control fronterizo
/kontɾol fɾonteɾiθo/from spelling rulesmasculine
The English phrase border control is translated into Spanish as control fronterizo. Wiktionary also lists control de fronteras.
Meaning: regulation of movement of people, animals or goods across a border (noun)
Ways to say it
| Spanish | IPA | Note |
|---|---|---|
| control fronterizo | /kontɾol fɾonteɾiθo/ (Spain, from spelling rules) /kontɾol fɾonteɾiso/ (Latin America, from spelling rules) |
masculine |
| control de fronteras | /kontɾol de fɾonteɾas/ (from spelling rules) | masculine |
The term refers to the regulation of movement of people, animals or goods across a border.
Which one should you use?
Use control fronterizo when you want to use "border" as an adjective to describe the type of control. Use control de fronteras to refer to the general concept or the act of controlling multiple borders.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Mexico, the term migración may be used instead of control de fronteras or vigilancia fronteriza.
How does it change in a sentence?
The plural form of control fronterizo is controles fronterizos.
How do you pronounce it?
/kontɾol fɾonteɾiθo/
Did you know?
- The word control traces its history back to contrarotula in Medieval Latin, which referred to a duplicate scroll used for auditing accounts.
- In many Spanish-speaking countries, the physical area for border control is often referred to as la aduana, which specifically refers to the customs house.
- The term fronterizo is built from frontera using the suffix -izo, which in Spanish is frequently used to describe things that have a natural tendency or a specific relationship to a place.
Examples in context
- ¿Dónde está el control de fronteras?Where is the border control?
- Necesito pasar por el control migratorio.I need to go through immigration control.
- Debemos tener nuestros pasaportes listos para el control.We should have our passports ready for border control.
- El control fronterizo es muy estricto.Border control is very strict.
- El control fronterizo es muy estricto hoy.Border control is very strict today.
- Debemos pasar por el control fronterizo primero.We must go through border control first.
- Hubo un retraso en el control fronterizo.There was a delay at border control.
Example conversation
Sofía and Alejandro are traveling through a land border by car.
- Sofía¿Viste la fila para el control fronterizo?Did you see the line for border control?
- AlejandroSí, es bastante larga, Sofía.Yes, it is quite long, Sofía.
- SofíaEspero que el control fronterizo sea rápido.I hope border control is fast.
- AlejandroTengo paciencia, no te preocupes.I have patience, don't worry.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “border control” translations, 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 control, de, fronterizo, CC BY-SA 4.0.
