contaminación
/kontaminaˈθjon/feminine
The English word 'contamination' is translated into Spanish as contaminación.
Contaminación is the standard noun used to describe the act or process of contaminating something. While it is a widely-used term, you may encounter related words: contaminante is the noun used to describe the substance that causes the contamination and contaminantes refers to the substances or agents responsible for contamination.
Meaning: the act or process of contaminating (noun)
Which one should you use?
While contaminación refers to the process of contamination, the term polución is often used specifically when referring to pollution caused by harmful substances or pollutants.
How does it change in a sentence?
The noun contaminación is feminine. Because of this, any adjectives accompanying it must also be in the feminine form, such as in the phrase contaminación ambiental (environmental contamination).
How do you pronounce it?
/kontaminaˈθjon/
Did you know?
- In linguistics, contaminación describes a specific error where two similar words are accidentally merged into a new hybrid word.
- Spanish speakers use the phrase contaminación acústica to describe noise pollution, treating sound as if it were a physical pollutant.
- The suffix '-ción' in contaminación is a direct descendant of the Latin '-tiō', which is why many Spanish nouns ending in '-ción' have an English equivalent ending in '-tion'.
Examples in context
- Esos trajes verdes son trajes especiales para reducir el riesgo de contaminación biológica.Those green suits are special suits for reducing the risk of biological contamination.This sentence shows how to use contaminación when discussing the risk of biological contamination.Tatoeba #4371531 by umano, translation #4445262 by LB
- La contaminación del agua es un problema graveWater contamination is a serious problem.
- La polución atmosférica afecta nuestra saludAir pollution affects our health.
- Los contaminantes industriales son perjudiciales para el medio ambienteIndustrial pollutants are harmful to the environment.
- No tires basura al suelo, puedes contaminar el entornoDo not litter, you can contaminate the environment.
- La contaminación ambiental es un problema grave en la Ciudad de MéxicoEnvironmental pollution is a serious problem in Mexico City.
- La contaminación del medio ambiente afecta nuestra saludEnvironmental contamination affects our health.
- Debemos evitar la contaminación por ruido en la ciudad.We must avoid noise contamination in the city.
Example conversation
Daniel and María are discussing an environmental report at a cafe.
- DanielHe leído que la contaminación del aire ha aumentado.I have read that air contamination has increased.
- MaríaEs verdad, Daniel, es muy preocupante.It is true, Daniel, it is very worrying.
- Daniel¿Crees que las nuevas leyes ayudarán?Do you think the new laws will help?
- MaríaEspero que sí, porque la situación es crítica.I hope so, because the situation is critical.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “contamination” translations and entries contaminación, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries contaminación, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
