What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of the loanword campus and the adjective universitario, which means 'university-related'.
Which one should you use?
While campus universitario is a standard way to express the idea, you can also use recinto universitario as a formal alternative. In many everyday contexts, Spanish speakers may simply use the shortened form el campus to refer to the university grounds.
Is it said differently in some regions?
The term recinto universitario is commonly used in Spain and some Latin American countries.
How does it change in a sentence?
The word campus is a masculine noun, so it takes the masculine article el (e.g., el campus universitario).
What mistakes should you avoid?
English speakers often mistakenly try to pluralize the word as 'campuses', but in Spanish, the word remains unchanged in the plural.
Did you know?
- In many Spanish-speaking countries, the concept of a campus universitario is physically different from the US model, as universities are often integrated into the city grid with buildings scattered across different streets.
- While campus is common, the term recinto literally means 'enclosure', reflecting a historical tradition of universities being walled-off spaces to protect scholars.
- The Spanish word campus has an unexpected linguistic sibling in the word campo, which means 'field'. Both words descend from the same Latin root, though they evolved along different paths in the language.
Examples in context
- El edificio de la facultad está ubicado en el campus universitario.The faculty building is located on the college campus.
- Nos encontraremos en el recinto universitario para la reunión.We will meet at the college campus for the meeting.
- ¡Nos vemos en el campus después de clase!See you on campus after class!
- Vamos a juntarnos en la universidad para estudiar.Let's meet at the college campus to study.
- El campus universitario es muy grande.The college campus is very large.
- Nos vemos en el campus universitario.I will see you at the college campus.
- Hay muchos árboles en el campus universitario.There are many trees on the college campus.
Example conversation
Lucía and Mateo are meeting to study near the university.
- Lucía¿Dónde estás en el campus universitario?Where are you on the college campus?
- MateoEstoy cerca de la biblioteca.I am near the library.
- LucíaTe veré en la entrada principal.I will see you at the main entrance.
- MateoPerfecto, allí estaré.Perfect, I'll be there.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries campus, CC BY-SA 4.0.
