /ˈaɡwa/ /ˈawa/ (dialectal) |
feminine |
| extensión de agua | /eɡstensjon de aɡwa/ (from spelling rules) | feminine |
Cuerpo de agua is the standard technical and geographical term in Spanish used to refer to any significant accumulation of water, such as rivers, lakes or oceans.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase cuerpo de agua is a literal translation of "body of water", where cuerpo means "body" and agua means "water".
Which one should you use?
While cuerpo de agua is the standard term, you may use extensión de agua when you want to emphasize the vastness or the large surface area of the water (an "expanse of water").
Is it said differently in some regions?
In certain Latin American countries, the word laguna may be used to mean "lagoon" in place of lago.
How does it change in a sentence?
The term cuerpo de agua is masculine, while extensión de agua and the word agua are feminine.
How do you pronounce it?
/ˌkweɾpo de ˈaɡwa/
Did you know?
- The term cuerpo in this context shares the same Latin root, corpus, as the English word 'corpse', though it refers to a physical form rather than a dead body.
- The word agua is a feminine noun, yet it is frequently preceded by the masculine article el in the phrase el agua to avoid the phonetic clash of two 'a' sounds. This creates a linguistic paradox where the word is grammatically feminine but often appears in masculine form.
- When speaking about water in Spanish, you will find that agua is used in many idioms to describe emotional states or social situations, whereas cuerpo de agua is strictly technical.
Examples in context
- El lago Titicaca es un impresionante cuerpo de agua situado entre Perú y Bolivia.Lake Titicaca is an impressive body of water located between Peru and Bolivia.
- El mar Mediterráneo es una enorme masa de agua que separa Europa de África.The Mediterranean Sea is a vast mass of water that separates Europe from Africa.
- Este verano planeamos visitar el mar y relajarnos junto a las olas.This summer, we plan to visit the sea and relax by the waves.
- Los niños adoran nadar en el río durante los días calurosos de verano.Kids love swimming in the river during hot summer days.
- Este es un cuerpo de agua muy grande.This is a very large body of water.
- El mapa muestra cada cuerpo de agua de la región.The map shows every body of water in the region.
- No podemos cruzar ese cuerpo de agua sin un bote.We cannot cross that body of water without a boat.
Example conversation
Alejandro and Sofía are studying geography together.
- AlejandroSofía, ¿cómo se clasifica este cuerpo de agua?Sofía, how is this body of water classified?
- SofíaCreo que es un cuerpo de agua salada.I think it is a saltwater body of water.
- AlejandroTienes razón, es un mar pequeño.You are right, it is a small sea.
- SofíaEs un ejemplo interesante para la tarea.It is an interesting example for the homework.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “body of water” translations and entries cuerpo de agua, agua, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries agua, cuerpo, de, extensión, CC BY-SA 4.0.
