agua salmuera
/aɡwa salmweɾa/from spelling rules
The English phrase brine water is translated into Spanish as agua salmuera.
The phrase agua salmuera is used to describe water containing a high concentration of salt. In culinary, industrial and chemical contexts, the single word salmuera is the standard way to refer to a highly concentrated salt solution.
How does it change in a sentence?
In many contexts, Spanish speakers will often simply use the noun salmuera to refer to the brine itself, rather than using the full phrase agua salmuera. Note that the noun la salmuera means 'the brine'.
How do you pronounce it?
/aɡwa salmweɾa/
Did you know?
- The Spanish word agua is a distant relative of the archaic English word 'ea', which once meant a river or watercourse.
- If you are describing the ocean, avoid using salmuera to mean 'salt water'. While the ocean is salty, Spanish speakers use agua salada for seawater, reserving salmuera for solutions with a much higher, often industrial or culinary, salt concentration.
- In Spanish culinary traditions, salmuera is the essential component for making 'salmuera de curado', a specific curing process used for traditional hams and sausages.
Examples in context
- Los investigadores analizaron muestras de agua salobre para determinar la concentración de salinidad.The researchers analyzed brine water samples to determine the salinity concentration.
Example conversation
Mateo and María are preparing olives in the kitchen.
- MateoMaría, ¿ya tienes lista el agua salmuera?María, do you have the brine water ready?
- MaríaSí, Mateo, está en ese recipiente.Yes, Mateo, it is in that container.
- MateoPerfecto, voy a poner las aceitunas ahora.Perfect, I'm going to put the olives in now.
- MaríaAsegúrate de cubrir todo con el agua salmuera.Make sure to cover everything with the brine water.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries agua, salmuera, CC BY-SA 4.0.
